March’s madness just got a little less crowded after the surprise cancellation of the Gazelle Group’s College Basketball Invitational.
The CBI announced on social media it was canceling its 2026 tournament, citing “circumstances beyond our control.” The 18th edition had been scheduled for March 21–25 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. Early rounds were set to air on FloSports, while ESPN2 would have streamed the semifinals and championship through the ESPN app.
“Daytona Beach is a great destination,” Gazelle Group President Rick Giles said in January when the tournament was announced. “It has become the perfect home for the CBI, where teams get spirited postseason competition and can enjoy staying right on the beach.”
Founded in 2007, the CBI is a 16-team postseason event for squads that miss the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. Without the NCAA’s backing or the TV revenue of marquee tournaments, CBI participants historically pay an entry fee to take part. The event bounced among networks early on, but found a higher-profile window when it began working with ESPN about a decade ago. ESPNU first picked up the championship-series rights, and that later evolved into a split-rights arrangement in 2022, with ESPN2 airing late-round games and FloSports carrying the early rounds.
For rebuilding teams, the CBI can mean valuable extra games, but for others, not so much. High-major programs often decline CBI invitations, a stance summed up by then-Indiana AD Fred Glass in a 2014 interview with the Indy Star: “But we’re Indiana. We don’t play in the CBI.” The absence of marquee names has given the tournament a stigma over the years.
March Rights Madness: Networks Fight for Postseason Real Estate
Even without the 2026 CBI, the NCAA Division I postseason landscape is a scramble for streaming and broadcast inventory.
The Big Dance
The NCAA Tournament, the crown jewel commonly called March Madness, remains the most valuable package of the sport. The 68-team tournament’s 67-game package currently streams on Paramount+ and HBO Max, through a deal that runs into 2032. With talks of expanding to up to 76 teams in the near future, that’s more inventory for broadcasters and more at-large bids for power conferences. The 2026 selection show airs March 15, with the First Four tipping off on March 17.
The NCAA’s Other Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which has aired on ESPN since 1989, remains the second-tier marquee event. Like the CBI, it has seen teams decline invitations, earning it the ironic “Not Invited Tournament” nickname, but the NIT’s NCAA ties give it greater institutional heft. Questions arise about the quality of the 32-team tournament with the future expansion of March Madness. The 2026 edition tips off on Tuesday, March 17, and will be broadcast across the ESPN family of networks and available to stream in the ESPN app.
The New Alternative
The biggest immediate beneficiary of the CBI’s exit is the College Basketball Classic (CBC), which streams on FOX One. Founded by Anschutz Entertainment Group and Fox Sports in 2024, the CBC courts recognizable programs by binding selected Big Ten, Big East, and Big 12 teams to participate if they miss the NCAA Tournament. Designed to compete with ESPN’s postseason coverage, having contractual leverage, plus no entry fees, gives the CBC instant brand recognition and an advantage over pay-to-play tournaments like the CBI. The 8-team tournament tips off in Las Vegas, streaming on FOX One.
Not all tournaments were built the same. TV money, conference contracts, and brand recognition separate the marquee events from the also-rans. Networks and streamers will keep buying or creating events that deliver guaranteed audiences; smaller tournaments will need new models or risk being absorbed or squeezed out. For fans, that means more ways to watch and a more fragmented March than ever.