Thank You, CBI

[Dave in Green]

Everyone please remember to give special thanks in your prayers tonight to the CBI. By making Akron the poster child of its new tournament based on the embarassing snub of the Zips last year by the NIT, the CBI shamed the NIT into including the Zips this year when the team's case was not as strong as it was last year.Please don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't believe the Zips deserve to be in the NIT this year. It's just that the NIT could have as easily repeated last year's snub if the CBI had not magnified the NIT's shame by building a new tournament on the NIT's ineptitude in not selecting the Zips.Whatever may happen to the CBI, they have definitely done a great service to the University of Akron, its men's basketball team and all of its fans.I just hope the team dedicates its performance this year to last year's graduating seniors who did not get the chance to show what they could do in the NIT.

[Blue & Gold]

Whatever may happen to the CBI, they have definitely done a great service to the University of Akron, its men's basketball team and all of its fans.

Good post. And true! It's really something that our plight last year is directly responsible for not merely causing a national ruckus amongst "mid-major" athletics directors, but actually intstigating the creation of a third post-season tournament! Perhaps a greater good has come out of last years tragedy? Don't get me wrong, it absolutely broke my heart for Dru and Rome not to be able to experience the Big Dance - I've been watching those guys since high school, when Dru looked like he was 3 feet tall! But now Dru and Rome can tell people, "See that tourney you're watching on t.v. right now? That actually exists because of the injustice my team experienced my senior year at UA." It's actually a rather profound story. What an impact those events have had.

[skip-zip]

I can remember last year when I insisted that everyone do everything they could to make sure as many people as possible knew of our situation. We called news and radio shows, etc. etc. etc. And there were people on here who thought it would do no good.Seriously though, let's not fool ourselves that Akron's plight alone made people want to create a new tournament. But making our case to the nation had to have helped.

[bigzipguy]

I don't want to accuse refs of doing something wrong, seriously, but don't look for the Zips to win at FSU tomorrow night. All close calls will go Seminoles way. The tournament is about MONEY!

[zen]

I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure that Syracuse got a lot of attention for a snub last year on a national level, much more so then the Zips (who are they? )

[Zip_ME87]

I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure that Syracuse got a lot of attention for a snub last year on a national level, much more so then the Zips (who are they? )

I would think that the article about the Zips' plight in the New York Times (after the snub) may have helped a little.

[Dave in Green]

The CBI was not created exclusively for Akron's benefit. But all of the stories about the NIT's snub of Akron certainly helped inspire the creation of the CBI, as evidenced by the CBI organizers prominently mentioning what happened to Akron in their initial press releases as proof of the need for a third post-season men's basketball tournament. So anyone who had anything at all to do with helping get last year's NIT snub publicized should take satisfaction in seeing what has come to pass.The Zips are really in a unique position right now. Some of the news outlets that played them up so prominently last year might follow up with coverage of what they do this year with their opportunity in the NIT. So let's just hope they play up to their full potential, in which case they could do very well, indeed.