NCITEC was founded in January 2012 as a University Transportation Center (UTC) sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). NCITEC is a consortium of following five universities: Mississippi State University, University of Denver, University of Mississippi, Louisiana State University, and Hampton University. The theme of NCITEC is to promote the development of an integrated, economically competitive, efficient, safe, secure, and sustainable national intermodal transportation network by integrating all transportation modes for both freight and passenger mobility.