College Basketball Invitational

Third tier postseason collegiate men's basketball tournament

College Basketball InvitationalCurrent season, competition or edition:
2025 College Basketball Invitational

College Basketball Invitational

Sport| Basketball
Founded| 2007
Founder| The Gazelle Group
First season| 2008
No. of teams| 16
Country| United States
Most recent
champion(s)| Illinois State (2025)
Most titles| No team has won more than one title
Broadcaster(s)| ESPN2 (2022–present)
FloCollege (2021-present)
ESPNU (2016–2019, 2025–present)
CBSSN (2014–2015)
AXS TV (2009–2013)
Fox College Sports (2008)
Related
competitions| NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
National Invitation Tournament
College Basketball Crown
CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
Official website| https://www.gazellegroup.com/main/cbi/

The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI selects sixteen teams that are not selected for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament or the National Invitation Tournament[1] (NIT), and who are willing to pay a $27,500 entry fee to participate.[2] In the CBI, prior to 2020[3] teams competed on home courts. After the post-COVID pandemic revival, the tournament has been staged at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. The CBI is a single-elimination tournament (prior to 2021, the tournament was single elimination until the final two teams were determined, after which the championship was determined by a championship series with a best two-out-of-three format). Since the tournament's 2021 revival and adoption of the single-site format, the championship is also determined by a single game. In 2023, the CBI introduced NIL funding of $40,000 to be distributed in the following manner: $25,000 to the champion, $10,000 to the runner-up, and $2,500 to each semifinalist.

While these tournaments provide a chance for teams to continue their season, they are often unpopular among higher-profile teams due to the stigma of playing in a tertiary tournament. In 2014, Indiana Hoosiers athletic director Fred Glass declined a CBI invitation. He expressed, "We're Indiana. We don't play in the CBI."[4]

## The inaugural CBI

[edit]

The 2008 College Basketball Invitational was the first new postseason tournament since the Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament in 1974. The opening round was played on March 18, 2008, and March 19, 2008, with the second round being played on March 24, 2008. The semifinals took place on March 26, 2008. The championship was a best-of-three series with games being played on March 31, April 2, and April 4, 2008. The bracketing was done in east, west, south and midwest regions.[5]

Tulsa was crowned the champion in the 2008 tournament.

## Television

[edit]

In the inaugural year, games were available in local markets on DirecTV and Fox Sports Net. The games could also be viewed on the official website.[6] The 2009-2013 tournament broadcasts were changed to HDNet with four first-round games, two quarterfinal games, both semifinal games, and all three championship games being broadcast (HDNet changed its name to AXS prior to the 2013 tournament). CBS Sports Network televised the 2014 and 2015 tournaments. On February 1, 2016, the CBI announced an exclusive television partnership with ESPN to broadcast the Championship Series of the CBI. ESPNU televised the best-of-three Championship Series from 2016 to 2019.

The following is an overview and list of the announcers and television networks to broadcast the tournament.

Year | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst

|
|
|

2008 | Fox College Sports | Michael Reghi | Bob Sundvold
2009 | HDNet[7][8][9] (Select games in first two rounds, Semifinals, Final) | Rich Cellini | Craig Ehlo
2010
2011
2012 | Keno Davis
2013 | AXS TV[10] (Select games in first two rounds, Semifinals, Final) | Kenny Rice | Bobby Cremins
2014 | CBSSN[11][12] (Final) | Scott Graham | Bob Wenzel
2015 | Michael Reghi | John Griffin
2016 | ESPNU[13] (Final) | Mitch Holthus | Sean Harrington
2017 | Roy Philpott | Corey Williams
2018 | Jason Capel
2019 | Tim McCormick
2020 | Tournament not held
2021 | FloSports | Chris Hooker | Kevin Lehman
2022 | FloSports[14] (First Round and Quarterfinals) | Tom James | Jim Christian
ESPN2 (Semifinals and Final) | Roy Philpott | Joe Lunardi
2023 | FloSports (First Round and Quarterfinals) | Tom James | Jennifer George
ESPN2 (Semifinals and Final) | Roy Philpott | Joe Lunardi
2024 | FloSports (First Round and Quarterfinals) | Tom James | Jennifer George
ESPN2 (Semifinals and Final) | Roy Philpott | Mark Wise
2025 | FloSports (First Round and Quarterfinals) | Hector Ledesma | Jennifer George
ESPNU (Semifinals), ESPN2 (Final) | Roy Philpott | Joe Lunardi

