 What
they are saying about the Tournament
"CollegeInsider.com
has always conducted business with college basketball's best interest at
heart. Their manner and professionalism, combined with enthusiasm and
great creativity, have made CollegeInsider.com one of the industries
best. The creation of this postseason tournament is just another example
of the outstanding effort that we have come to expect from
CollegeInsider.com.
- Lute Olson, former Arizona head coach and member of the Naismith
Basketball Hall of Fame
"CollegeInsider.com has been a great web site for all college basketball
fans to visit. Joe Dwyer has been a great advocate for college
basketball and has come up with yet another wonderful idea to reward
outstanding teams for success during the regular season. There is no
greater reward than participating in post season. With the limited
number of available spots in the NCAA and NIT, college basketball fans
will be given the opportunity to follow their teams in post season, if
they don't make those fields, by being invited to the new
CollegeInisder.com Postseason Tournament. Now more teams will get the
opportunity to experience the thrill of March Madness."
- Jim Larranaga, head coach, George Mason University
"It's great anytime student athletes and coaching staffs can continue
their seasons. Roughly one-third of all division I college basketball
programs are invited to participate in postseason. Compare that to other
sports and it's obvious that a tournament like this will be a welcome
addition to our sport. By creating this tournament, CollegeInsider.com
is providing many deserving teams the opportunity to continue playing
and that is always a good thing. This is a great idea by
CollegeInsider.com."
- Bo Ryan, head coach, University of Wisconsin and Board of Directors
for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)
"This is a tremendous venture and opportunity for those involved.
Student athletes have an opportunity to participate in postseason. It
provides coaches, players and fans the opportunity to challenge for a
national championship. I am really excited to be involved with this
tournament. There is no question that it will be a big success.
CollegeInsider.com has a winner with this tournament."
- Hugh Durham, former head coach at Florida State, Georgia and
Jacksonville and member of the CIT selection committee
"I applaud Joe Dwyer and Collegeinsider.com for giving more
student-athletes the opportunity for postseason play. There is certainly
not enough of it in college basketball. Anytime young men can experience
that, it is such a positive."
- Mike Brey, head coach, Notre Dame University
"This CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament is a terrific idea. It
will provide student-athletes with a second chance to continue playing
basketball in March. I think it's an excellent opportunity for players
to get a taste of what postseason is all about and use it as a stepping
stone for the following season. How many times have we seen teams do
well in the NIT and use that as a springboard to success the following
year. I think this tournament is a great idea and I am really happy to
have been asked to be a part of it."
- Jim Phelan, former head coach at Mount St. Mary’s and member of the
CIT selection committee
"Joe Dwyer has been a positive promoter of college basketball for many,
many years. He has always been 'for the student-athlete,' and certainly
adding an opportunity for more post-season play shows his commitment to
them. The CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament is a great addition
to the college basketball landscape."
- Jerry Wainwright, head coach, DePaul University
"How great it is that March 2009 will offer a new post season tournament
for 16 deserving teams! Now they will have the same opportunity as those
participating in the NCAA and NIT. Joe Dwyer and the Collegeinsider.com
have made a positive contribution to basketball with the CIT. March
Madness will have even more to offer the basketball world."
- Riley Wallace, former Hawaii head coach and member of the CIT
selection committee
"The idea of post season is to keep your sneakers out, accept a new
challenge and the reward of being recognized as a team that achieved.
Fans dream of the matchups this tournament can create. It’s a great
concept."
- Pat Flannery, former head coach at Bucknell and member of the CIT
selection committee
"As head coach of school that played in a one representative conference.
I had a team that won the conference regular season only to play a bad
five-minute stretch in the conference tournament. Those five minutes
denied that team the opportunity to play in a postseason tournament. Had
the collegeinsider.com post season tournament been in place then, that
team would have enjoyed the opportunity they deserved, post season
play!"
- Kyle Macy, former NBA All-Star, All-American, Morehead State head
coach and member of the CIT selection committee
"Joe Dwyer and CollegeInsider.com have been such great advocates for
college basketball. This Post-Season tournament is another example of
Joe's forward thinking to promote and advance college basketball.
CollegeInsider.com is an integrity driven, first class organization. I
am confident, Joe will do everything in his power to make this
tournament special. This much needed opportunity will be such a great
benefit to student-athletes, universities and the entire college
basketball community!"
