The winner of the annual tournament gains an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.

As of 2013, the first rounds take place at a single location, usually the home arena of one of the conference schools, but the championship game is hosted the next weekend by the higher remaining seed.

Beginning with the 2018 edition, the last place team in the conference standings will not take part in the tournament.

This change was made due to the impending eligibility of UMass Lowell for NCAA-sponsored postseason play, following the completion of the school's transition from NCAA Division II.

[1] Maine, New Hampshire, UMass Lowell, and NJIT are the only remaining teams in the conference to have never won a title.