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THE JOHN McLENDON CLASSIC
March 1, 2016
BOSTON (MA) Today, CollegeInsider.com is announcing their eight annual CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) starting March 14th that will broadcast on the CBS Sports Network for the fourth straight season. This year, the CIT will also host the inaugural John McClendon Classic which will be the first classic held in a post-season tournament in NCAA Division I history and will honor one of the best coaches in the history of college basketball.
The John McClendon Classic, will be held on March 14th as a first round game in the CIT and will air on the CBS Sports Network. The game will feature a representative of either Coach McClendon’s former team at Tennessee State University, the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) or the Mideastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). This guarantees the Classic will have at least one historically black college or university participating with the chance to advance to the CIT’s second round.
Serving as a celebration of historically black colleges and universities and their rich basketball tradition, the Classic will pay tribute to Coach McLendon and the legacy of some of the great pioneers of the game. At the conclusion of the game, there will be a trophy presented to the winning team and the Most Valuable Player will receive an award.
“We are very excited to announce the creation of the Coach John McLendon Classic, which recognizes one of the great coaches of all-time,” College Insider, Inc., President, Joe Dwyer said. “This game, which will be a permanent part of the first round of the CIT, has been in the works for a few years and it’s finally become a reality. A lot of thanks goes to Ryan Tressler and the good people at CBS Sports Network who helped us to make the Coach John McLendon Classic a reality.”
This year’s CIT features a 32-team field with all 31 games being played on the home court of the higher seed. The first round of the CIT will take place March 14th-16th followed by the second round March 18th-20th with the Quarterfinals March 22nd-24th. The Semifinals on March 27th will broadcast on the CBS Sports Network along with the Championship Game on March 29th. Additionally, all games will be streamed lived on SIDEARM Sports which is the #1 provider of college athletics.
Following 2016, the John McClendon Classic will be a permanent part of the CIT held annually during the nation’s premier postseason tournament for teams that do no participate in the NCAA Basketball Championships or the NIT Tournament. The John McClendon Classic will pay homage to legendary African American coaches such as Coach McLendon, former Southern coach Ben Jobe and former Winston Salem State coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines; all great men whose role in growing the game is often overlooked.
"John McLendon, one of college basketball's greatest coaches and ambassadors, was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as one of the game's 'Founding Fathers' along with Adolph Rupp, Henry Iba and Forrest 'Phog' Allen,” said Reggie Minton, the deputy executive director of the NABC. “Like Allen, he learned the game from Dr. James Naismith at the University of Kansas and went on to become a trailblazer for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Coach McLendon's great legacy of leadership will be perpetuated by the creation of the John McLendon Classic."
In the last seven seasons, the CIT has provided abundant excitement while making college basketball history in the process. In 2009, Chris Roberts hit a 75-footer at the buzzer which was the longest game-ending shot in Division I postseason history that put Bradley into the semifinals. And, in 2010, the CIT featured Fairfield rallying from 27 points down with 16:08 remaining in the second half to advance to the second round making it the biggest comeback in Division I postseason history.
The CIT was created by CollegeInsider.com in 2009 in order to give deserving teams an opportunity to participate in the postseason. Since then, the CIT has had more schools make their postseason debut (25) and more programs win their first-ever postseason game (24) than all other tournaments combined. In addition, the CIT has produced three NBA Lottery picks and two Top 10 selections including Damian Lillard (6th overall in 2012) who was named 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year which marked the first time since 1955 that a tournament other than the NCAA Tournament had produced the NBA Rookie of the Year.
In 2012, CollegeInsider.com established the John McLendon award which is presented annually to the top coach at all levels of college basketball. The award encompasses Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and JUCO.
CollegeInsider.com was founded in 1996 with their online coverage dedicated exclusively to college basketball. In 1998, CollegeInsider.com created the Mid-Major Top 25 that has become the measuring stick for teams outside the power conferences and is now trademarked. Each year, CollegeInsider.com presents 17 national awards in basketball named after some of the greatest coaches in the history of the game including Clarence "Big House" Gaines, Lou Henson, John McLendon and Lute Olson. Since the inception of the CIT in 2009, the tournament has expanded from a 16-teams to 32-teams in 2012 which is currently the number of teams playing in the 2016 CIT. CollegeInsider.com has been nominated for four Emmy Awards and in 2013 won the New York Emmy Award in Sports Coverage for the Sportscast/Series category and was selected over top broadcast outlets such as MSG and SNY.