- Gary Stewart, head coach, University of California, Davis and
member of the CIT tournament committee
"CollegeInsider.com has always served as an outstanding news and
information source for NCAA college basketball. The 2009
CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament will give 16 very deserving
teams a terrific opportunity to be a part of March Madness. At the
present time, 57% of all college football teams go to post season bowl
games. With the addition of 16 teams in the CollegeInsider.com
tournament, our post season percentage goes from 29% to 34% of college
basketball teams and student athletes to receive a chance to enjoy the
postseason experience!"
- Kermit Davis, head coach, Middle Tennessee State University
"Thumbs up to Joe Dwyer and CollegeInsider.com for giving deserving
teams the opportunity to continue to play basketball, with an additional
postseason tournament. This is a great way to reach out to mid major
programs that have had a successful season but came up short. Thanks for
thinking of many deserving student athletes and their teams."
- Tim Carter, head coach, South Carolina State University and Board
of Directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)
"Joe Dwyer and CollegeInsider.com have created a great opportunity for
deserving student athletes and Coaches to continue playing. Postseason
tournament play will provide lifetime memories for the players, coaches
and their fans. I am really excited to be involved with this
tournament."
- Perry Watson, former head coach at the University of Detroit and
member of the CIT selection committee
"Simply put -- this is great for college basketball. Since its
inception, CollegeInsider.com has done what is in the best interest of
the game. They have always maintained a high level of integrity and have
done so much to further promote so many programs. Creating a postseason
tournament is just the latest example of their outstanding contributions
to our sport."
- Bob Marlin, head coach, Sam Houston State University
"CollegeInsider.com has always been a friend to all of college
basketball, but particularly to the smaller programs that are often left
with little coverage of their accomplishments. I am anxious to watch
this tournament development and would consider it an honor to be a
participant when our play warrants an invitation."
- Rick Byrd, head coach, Belmont University
"Having followed CollegInsider.com from it's inception I know one thing
-- they do what is best for college basketball, including it's fans,
coaches, and student-athletes. Their post-season tournament is created
with this purpose in mind. Everyone involved will have a positive
experience. Plus it provides fitting reward for the high quality, hard
working teams that will merit selection.”
- John Giannini, head coach, La Salle University
"I believe that CollegeInsider.com and Joe Dwyer have hit a homerun with
assembling this tournament. Being a part of March Madness is not only a
goal, but a dream for all players and coaches. This tournament will
provide more teams an opportunity to experience that thrill. Many
deserving mid-major programs have missed out on post-season play and now
those teams can also be rewarded for a successful season. Everybody
involved with the vision and energy of putting this post-season
tournament together should be applauded."
- Milan Brown, head coach, Mount St. Mary’s University
"This is great for college basketball. It’s one of the best things to
happen to our game in a long time. Every year there are a number of very
deserving teams that do not get an opportunity to participate in
postseason play. This tournament will serve as an incentive for so many
teams that otherwise would not have a chance to continue playing
basketball in March."
- Vann Pettaway, head coach, Alabama A&M University
"It's exciting anytime you can participate in postseason play, but this
tournament provides everyone involved with a legitimate chance to win a
championship. Every year there are many deserving teams do not get an
opportunity to play in the postseason. In 2007-08 my team (Texas-Pan
America) won 18 games, but I knew our chances were small that we would
get into postseason. With the creation of this tournament, programs like
ours would have a realistic chance of playing deep into March.
CollegeInsider.com’s credibility is unchallenged so it's clear that this
tournament will be run properly and -- most importantly -- it will be
run fair."
- Tom Schuberth, head coach, University of Texas-Pan America
"More madness has arrived! The most memorable moments in my coaching
career all revolve around post-season play. What a great idea to give
more student-athletes the opportunity to experience the magic of the
post season. For years now, CollegeInsider.com has been a great friend
to college basketball. This is a great next step for CollegeInsider.com,
and players, coaches, and fans everywhere! I can't wait!"
- Brian Doyle, CollegeInsider.com and member of the CIT selection
committee
* The NCAA and the National Association of Basketball Coaches have been
consulted throughout and are fully aware of the parameters and
guidelines established by CollegeInsider.com.
|
