# College Basketball Invitational

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 (NIT), and who are willing to pay a $27,500 entry fee to participate. In the CBI, prior to 2020 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."

## The inaugural CBI

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.
Tulsa was crowned the champion in the 2008 tournament.

## Television

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

## Champions

| 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 | Canceled due to the uncertainty about the coronavirus | Canceled due to the uncertainty about the coronavirus |
| 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 | | | |

## Presenting sponsors

* 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