## Champions

[edit]

Tulsa

Oregon
State

VCU

Oregon

Pittsburgh

Santa
Clara

Siena

Loyola
Chicago

Nevada

Wyoming

North
Texas

South
Florida

Pepperdine

UNC
Wilmington

Charlotte

Seattle

Illinois
State

class=notpageimage|

CBI Champions
– 1 championship

Year | Champion | Runner-up | Most
Valuable
Player

|
|
|

2008 | Tulsa | Bradley | Jerome Jordan, Tulsa
2009 | Oregon State | UTEP | Roeland Schaftenaar, Oregon State
2010 | VCU | Saint Louis | Joey Rodriguez, VCU
2011 | Oregon | Creighton | Joevan Catron, Oregon
2012 | Pittsburgh | Washington State | Lamar Patterson, Pittsburgh
2013 | Santa Clara | George Mason | Kevin Foster, Santa Clara
2014 | Siena | Fresno State | Brett Bisping, Siena
2015 | Loyola Chicago | UL Monroe | Earl Peterson, Loyola Chicago
2016 | Nevada | Morehead State | Tyron Criswell, Nevada
2017 | Wyoming | Coastal Carolina | Justin James, Wyoming
2018 | North Texas | San Francisco | Roosevelt Smart, North Texas
2019 | South Florida | DePaul | David Collins, South Florida
2020 | Canceled due to the uncertainty about the coronavirus[15]
2021 | Pepperdine | Coastal Carolina | Kessler Edwards, Pepperdine
2022 | UNC Wilmington | Middle Tennessee | Jaylen Sims, UNC Wilmington
2023 | Charlotte | Eastern Kentucky | Brice Williams, Charlotte
2024 | Seattle | High Point | Cameron Tyson, Seattle
2025 | Illinois State | Cleveland State | Chase Walker, Illinois State

## Presenting sponsors

[edit]

* 2008–2010: none
* 2011–2012: Zebra Pen
* 2013: Buick
* 2014–2016: none
* 2017: Five Four
* 2019, 2021–2022, 2024: Roman/Ro
* 2023: Discount Tire
* 2025: Purple Innovation

## See also

[edit]

* Women's Basketball Invitational

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Fourth postseason hoops tourney announced". ESPN.com. January 27, 2009. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
2. ^ Shaffer, Jonas. "Towson men's basketball declines postseason tournament invitations". Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
3. ^ "Group starts third postseason tourney featuring 16 teams". ESPN. November 14, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
4. ^ Osterman, Zach. "Hoosiers miss NIT, decide to end season". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
5. ^ "College Basketball Invitational introduced as new postseason event" (Press release). The Gazelle Group. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2007.
6. ^ "College Basketball Invitational online viewing prices". The Gazelle Group. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2008.
7. ^ "Fox College Sports to broadcast inaugural College Basketball Invitational" (Press release). The Gazelle Group. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
8. ^ "HDNet to Broadcast 2009 College Basketball Invtnl" (Press release). Albany HDTV. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
9. ^ "HDNet to Broadcast Live Coverage of the 2010 College Basketball Invitational" (Press release). PR News Wire. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
10. ^ "2013 March Madness: CBI Championship Schedule" (Press release). Eye on Sky and Air Sports. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
11. ^ "2014 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) Championship Schedule" (Press release). Eye on Sky and Air Sports. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
12. ^ "2015 CBI, CIT, & NIT TV & National Radio Info" (Press release). Eye on Sky and Air Sports. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
13. ^ "ESPNU to air CBI Championship Series". College Basketball Invitational. Gazelle Group. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
14. ^ "FLO HOOPS TO TELEVISE COLLEGE BASKETBALL INVITATIONAL FIRST ROUND AND QUARTERFINAL ROUND GAMES". College Basketball Invitational. March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
15. ^ "Statement regarding 2020 CBI" (PDF). CollegeBasketballInvitational.com. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

