[2] The winner of the 2012 Great West Conference men's basketball tournament, North Dakota, received an automatic bid to the tournament.
The championship game was once again broadcast nationally by Fox College Sports on FCS Central.
The tournament was won by Mercer who defeated Utah State in the championship game 70–67.
This was the first post-season tournament win for a men's basketball team from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The following teams received an invitation to the 2012 CIT: The fourth annual CIT used the old NIT model in which matchups in future rounds were determined by the results of the previous round.