College Basketball Invitational will not host a tournament this year

As part of an ever-changing college basketball postseason landscape, the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) will not stage a tournament this year, the Gazelle Group announced Thursday morning.

“Due to circumstances beyond our control, the CBI will not be held this year,” the organization wrote in a statement on social media. “We will see you next year!”

Attempts to reach the Gazelle Group for clarification were not immediately successful.

With the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas emerging as a preferred alternative among non-NCAA qualifiers, the CBI is the second tournament in as many years to phase out postseason competition. Last year, the College Insider Tournament (CIT) ceased operations. The Crown, which airs on Fox, features 16 teams with players receiving payments based on their teams’ success. Nebraska won The Crown’s inaugural tournament last year. This year’s will be held April 1-5.

The long-standing National Invitational Tournament remains in operation, but many high-major programs have rebuffed overtures in favor of The Crown or have rejected postseason bids altogether. Last spring, the transfer portal opened on March 23, and many teams either struggled to field a full roster or were consumed with recruiting new talent. This year’s transfer portal start date was moved to April 7, the day after the national title game.

“I would say probably not, but I haven’t had in-depth conversations with admin yet about that,” USC men’s basketball coach Eric Musselman said when asked whether his 18-14 team would compete in a postseason tournament. “I would assume we’re not going to play, just based on number of bodies and how we played the last eight games.”

Added Minnesota (15-17) coach Niko Medved: “(The players have) been through a lot. They’re beat up that way. So are a lot of teams. But it’s cool that maybe we’ll earn the right to have that opportunity, but let’s let the dust settle a little bit and see where it goes.”

The CBI began in the 2007-08 season and mostly included mid-major and low-major men’s basketball teams that did not qualify for the NCAA or NIT. It was held every year except during the 2020 COVID season. ESPN2 carried the tournament for the last four years and began providing NIL funding in 2023. Illinois State won last year’s 11-team tournament.