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COLLEGINSIDER.COM POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT (CIT) WILL USE 30-SECOND SHOT CLOCK
February 24, 2015
BOSTON (MA) --- The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee has asked CollegeInsider.com to utilize the 30-second shot clock in the 2015 CIT. The 30-second shot clock will be also be used in the National Invitational Tournament this season.
“We greatly appreciate that Joe [Dwyer], Angela [Lento] and CollegeInsider.com have agreed to use the 30-shot clock during the 2015 CIT,” said Rick Bryd, chairman of the rules committee and head coach at Belmont.” The additional data will be very helpful as we look at ways that may improve the game.”
The implementation of the 30-second shot clock in the CIT will help the Rules committee obtain the largest sample of games possible. The data gathered will be reviewed this May.
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CBS SPORTS NETWORK TO TELECAST SEMIFINALS AND CHAMPIONSHIP OF 2014 COLLEGEINSIDER.COM POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT (CIT)
February 24, 2014
BOSTON (MA) -- CBS SPORTS NETWORK will air the semifinals and championship games of the 2014 COLLEGEINSIDER.COM POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT (CIT).
The semifinal games, hosted by the teams with the higher seed, will be played on Tuesday, April 1 (7pm and 9pm EST), with the championship game to be played on Thursday April 3 at 7:00 pm.
“The CIT has evolved into a great part of the college basketball landscape. We are thrilled to be returning to CBS Sports Network to showcase the exciting action of the CIT on a national stage,” said Joe Dwyer, Co-Founder of CollegeInsider.com.
The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), created in January of 2009, features 32 teams not participating in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship or the National Invitational Tournament. The tournament is single elimination and consists of six rounds, all being played at on-campus sites, which are determined by seeding.
CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
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CBS SPORTS NETWORK BECOMES TV BROADCAST PARTNER OF COLLEGEINSIDER.COM POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT (CIT)
November 15, 2012
BOSTON (MA) -- COLLEGEINSIDER.COM, the nation’s leading college basketball website, is proud to announce a newly formed partnership with CBS SPORTS NETWORK to broadcast the Championship game of the COLLEGEINSIDER.COM POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.
“CollegeInsider.com is incredibly excited to be partnering with CBS Sports, the leader in college basketball broadcasting, to televise the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The CIT has set itself apart as one of the top tournaments in college basketball’s postseason, and the additional exposure brought by our new found partnership with CBS is a welcome reward to the 32 deserving teams that participate in the event every year.” Said Joe Dwyer, Co-Founder of CollegeInsider.com
Additionally, COLLEGEINSIDER.COM has signed a multi-year partnership with NEULION for the development of a new HD digital video platform that will broadcast the first five rounds of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament to fans for free online.
The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), created in January of 2009, features 32 teams not participating in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship or the National Invitational Tournament. The tournament is single elimination and consists of six rounds, all being played at on-campus sites, which are determined by seeding.
About CBS Sports Network. Launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later CSTV), CBS Sports Network is available across the country in some 47 million households through local cable, video and telecom providers and via satellite on DirecTV channel 613 and Dish Network channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
About NeuLion, Inc. Founded in 2000, NeuLion, Inc. offers the true end-to-end solution for delivering live and on-demand content to any Internet-enabled device. NeuLion enables content owners and distributors, cable operators and telecommunications companies to capitalize on the massive consumer demand for viewing video content on PCs, smartphones, iPads etc. NeuLion’s customers include major entertainment, sports, global content companies and news companies. NeuLion is based in Plainview, NY. For more information about NeuLion visit www.neulion.com.
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THE CIT EXPANDS TO 32 TEAMS
March 11, 2012
BOSTON (MA) -- The field for the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was announced on Sunday evening.
The 32-team field features schools from 21 different conferences and features All-Americans like Orlando Johnson (UC Santa Barbara), Arsalan Kazemi (Rice) and Damian Lillard (Weber State).
