List of CIT Champions
List of CIT Champions
The first Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) took place in 2009, becoming the fourth official postseason tournament in Division I men’s basketball. The CIT previously selected 32 teams (and later 26) from mid-major conferences that were not already selected for the NCAA Tournament, NIT or CBI. Starting in 2016, the 26-team format allowed three teams to get a bye to the quarterfinals after winning their opening round game (chosen by Pomeroy rankings). In 2022, after two-straight cancellations due to COVID-19, the event was rebranded as The Basketball Classic (TBC) presented by Eracism. After there was no event in 2023, the tournament returned in 2024 and reverted back to the CIT branding.
Below is a list of CIT Champions, runners-up and the head coaches for each team:
Year | CIT Champion / Head Coach | Runner-Up / Head Coach |
2009 | Old Dominion | Bradley |
Blaine Taylor | Jim Les | |
2010 | Missouri State | Pacific |
Cuonzo Martin | Bob Thomason | |
2011 | Santa Clara | Iona |
Kerry Keating | Tim Cluess | |
2012 | Mercer | Utah State |
Bob Hoffman | Stew Morrill | |
2013 | East Carolina | Weber State |
Jeff Lebo | Randy Rahe | |
2014 | Murray State | Yale |
Steve Prohm | James Jones | |
2015 | Evansville | Northern Arizona |
Marty Simmons | Jack Murphy | |
2016 | Columbia | UC Irvine |
Kyle Smith | Russell Turner | |
2017 | Saint Peter’s | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
John Dunne | Willis Wilson | |
2018 | Northern Colorado | UIC |
Jeff Linder | Steve McClain | |
2019 | Marshall | Green Bay |
Dan D’Antoni | Linc Darner | |
2020 |
tournament cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | |
2021 |
tournament cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | |
2022* | Fresno State | Coastal Carolina |
Justin Hutson | Cliff Ellis | |
2023 | tournament not held | |
2024 | Norfolk State | Purdue Fort Wayne |
Robert Jones | Jon Coffman | |
2025 | ||
* the 2022 event was re-branded as “The Basketball Classic” or TBC, but returned as the CIT in 2024
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Division I Postseason Tournaments: NCAA Tournament | NIT | CBI | CIT
Other National Champions: NCAA Division II | NCAA Division III | NAIA Division I