Sport Basketball Founder College Insider No. of teams 32 | Founded 2009 Inaugural season 2009 Country United States | |
The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) is an American men's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by CollegeInsider.com. In 2012 it expanded to its current 32 participating teams. The Tournament is oriented toward mid-major schools who did not get selected to go the NCAA or NIT tournaments.
Contents
Format
The tournament consists of five rounds, single elimination-style, and claims to "use the old NIT model in which matchups in future rounds are determined by the results of the previous round". Criteria for selection include, but are not limited to win-loss record, strength of schedule, strength of conference, and final ten games. Participating teams must finish the regular season with a .500 winning percentage or better to qualify. The only exception to this was the now-defunct Great West Conference Tournament winner, who was given an automatic bid to play in the CIT if they were not given an at-large bid to participate in the NCAA or NIT tournaments, until the dissolution of the conference in 2013–14. In 2013, the Chicago State Cougars won the Great West Conference Tournament, thus becoming the first team to participate in the CIT with a sub-.500 record (11–21). Beginning with the 2016 Tournament, The Coach John McLendon Classic will be played on the first day of the tournament The Classic will feature at least one historically black college/university. The winner of the John McLendon Classic will advance to the second round of the CIT. This will be the first time in NCAA Division I Basketball history, that a "Classic" has been part of a postseason tournament. Previously the John McLendon Classic was played during the regular season.
Broadcast
In 2013, CBS Sports Network partnered with the CIT, showing only the championship game, with the earlier rounds streamed live online. Free registration is required to view the games. Starting in 2014, CBSSN aired the semifinals and the championship game.
The following is an overview and list of the announcers and television networks to broadcast the CIT:
2009
The 2009 CollegeInsider.com Tournament was the second new postseason tournament since the Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament folded in 1974, following the College Basketball Invitational's debut in 2008.
The 2009 field featured the following schools:
2010
The 2010 field featured the following schools:
2011
The 2011 field was expanded from 16 to 24 teams and featured the following schools:
2012
The 2012 field was expanded from 24 to 32 teams and featured the following schools:
2013
The 2013 field continued to have 32 teams.
2014
The 2014 field featured the following teams:
2015
The 2015 field featured the following teams:
2016
Originally set to include 32 teams, this year's tournament consisted of 26 participants. After all 26 teams played in the first round, the top-three highest rated teams based on the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings regular season rating automatically advanced to the quarterfinals.