College Basketball Invitational cancels tournament after only 11 teams accepted bids in 2025

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The 2026 College Basketball Invitational has been canceled, leaving the College Basketball Crown as the only men's postseason tournament besides the NCAA and NIT.

“Due to circumstances beyond our control, the CBI will not be held this year,” the CBI announced in a social media post Thursday. “We will see you next year!”

Messages seeking comment were left with the Gazelle Group, the New Jersey-based sports marketing firm that has put on the CBI since 2008.

The CollegeInsider.com Tournament folded last year.

Teams participating in the CBI and CollegeInsider.com tournaments were required to pay an entry fee.

The CBI had 16-team fields from 2008-19 and was considered the third-best postseason tournament behind the NCAA and NIT. The tournament was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, had an eight-team field in 2021 and was back to 16 teams for 2022 and ‘23. There were 14 teams in ’24 before dropping to 11 in '25.

The Crown had a 16-team field for its inaugural tournament last year but will have eight teams this year. The Crown is an attractive option for teams that miss the NCAA Tournament because participating teams receive name, image and likeness payments to divide among their players.

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