Riley Wallace to Chair Selection Committee

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 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.


COLLEGEINSIDER.COM POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT SELECTION COMMITTEE

Riley Wallace (Former head coach, University of Hawaii) * CHAIRMAN OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE
Alvin Brooks, Sr. (Former assistant coach, University of Kentucky)
Lefty Driesell (Former head coach, University of Maryland)
Hugh Durham (Former head coach, University of Georgia, Jacksonville University)
Pat Flannery (Former head coach, Bucknell University)
Jim Harrick (Former head coach, UCLA, Georgia, Rhode Island)
Lou Henson (Former head coach, University of Illinois, New Mexico State University)
Ben Jobe (Former head coach, Southern University)
Jim Kerwin (Former head coach, Western Illinois University)
Larry Little (Former head coach, University of Hawaii, Centenary College)
Kyle Macy (Former head coach, Morehead State University)
Steve Merfeld (Former head coach, University of Evansville, Hampton University)
Jim Phelan (Former head coach, Mount Saint Mary's University)
Art Santo Domingo (President of Cable Car Classic)
Jerry Wainwright (Former head coach, DePaul University)
Perry Watson (Former head coach, University of Detroit Mercy)
Rich Zvosec (Former head coach, University of Missouri-Kansas City)
 

Great West Granted Automatic Bid Into CIT Field

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."