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USA Today
19-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
South Alabama rips NIT for rescinding invite; replacement UC Riverside routed
South Alabama rips NIT for rescinding invite; replacement UC Riverside routed Show Caption Hide Caption March Madness 2025: The Dos and Don'ts for filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket March Madness is finally here and Mackenzie Salmon has tips to help you fill out your NCAA Tournament bracket. Sports Pulse It's March Madness, so it's time for teams, coaches and television analysts to complain about who made the tournament and who didn't. It's also the time to question some baffling conduct from tournament organizers, and in this case, the people at the National Invitational Tournament are the ones with egg on their faces. After the 68-team NCAA Tournament field is selected, 32 teams that didn't make it are invited to continue their seasons in the NIT. One of those teams was South Alabama, which received the invite because it appeared UC Riverside was going to play in the College Basketball Invitational. Hours later, South Alabama head coach Richie Riley told his team to prepare to play in the NIT, but then got a call from Sun Belt Conference commissioner Keith Gill and NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt, telling Riley they made a mistake and UC Riverside had accepted the NIT bid. IT'S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY's Bracket Challenge contest for a chance at $1 million prize. "We understand the emotional impact this confusion created," Gavitt said in a statement. "And we sincerely apologize to South Alabama, head coach Richie Riley and all the student-athletes for the error." Riley wasn't interested in hearing anything about the mistake or the apology. "A meaningless apology to the most meaningful group of players I've ever coached! What they did to us last night is inexcusable!," Riley said on social media. "These guys in our locker room don't deserve this and it's sad your idea of making it right is a copy and paste apology!" As for the team that replaced South Alabama in the NIT, UC Riverside, their stay in the tournament was short-lived as they were routed by Santa Clara 101-62 in the first round on Tuesday night. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Washington Post
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
‘Inexcusable!': South Alabama coach blasts NIT for rescinded invite
A men's college basketball coach blasted the National Invitation Tournament for rescinding its invitation to his program. 'What they did to us last night is inexcusable!' South Alabama's Richie Riley wrote Monday in an X post. In a statement provided to The Washington Post, South Alabama's athletic director said his department was 'disappointed that the NIT prematurely extended an invitation to our men's basketball team to participate in this year's tournament before confirming a spot was available.' The episode, which led to an apology from the NIT and a statement of regret from the Sun Belt Conference, unfolded after the announcement of the 68-team NCAA tournament bracket Sunday evening. The NIT then filled its 32-team field with programs not chosen by the NCAA tournament's selection committee. In comments published Monday by Riley said he received a call Sunday night from a pair of NCAA officials, including Dan Gavitt, who oversees the NIT as well as NCAA basketball tournaments. The other official was Keith Gill, vice chair of the NCAA tournament selection committee and also the commissioner of the Sun Belt, to which South Alabama belongs. Riley said he was told that UC Riverside, which was announced as in the NIT field, had already committed to play in the College Basketball Invitational tournament. That opened a spot in the NIT, Riley said the two officials told him, and he accepted their invitation after getting assurances that a berth was '100 percent' available for South Alabama. The coach said he then told his players the good news. Late that night, however, he got a call back from Gavitt and Gill, who he said told him UC Riverside was spurning the CBI for the NIT. That left Riley to give his players an unhappy update Monday morning that they were not, in fact, being rewarded for a 21-11 season and a share of the Sun Belt regular season title with a trip to the NIT. In a statement Monday that the NIT shared on X — while turning off the reply function for its post — it acknowledged that its invitation to the Jaguars was 'prematurely extended.' 'We understand the emotional impact this confusion created and we sincerely apologize to South Alabama, Head Coach Richie Riley, and all the student-athletes for the error,' the statement read. In a repost of that statement, Riley described it as a 'meaningless apology to the most meaningful group of players I've ever coached!' 'These guys in our locker room don't deserve this,' added the coach, in his seventh season with the Jaguars, 'and it's sad your idea of making it right is a copy and paste apology!' Riley on Monday also reposted several comments on X critical of the NIT. Another comment suggested the NIT expand its field to 33 to accommodate the Jaguars, who finished with a better mark (123rd) than UC Riverside (142nd) in the NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings, a key metric for the organization. The NIT tips off Tuesday with seven games, including one featuring UC Riverside against Santa Clara. 'Prior to UCR being selected for the NIT, it was announced earlier that the team would be competing in the 2025 [CBI], which the Highlanders were extremely excited about,' UC Riverside said in confirming it would play in the NIT. Its athletic director said that 'garnering the attention of tournament committees is an honor and to receive multiple postseason invitations is indicative of our program's growth.' Having initially included UC Riverside in its 12-team field, the CBI subsequently shared an updated bracket that omitted the Highlanders and shrunk the field to 11 teams. CBI officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they might try to replace UC Riverside with another program. Riley told that his program had an 'NIT-or-bust' mindset and had already ruled out participating in the CBI, which requires an entry fee and is considered less prestigious than the NIT. Having lost in the semifinals of the Sun Belt tournament, thus missing out on an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the Jaguars had an effective end to their season with the NIT's rescinded invitation. 'It's just unfair for our players,' Riley said. 'We've got a team with zero NIL [revenue from name, image and likeness endorsements]. They're a bunch of underdogs that fought their a — es off. And now I have to tell them they're not in the NIT. It's just an absolute joke.' In a statement provided to The Post, the Sun Belt said: 'We regret the emotional impact this chain of events had on South Alabama's student-athletes and want to congratulate Sun Belt Coach of the Year Richie Riley and his team on a historic season, including a Sun Belt regular-season co-championship.' 'This was an avoidable situation that has made a negative impact on our student-athletes and coaches,' South Alabama Athletic Director Joel Erdmann said in his statement, 'so we appreciate and acknowledge the NIT's apology.'
