UC Riverside athletic director Wesley Mallette was on his way to dinner with his wife Sunday night when his phone started going crazy. The messages and calls were all variations of the same two ideas:
“Congratulations on making the NIT!”
“Wait, Wes, how are you going to perform in two tournaments?”
“I’m confused at this point,” Mallette told CBS Sports on Tuesday, recounting his state of mind on one of the strangest days of his professional career. “I’m like, ‘Wait a second. We haven’t heard from the NIT. Nobody told us.’
This was a problem because UC Riverside had, at that point, accepted a bid for the CBI, another postseason basketball tournament not affiliated with the NCAA.
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So what was supposed to be a moment of celebration for a team that had earned the first playoff bid in the program’s 24-year history in Division I basketball turned into a 24-hour news cycle of fascination and heartbreak on social media for another team involved — South Alabama.
“We heard about the NIT when everyone in the country learned about the release date of the material,” Mallette said. “There was no invitation. There was no phone call. There was no acceptance. We did not decline the invitation from the NIT. We were never invited.”
UC Riverside finished the regular season at 20-12 with a 14-6 record in Big West play. Entering the Big West Tournament, Mallette believed the Highlanders had a chance at the NIT if they failed to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but nothing was guaranteed for a league that typically receives only one invitation to the NIT, another postseason tournament hosted by the NCAA.
The Highlanders lost their Big West tournament opener Thursday and heard nothing from the NIT in the following days. Another Big West program that didn’t make the tournament, UC Irvine, ranked higher than UC Riverside in the NET rankings, so Mallette figured the NIT would go in a different direction.
So, UC Riverside accepted the CBI offer it had been offered on Sunday. Then things got crazy.
It was announced via social media that UC Riverside would be participating in the NIT. It was a moment of joy for a school that just five years ago was in danger of being eliminated, along with the entire athletic department.
But of course, teams are only allowed to participate in one playoff tournament.
That’s when the NCAA gave UC Riverside a 15-minute deadline to decide whether it would play in the NIT or the CBI.
Big West Conference Commissioner Dan Butterly stepped in and gave UC Riverside a little more time to explore options. Mallette had to clarify things with his president, his general counsel and discuss with his head coach. There were travel arrangements to sort out. There was a buyout that had to be settled with the CBI; a tournament that charges an entry fee. Mallette declined to disclose the cost of the buyout.
Ultimately, UC Riverside chose to play in the NIT. This is the most prestigious postseason tournament, an opportunity that showcases how far the program has come in recent years.
But what Mallette said he wasn’t aware of Sunday night was the status of South Alabama.
The Jaguars, who were tied for the Sun Belt regular season championship, were contacted by the NCAA and offered a spot in the tournament when the NCAA believed UC Riverside had opted to play in the CBI. But when UC Riverside accepted its NIT offer — which it didn’t learn about until after the bracket was announced — South Alabama lost its spot.
Mallette has a connection to the South Alabama basketball team. His son, Houston, is a senior guard at Alabama and played high school basketball with South Alabama forward Judah Brown.
When Mallette found out what happened, he spoke with South Alabama athletic director Joel Erdmann and head coach Richie Riley.
“I completely understand their outrage,” Mallette said. “They were promised they would be at the NIT. (Riley) said they called him and told him they were there. He asked several times, ‘Are you sure? Are you sure?’ They said, “Yes.” All of this was happening while we were trying to get permission from our campus on how we were going to proceed. »
Ultimately, the snafu ended South Alabama’s season prematurely and cost UC Riverside money. Mallette said “we’re going to do what’s right” with the CBI, which means paying a buyout to accept NIT’s offer.
When contacted by CBS Sports about South Alabama’s withdrawn offer and the lack of communication with UC Riverside before the NIT bracket was announced, the NCAA declined to comment and pointed to a statement it made Monday.
“Following the release of the NIT rankings on Sunday evening, it was brought to the attention of the NIT that one of the teams scheduled to participate in the tournament had also committed to participating in a non-NCAA-affiliated postseason event,” Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball, said in a statement Monday. “In an effort to secure another participating team, the NIT prematurely extended an invitation to the South Alabama Jaguars, before learning that the original team had chosen to accept its invitation to the NIT.
“Unfortunately, the NIT rescinded its invitation to South Alabama. We understand the emotional impact this confusion has created and we sincerely apologize to South Alabama, head coach Richie Riley and all student-athletes for this error.”
UC Riverside will begin its NIT run Tuesday night at 11 p.m. ET against second-seeded Santa Clara. This is a big moment for head coach Mike Magpayo and the Highlanders.
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Mallette just wishes the NCAA’s communication was clearer to avoid the drama that unfolded Sunday and Monday.
“I know we weren’t the only ones in this situation,” Mallette said. “Whatever the process is, how difficult is it to contact the conference liaisons and say, ‘Hey, we’re considering three or four schools in your conference. Contact them and make sure they know.’ Is it difficult to do this? It’s a phone call. The AAU people do that. That’s what grassroots basketball does. High school basketball does that. If you’re looking for teams to participate, wouldn’t you want to know if they’re available? »