The field includes Albany (19-14), American (20-11), Bowling Green (16-15), Buffalo (19-10), Cal State Fullerton (21-9), Coastal Carolina (19-11), CSU Bakersfield (16-14), Drake (17-15), Fairfield (19-14), Georgia State (21-11), Idaho (18-13), Indiana State (18-14), Kent State (21-11), UL-Lafayette (16-15), Loyola Marymount (19-12), Manhattan (20-12), Mercer (22-11), McNeese State (17-15), North Dakota (17-14), Oakland (17-15), Old Dominion (20-13), Rice (17-15), Robert Morris (24-10), Tennessee State (20-12), Tennessee Tech (19-13), Toledo (18-16), UC Santa Barbara (20-9), USC Upstate (20-12), Utah State (17-15), Utah Valley (20-12), Weber State (24-6), Yale (19-9).
"We have a outstanding field," said Riley Wallace is the chairman of the selection committee. "Making the decision to expand to 32 was easy. We had so much interest last season that it only made sense to expand.
This is the first season the CIT has featured 32 teams. The field consisted of 16 teams in 2009 and 2010 before expanding to 24 teams in 2011.
Every game will be broadcast live through Fox College Sports Broadband, with the championship being televised on Fox College Sports on Wednesday, March 28. The single-elimination format will be played entirely at on-campus sites, which will be determined by seeding.
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THE CIT EXPANDS TO 24 TEAMS
March 13, 2011
BOSTON (MA) -- The field for the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was announced on Sunday evening.
The 24-team field features schools from 15 different conferences, including Conference USA, Missouri Valley and the Mountain West Conference.
"We are extremely pleased with the field we have assembled for the 2011 CIT," said Riley Wallace who is the chairman of the selection committee. "I think the committee did an outstanding job of identifying teams early on, which made the process easier."
The majority of the field was already in place on Friday, with programs like Air Force, Furman, East Tennessee State, Iona, Marshall, Northern Iowa, Portland, Rider, Santa Clara SMU and Valparaiso all committing well in advance of selection Sunday.
Some schools were still hopeful of a spot in the NIT, which is something that Wallace and the selection committee fully understood.
"We want programs to get into the NCAA or the NIT," said Wallace. "When we started this tournament three years ago we did so with the idea that we can provide teams with a postseason opportunity. Our message to the schools was that if the NCAA or NIT didn©t happen the CIT was an option for them."
Teams like East Tennessee State, Iona, Marshall, Northern Iowa, Portland, Rider and Valparaiso all had resumes worthy of NIT consideration.
Established in 2009 with 16 teams, the tournament expanded to 24 this season. The reasoning behind the expansion was based on the great number of deserving teams that were still left out of the postseason.
"We have looked at a 24-team field since the first tournament in 2009," said Wallace. "Last season teams like Iona, Maine, Campbell, Radford and other s all had outstanding seasons, but didn©t receive an invitation for postseason. With so many bowl games in college football the idea of adding eight more teams to our tournament was the right move."
All 24 teams will compete in the first round, with four teams then getting a bye into the quarterfinals. The eight remaining teams will play for the right to advance to the quarters. The entire field will be seeded, based on a number of factors including RPI, strength of schedule, conference ranking, and geographic location.
The entire 24 team field includes Air Force (15-15), Buffalo (18-13), East Carolina (18-15), East Tennessee State (22-11), Furman (22-10), Hawaii (18-12), Idaho (18-13), Iona (22-11), Jacksonville (19-11), Marshall (22-11), North Dakota (19-14), Northern Arizona (19-12), Northern Iowa (19-13), Ohio (18-15), Oral Roberts (19-15), Portland (20-11), Quinnipiac (22-9), Rider (23-10), San Francisco (17-14), Santa Clara (19-14), SMU (17-14), Tennessee Tech (20-12), Western Michigan (20-12) and Valparaiso (23-11).
Every game will be broadcast live through Fox College Sports Broadband, with the championship being televised on Fox College Sports on Wednesday, March 30. The single-elimination format will be played entirely at on-campus sites, which will be determined by seeding.
