Get ready for the College Basketball Invitational. Having a bad season, even below .500? Doesn’t matter. Have a big name that will provide good ratings for their Television partner, Fox College Sports? Perfect.From the organizers of the College Hoops Classic, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Classic, and other pre-season tournaments comes this rival to the NIT. While the 32-team NCAA-owned NIT now has a rule about being .500 or better, and gives automatic bids to teams that win their regular season but lose the automatic bid in their conference tournament, the CBI is all about the money.
Organizers of the CBI are trying to lure teams away form the NIT with promises of more money, home games (meaning more money), and guaranteed exposure on Fox Regional Sports affiliates. Compelling to your humble correspondent is the idea that the last two teams will play a best-two-out-of-three final.
It is also wise enough not to schedule any of its games opposite the NCAAs. All-in-all, if crappy teams can go to bowl games and sell t-shirts., then crappy basketball teams should be allowed to hang a CBI banner.
The Daily Herald is reporting that one such team is the Illinois-Chicago Flames, they of the 18-15 record. the school has signed a contract with the College Basketball Invitational.
The contract doesn't guarantee the Flames will be in the field that will be announced Sunday, but it gets them in the mix.
If UIC gets in, it requires a not insignificant investment on the school's part. The Flames must guarantee $60,000 to the tournament, with that money being recouped with ticket sales, etc. Sounds like a losing proposition to me. Missouri agrees. On the other hand, Rhode Island wants a bid. Washington is ready to be convinced.
1 comment:
Is this a joke?
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