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