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NFL SUPERSTARS JOIN THE CIT SELECTION COMMITTEE
San Diego Chargers Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson will help select teams for the CIT
Feb. 16, 2011
BOSTON (MA) -- NFL superstars Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson, of the San Diego Chargers, have joined the selection committee for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
"I am looking forward to working with CollegeInsider.com," said Gates. "Rewarding teams that have had outstanding seasons is something that I applaud. It will be great to work with Vincent [Jackson] and everyone on the selection committee to assemble to field for the 2011 CIT."
Gates, a six-time Pro Bowler, is one of the most highly decorated tight ends in NFL history. Named to the NFL's All-Decade Team (2000-09), Gates starred in basketball at Kent State (2001-03) where he was an honorable mention AP All-America as senior and led the Golden Flashes to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament and a school-best No. 12 finish in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. In 2003 the San Diego Chargers signed Gates as free agent. In 2010 he was named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Decade Basketball Team.
Jackson, who still holds numerous football records at the University of Northern Colorado, led the basketball team in scoring (13.6) in his junior season. He also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest and was fourth on the team with 24 steals in 2003-04. As a sophomore, he averaged 10.6 points per game for the Bears. Jackson, who was drafted in the second round (61st overall) by the San Diego Chargers in 2006, didn't play basketball in his final season at UNC to focus on a professional football career. Jackson was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2010.
"I have always loved the game of basketball and I followed it even closer since I played at Northern Colorado," said Jackson. "In 2010 UNC had its best season in school history and that culminated with an appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. I am looking forward to being a part of the process to select teams to participate in the CIT."
The CIT selection committee consists primarily of retired coaches, including Lefty Driesell, Hugh Durham, Jim Harrick, Lou Henson, Ben Jobe, Jim Phelan and Riley Wallace who serves as the chairman of the committee.
The CIT began in 2009 with 16 teams. Old Dominion was crowned the champion of the inaugural tournament and the following season the Monarchs advanced to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Notre Dame. Missouri State won the 2010 CIT.
The announcement of the 2011 CIT field will be made on Sunday March 13 with the first games played on Tuesday March 15.
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RILEY WALLACE TO CHAIR CIT SELECTION COMMITTEE
The winningest Coach in Hawaii Basketball history to oversee the selection process
Feb. 2, 2010
BOSTON (MA) -- The winningest coach in Hawaii history, Riley Wallace, has been named chairman of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) selection committee.
"I am very pleased to be working with CollegeInsider.com," said Wallace. "I think I speak for countless coaches when I say that CollegeInsider.com has been a major asset to the game of college basketball. This tournament was created to give deserving teams, which would otherwise be overlooked, a chance to compete for a postseason championship."
The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament is a single-elimination men©s Division I college basketball tournament. The CIT consists of five rounds, with all five rounds being played at on-campus sites. Those sites will be determined through a seeding process.
Old Dominion defeated Bradley to win the inaugural tournament last year, which included teams from 11 different conferences. Among the highlights of the tournament was a 75-foot buzzer beater,, believed to be the longest game winning shot in Division I postseason history.
"Last year's tournament was a major success," said Wallace. "Bradley©s 75-footer that beat Oakland will be the lasting moment, but there were a lot of highlights. The goal now is to make the 2010 tournament even better and we have already taken some steps in that direction."
One such step came last September with the announcement that the Great West Conference would receive an automatic bid to the CIT. The winner of the conference tournament final, which will be played on March 13, will be the first official entrant to the 2010 CIT.
The seven basketball playing league members of the Great West that will be vying for the bid are Chicago State, Houston Baptist, Texas Pan-American, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah Valley and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
"Giving the Great West an automatic is a great opportunity for the players, coaches and fans for the programs in that conference," said Wallace. "They are now afforded the same opportunity as teams from other small conferences. They can participate in postseason play."
Wallace will oversee the entire selection process, which includes an expanded committee of former coaches and administrators. Former DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright, former UCLA head coach Jim Harrick and former Southern University head coach Ben Jobe are among the new additions to the 17-member selection committee. The process will culminate with the announcement of the 16-team field on Sunday March 14, which will follow the announcement of the 32-team field selected to participate in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
"The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament is a really good thing for college basketball," said Wallace. "As a former coach I understand that the NIT selection committee has a difficult task in that they have a limited number of invitations they can extend. With so many deserving teams, the CIT provides the opportunity for 16 teams to continue their seasons. I am excited about the future of this tournament."
