The tournament featured up to 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams not selected to participate in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, the NIT, or the College Basketball Invitational.
[3] In lieu of a traditional bracket, The Basketball Classic used the old NIT model in which the matchups were set after each round.
The tournament consisted of three rounds, single elimination, the games were held on campuses of participating schools.
All gate receipts were collected by The Basketball Classic.
Schools could host games in the tournament without the responsibility of an additional financial commitment.