The 1996 Conference USA men's basketball tournament was held March 6–9 at The Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Bearcats, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA tournament.
They were joined in the tournament by fellow C-USA members Louisville, Marquette, and Memphis, who all earned at-large bids.
For scheduling purposes, the eleven teams were placed into one of three three- or four-team divisions (Red, White, and Blue).
All eleven teams participated in the tournament and were seeded based on their regular season conference records, regardless of division.