Reuters
17-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
South Alabama fuming after NIT bid is rescinded
March 17 - South Alabama coach Richie Riley is fuming after his program accepted a bid to the NIT on Sunday evening and had the invitation rescinded later that night. Riley informed his players that they would be playing in the tournament after the NIT told him it was OK to do so. But UC Riverside had invitations from both the NIT and College Basketball Invitational. The school had previously accepted the CBI bid so it declined the invitation from the NIT. But later Sunday night, UC Riverside got out of the CBI commitment and informed the NIT it was accepting its bid. Riley received the news from NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt and the reversal didn't sit well with him. "Whatever time it was, 10:45 (CT), 11 o'clock. Dan's like, 'No, UC Riverside is back in. I hate that we had to do this,'" Riley said of the conversation. "This is unacceptable. You can't do that." Gavitt issued an apology on Monday. "After the NIT bracket was released Sunday evening, it was brought to the NIT's attention that one of the teams scheduled to participate in the tournament had also committed to a non-NCAA affiliated postseason event," the statement said. "In an effort to secure another participating team, the NIT prematurely extended an invitation to the South Alabama Jaguars, prior to learning that the original team chose to accept its invitation to the NIT. "Regrettably, the NIT rescinded its invitation to South Alabama. We understand the emotional impact this confusion created, and we sincerely apologize to South Alabama, Head Coach Richie Riley, and all the student-athletes for the error." Riley wasn't the least bit impressed by the apology. "A meaningless apology to the most meaningful group of players I've ever coached!" Riley wrote on social media. "What they did to us last night is inexcusable! These guys in our locker room don't deserve this and it's sad your idea of making it right is a copy and paste apology!" The Jaguars (21-11) tied for the Sun Belt regular-season crown with three other teams and were the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. They were knocked out in the tournament semifinals by Arkansas State to end their third 20-win campaign in Riley's seven seasons. So the end result is no postseason play for South Alabama. "It's just unfair for our players," the 42-year-old Riley said. "We've got a team with zero NIL. They're a bunch of underdogs that fought their asses off. And now I have to tell them they're not in the NIT. It's just an absolute joke."
Fox Sports
17-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
NIT makes 'avoidable' and 'unfortunate' error while offering South Alabama a tourney bid
Associated Press MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Even amid the backdrop of college basketball's chaotic postseason, what happened to South Alabama was 'avoidable' and 'unfortunate,' the school's athletic director said Monday. The Jaguars received an invitation to the NCAA-affiliated National Invitation Tournament following the reveal of the NCAA Tournament bracket Sunday and immediately accepted. An hour later, the NIT called back and rescinded the offer because it had overbooked the bracket. The issue? NIT officials thought a spot opened because UC Riverside was locked into another postseason tournament, the College Basketball Invitational. But UC Riverside got out of the CBI and accepted the NIT offer. That left South Alabama high and dry, even though coach Richie Riley had already told his players they were playing in the postseason. The NIT apologized, but the damage was done — and irreversible. 'We are disappointed that the NIT prematurely extended an invitation to our men's basketball team to participate in this year's tournament before confirming a spot was available,' South Alabama athletic director Joel Erdmann said in a statement. 'This was an avoidable situation that has made a negative impact on our student-athletes and coaches, so we appreciate and acknowledge the NIT's apology. 'It is unfortunate this invitation was taken away from our program. But what will not be taken away is the 2025 Sun Belt Conference champions banner that will forever hang in the Mitchell Center.' Troy earned the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament by winning the Sun Belt Conference tourney earlier this month. Troy beat Arkansas State in the final after Arkansas State upset top-seeded South Alabama in the semifinals. The Jaguars were obviously disappointed with not landing a NCAA berth. The NIT's miscommunication added insult to misery. 'After the NIT bracket was released Sunday evening, it was brought to the NIT's attention that one of the teams scheduled to participate in the tournament has also committed to a non-NCAA affiliated postseason event,' NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said. 'In an effort to secure another participating team, the NIT prematurely extended an invitation to the South Alabama Jaguars, prior to learning that the original team chose to accept its invitation to the NIT. 'Regrettably, the NIT rescinded its invitation to South Alabama. We understand the emotional impact this confusion created, and we sincerely apologize to South Alabama, head coach Richie Riley and all the student-athletes for the error.' ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: and recommended in this topic
