One of College Basketball’s Other Postseason Tournaments Announces Abrupt Cancellation

The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is cancelling its 2026 event, the tournament announced on its official social media account on Thursday morning.

“Due to circumstances beyond our control, the CBI will not be held this year. We will see you next year!” the post read.

pic.twitter.com/JLs95vuUkM
— CBI (@CBITourney) March 12, 2026

It is unclear what specifically led to the cancellation of the CBI.

What is the CBI?

The CBI, of course, is one of several consolation tournaments held annually that features teams not selected as part of the 68-team field for the NCAA tournament. This season would have been the 18th playing of the tournament, which featured 11 teams a year ago.

2025 CBI Field

Army: 16–15
Cleveland State: 21–12
Elon: 17–15
Florida Gulf Coast: 18–14
Illinois State: 19–14
Incarnate Word: 17–16
Jacksonville: 19–13
Manhattan: 17–13
Northern Arizona: 18–15
Presbyterian: 14–18
Queens: 19–14

The 2025 CBI field also briefly featured UC Riverside, who was accidentally invited to both the NIT and CBI. It is against NCAA rules for teams to play in more than one postseason tournament at a time. The NIT and CBI failed to communicate effectively, leading to the NIT inviting South Alabama to replace UC Riverside just as UC Riverside was declining an invite from the CBI. Once the dust settled, the NIT revoked its invite to South Alabama and UC Riverside was able to participate in the NIT as originally expected.

Illinois State ultimately defeated Cleveland State 79–68 in the 2025 CBI title game.

Will there be other postseason tournaments in 2026 besides the NCAA and NIT?

There will be at least one other postseason tournament besides the NCAA and NIT. The College Basketball Crown (CBC) tournament debuted in 2025 and will be contested once again in 2026. The postseason tournament in Las Vegas features 16 teams who will play for a chance to win NIL money for their respective institutions. Nebraska won the inaugural CBC tournament last season and received $300,000. UCF, who lost to Nebraska in the title game, earned $100,000 while Boise State and Villanova brought home $50,000 each for appearances in the CBC semifinals.

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