Women's Basketball Invitational
Women's college basketball postseason tournament
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The Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) was 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 most recent format consisted of 8 teams, all of which are guraranteed 3 games. Teams were 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]
| |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Sport Tours International |
| First season | 2009–10 |
| Ceased | 2024 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |  United States |
| Last champion | 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) were eligible for the WBI.
Although the WBI shared a similar name with the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and filled a similar role (a postseason tournament outside the auspices of the NCAA and NIT/WBIT tournaments), the two competitions were 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 WBI stated that they "hoped to return in 2025," but since then, the website and social media accounts of the WBI have not been updated.[3]
Champions
| 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 |
| 2024–2026 | Tournament not held.[4] | |||||
† Through the 2019 edition, games were played at campus sites; the championship game venue is listed. Starting with the 2021 edition, the entire tournament was played at a single site.
– 2 championships, 
– 1 championship