Wallace spent most of his 20 seasons as a head coach at the University of Hawaii, winning a school-best 334 games. During his tenure the Rainbow Warriors advanced to the postseason nine times (3 NCAA tournaments, 6 NIT appearances). Prior to his arrival, the program had just one NCAA appearance and two trips to the NIT in its© history.
CollegeInsider.com, which has been in existence since 1996, has established seven prestigious awards since its inception. The Ben Jobe Award, Hugh Durham Award, Jim Phelan Award, Lefty Driesell, Lou Henson, Lute Olson and Skip Prosser Award are presented annually at the Final Four.
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GREAT WEST CONFERENCE GRANTED AUTOMATIC BID INTO CIT
The 7-team league will compete for postseason for the first time
Sept. 29, 2009
NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Great West Conference men's basketball tournament champion has been granted an automatic bid into the CollegeInsider.com Post-season Tournament (CIT), giving the league's first post-season tournament even more meaning.
The Great West and CollegeInsider.com, a nationally recognized website, formed a partnership which grants an automatic qualifier bid to the Great West men's basketball conference tournament champion and will automatically place that winner amongst the field of 16 teams participating in the CIT. The agreement makes the CIT the first post-season college basketball tournament outside the NCAA tournament to agree to an automatic qualifier to any NCAA conference.
"We are very appreciative to CollegeInsider.com to be offered the opportunity for our men's basketball tournament champion to extend its season into post-season play," said Commissioner Ed Grom. "We started this all-sport conference to provide student-athletes the opportunity to play for conference championships. As independent institutions, there was no carrot at the end of the season for their student-athletes to reach for. They now have not only a conference championship to play for, but also inclusion into a quality post-season basketball tournament such as the CollegeInsider.com event."
The CollegeInsider.com Post-season Tournament (CIT), which was played for the first time in March of 2009, features 16 teams not participating in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the National Invitational Tournament. The tournament is single elimination and consists of five rounds, all being played at on-campus sites, which will be determined by seeding.
"I think it's exciting for every school in the Great West to have a chance for post-season play," said Dick Hunsaker, head men's basketball coach at Utah Valley, whose institution will be hosting the tournament March 10-13. "It's a wonderful reward for the conference tournament winner. There is no question this should generate a great deal of excitement for our fans across the conference and provide a boost to the meaning of our post-season tournament. We've had a long wait for the opportunity to earn a berth in post-season play."
The field for the 2010 CIT will be announced on Sunday March 14, following the announcement of the fields for both the NCAA and NIT. First round action will begin on March 16. The championship game, which will be televised nationally on Fox College Sports, will be played on March 30. Old Dominion defeated Bradley (in Peoria, Illinois) to win the inaugural CIT.
"So much of college athletics is opportunity," said Joe Dwyer, co-founder of CollegeInsider.com. "Awarding the Great West Conference an automatic bid to the CIT guarantees the league the opportunity to participate in the post-season. This is a great addition to our tournament."
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COLLEGEINSIDER.COM ESTABLISHES POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT
The 16-team tournament will be contest in March
Jan. 26, 2009
BOSTON, MA -- CollegeInsider.com is pleased to announce the creation of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, which will begin inaugural play in March 2009. The tournament will feature 16 teams not participating in the NCAA or National Invitational Tournament. The field will be determined after the official announcements of the two existing tournaments. Criteria for selection will include, but are not limited to, win-loss record, strength of schedule, strength of conference, and final ten games.
During the 2007-08 season 67 teams, that finished .500 or better, did not participate in postseason play. Eleven of those 67 teams won 20 or more games, with an additional 20 teams amassing at least 18 wins. The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament will provide a second season for 16 deserving college basketball programs.
The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament is a single-elimination tournament, consisting of four rounds, with the first three rounds being played at on-campus sites, which will be determined by seeding. The inaugural championship game will be played at an on-campus site to be determined by seeding.
Participating teams must finish the regular season with a winning record against division I opponents. Teams whose conferences have less than fifty-percent (50%) of their teams participating in the NCAA and NIT tournaments will be given higher priority for selection into the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
A selection committee determines the field of participants. The panel consists of current and former coaches, athletic directors and senior CollegeInsider.com personnel.
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