The Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) is a women's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by Sport Tours. The inaugural tournament occurred at the conclusion of the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Selections for the WBI are announced on Selection Monday. Prior to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic the field for the WBI consisted of a 16-team, single elimination divided into two regions with 8 seeded teams in each.[1] The current format consists of 8 teams, all of which are guraranteed 3 games. Teams are picked based on NET, record, conference standings, end of year performance, and quality wins and losses, after the NCAA, WBIT, and WNIT fields are filled.[2]
Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Women's Basketball Invitational | |
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Sport Tours International |
| First season | 2009–10 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |  United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | Cal Baptist (2023) |
| Most titles |
|
| Related competitions | Women's National Invitation Tournament |
| Official website | Website |
Teams in the WBI traditionally competed on the home court of the higher seed; recent tournaments have been held at a single site. Teams not making the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament or Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) are eligible for the WBI.
Although the WBI shares a similar name with the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and fills a similar role (a postseason tournament outside the auspices of the NCAA and NIT/WBIT tournaments), the two competitions are operated by separate organizations and are unrelated except for the coincidental name. In 2024, the CBI and WBI were scheduled to be co-located at the same venue, Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, but the WBI was paused. The tournament will resume in 2025.
Champions
edit| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Venue and city† | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Appalachian State | 79 | Memphis | 71 | Holmes Convocation Center | Boone, NC |
| 2011 | UAB | 68 | Cal State Bakersfield | 60 | Bartow Arena | Birmingham, AL |
| 2012 | Minnesota | 88 | Northern Iowa | 74 | Williams Arena | Minneapolis, MN |
| 2013 | Detroit | 73 | McNeese State | 62 | Calihan Hall | Detroit, MI |
| 2014 | UIC | 73 | Stephen F. Austin | 64 | UIC Pavilion | Chicago, IL |
| 2015 | Louisiana | 52 | Siena | 50 | Earl K. Long Gymnasium | Lafayette, LA |
| 2016 | 87 | Weber State | 85 | |||
| 2017 | Rice | 74 | UNC Greensboro | 62 | Tudor Fieldhouse | Houston, TX |
| 2018 | Yale | 54 | Central Arkansas | 50 | Farris Center | Conway, AR |
| 2019 | Appalachian State (2) | 76 | North Texas | 59 | Holmes Center | Boone, NC |
| 2020 | No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | |||||
| 2021 | Cleveland State | 67 | Portland | 64 | William Exum Center | Frankfort, KY |
| 2022 | Saint Mary's | 80 | Cleveland State | 73 | Clive M. Beck Center | Lexington, KY |
| 2023 | Cal Baptist | 63 | New Mexico State | 61 | Clive M. Beck Center | Lexington, KY |
| 2024 | Tournament not held.[3] | |||||
† Through the 2019 edition, games were played at campus sites; the championship game venue is listed. Starting with the 2021 edition, the entire tournament is played at a single site.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "WBI Frequently Asked Questions". PrestoSports. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
- ^ "WBI Selection Process". WBI. PrestoSports. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ https://twitter.com/PostseasonWBI/status/1769866150047842404