College Basketball Invitational

Bids by school

* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* v
* t
* e

NCAA men's college basketball tournaments

Division I|

| Early season|

* Acrisure Classic
* Acrisure Holiday Invitational
* Acrisure Invitational
* Arizona Tip-Off
* Bahamas Championship
* Battle 4 Atlantis
* Big 5 Classic
* Boardwalk Battle
* Cancún Challenge
* Cayman Islands Classic
* Charleston Classic
* Diamond Head Classic
* Empire Classic
* Emerald Coast Classic
* ESPN Events Invitational
* Fort Myers Tip-Off
* Greenbrier Tip-Off
* Gulf Coast Showcase
* Hall of Fame Tip-Off
* Jacksonville Classic
* Legends Classic
* Maui Invitational
* Myrtle Beach Invitational
* Nassau Championship
* NIT Season Tip-Off
* Paradise Jam
* Phil Knight Invitational
* Players Era Festival
* Rady Children's Invitational
* Sunshine Slam
* Vegas Showdown

|

Defunct
Early season|

* All-College Basketball Classic
* Asheville Championship
* Belfast Classic
* Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
* Continental Tire Main Event
* Corpus Christi Coastal Classic
* Crossover Classic
* DirecTV Classic
* Great Alaska Shootout
* Global Sports Classic
* Jamaica Classic
* Las Vegas Classic
* Las Vegas Invitational
* Northern Classic
* Puerto Rico Tip-Off
* Savannah Invitational
* SoCal Challenge
* Southland Basketball Tip-Off
* Vancouver Showcase

Conference
postseason|

* ACC
* America East
* The American
* ASUN
* Atlantic 10
* Big 12
* Big East
* Big Sky
* Big South
* Big Ten
* Big West
* CAA
* Conference USA
* Horizon
* Ivy
* MAAC
* MEAC
* Mid-American
* Missouri Valley
* Mountain West
* Northeast
* Ohio Valley
* Pac-12 (on hiatus until 2027)
* Patriot
* SEC
* Southern
* Southland
* SWAC
* Sun Belt
* Summit
* WAC
* West Coast

Defunct
Conference
postseason|

* American South
* American West
* Big Eight
* East Coast
* Great Midwest
* Great West
* Metro
* Southwest

Postseason|

* NCAA Division I Tournament
* National Invitation Tournament
* College Basketball Invitational
* CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
* College Basketball Crown

Defunct
Postseason|

* The Basketball Classic
* Vegas 16
* National Commissioners Invitational Tournament
* National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament

Division II|

| Conference
postseason|

* CCAA
* CACC
* Carolinas
* East Coast
* Great American
* GLIAC
* GLVC
* G-MAC
* Great Northwest
* Gulf South
* Lone Star
* Mountain East
* Northeast-10
* Northern Sun
* Pacific West
* Peach Belt
* PSAC
* RMAC
* South Atlantic
* SIAC
* Sunshine State

|

Defunct
Conference
postseason|

* Heartland

Postseason|

* NCAA Division II Tournament

Division III|

| Conference
postseason|

* Allegheny Mountain
* American Rivers
* American Southwest
* Atlantic East
* C2C
* Centennial
* CUNYAC
* CCIW
* CCS
* Commonwealth Coast
* Empire 8
* Great Northeast
* HCAC
* Landmark
* Liberty
* Little East
* MASCAC
* Michigan
* Middle Atlantic (MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom)
* Midwest
* Minnesota
* NESCAC
* NEWMAC
* New Jersey
* North Atlantic
* NACC
* NCAC
* Northwest
* Ohio
* Old Dominion
* Presidents'
* SAA
* SCIAC
* SLIAC
* Skyline
* SCAC
* SUNYAC
* United East
* Upper Midwest
* USA South
* Wisconsin

|

Defunct
Conference
postseason|

* ACAA
* Colonial States
* NECC

Postseason|

* NCAA Division III Tournament
* ECAC Tournaments

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