History of College Basketball Crown in Timeline

The College Basketball Crown (CBC) is a men's college basketball tournament organized by Anschutz Entertainment Group and Fox Sports. The inaugural tournament took place in March and April of 2025 in Paradise, Nevada, at T-Mobile Arena and MGM Grand Garden Arena, both located on the Las Vegas Strip. The Nebraska Cornhuskers won the first CBC title.

September 2023: College Basketball Crown Tournament Proposal Details

In September 2023, a proposal for the College Basketball Crown (CBC) tournament suggested using NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings to select teams, primarily from the Big East, Big Ten, and Big 12 conferences. The proposal also indicated that teams selected from these conferences would be required to participate in the CBC, making them ineligible for other postseason tournaments like the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

2024: NCAA Changes NIT Selection Process in Response to CBC Launch Attempts

In 2024, in response to attempts to launch the College Basketball Crown (CBC), the NCAA altered its NIT selection process. They introduced automatic bids for teams from high-major conferences and eliminated automatic bids for teams who won their conference's regular-season title but lost their conference tournament. The NCAA called these changes "a preemptive attempt to keep the NIT viable long-term."

April 2025: Nebraska Cornhuskers Capture Inaugural College Basketball Crown Title

In April 2025, the Nebraska Cornhuskers won the inaugural College Basketball Crown (CBC) tournament, which was held at T-Mobile Arena and MGM Grand Garden Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.

2025: NCAA Revokes Automatic NIT Bids for Big East, Big Ten, and Big 12 Conferences

Ahead of the 2025 NIT, the NCAA revoked the two automatic bids previously given to the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 (the conferences committed to participate in the CBC), leaving two automatic bids only for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Southeastern Conference (SEC).