Originally set to include 32 teams, the 2016 tournament consisted of 26 participants.
Columbia beat UC Irvine 73–67 in the championship game to give the Ivy League just its second postseason tournament title in conference history (Princeton won the 1975 NIT).
[citation needed] The Coach John McLendon Classic was televised March 14, on CBS Sports Network as part of the CIT.
[18] This will be the first time in NCAA Division I Basketball history, that a "Classic" has been part of a postseason tournament.
Previously the John McLendon Classic was played during the regular season.