The inaugural tournament occurred at the conclusion of the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season.

Prior to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic the field for the WBI consisted of a 16-team, single elimination divided into two regions with 8 seeded teams in each.

Teams are picked based on NET, record, conference standings, end of year performance, and quality wins and losses, after the NCAA, WBIT, and WNIT fields are filled.

[2] Teams in the WBI traditionally competed on the home court of the higher seed; recent tournaments have been held at a single site.

Although the WBI shares a similar name with the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and fills a similar role (a postseason tournament outside the auspices of the NCAA and NIT/WBIT tournaments), the two competitions are operated by separate organizations and are unrelated except for the coincidental name.