South Alabama’s season is over after the team’s NIT invitation was rescinded in a manner coach Richie Riley called “unacceptable.”
Riley told AL.com he was informed late Sunday evening that his team had been invited to the NIT because UC Riverside declined its invitation due to a previous commitment to play in the College Basketball Invitational, a tournament with no NCAA affiliation.
However, shortly after Riley informed his team that it would play in the NIT, UC Riverside got out of its commitment to the CBI and accepted the NIT bid.
“… I tell [Sun Belt Conference commissioner Keith Gill and NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt], ‘I’m going to tell my guys.’ They’re like, ‘Go ahead.’ So I tell the team,” Riley told AL.com. “[Gill and Gavitt] call back, whatever time it was, 10:45, 11 o’clock. Dan’s like, ‘No, UC Riverside is back in. I hate that we had to do this.’
“This is unacceptable. You can’t do that.”
The NIT and Sun Belt Conference called South Alabama’s invitation premature in statements released Monday and apologized to the program.
“As the top remaining at-large team not selected to the original field, South Alabama was prematurely contacted by the NIT on Sunday as a potential replacement team to fill out the 32-team bracket,” the Sun Belt said in a statement. “With all 32 teams accepting their NIT invitations, this opportunity did not materialize. 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.”
The Jaguars finished the season 21-11 and lost in the conference tournament semifinals to Arkansas State. UC Riverside finished 21-12 and third in the Big West. The Highlanders are scheduled to play Santa Clara in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday.
“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 the Red Wolves upset top-seeded South Alabama.
“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.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
