The Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) was a women's college basketball tournament created in 2009 by Sport Tours. The inaugural tournament occurred at the conclusion of the 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Selections for the WBI are announced on Selection Monday. 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. The most recent format consisted of 8 teams, all of which are guraranteed 3 games. Teams were 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.
Teams in the WBI traditionally competed on the home court of the higher seed; recent tournaments have been held at a single site. Teams not making the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament or Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) were eligible for the WBI.
Although the WBI shared a similar name with the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and filled a similar role (a postseason tournament outside the auspices of the NCAA and NIT/WBIT tournaments), the two competitions were operated by separate organizations and are unrelated except for the coincidental name. In 2024, the CBI and WBI were scheduled to be co-located at the same venue, Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, but the WBI was paused. The WBI stated that they "hoped to return in 2025," but since then, the website and social media accounts of the WBI have not been updated.https://twitter.com/PostseasonWBI/status/1769866150047842404
Champions YearChampionRunner-upVenue and city2010Appalachian State 79 Memphis 71 Holmes Convocation Center Boone, NC2011 UAB 68 Cal State Bakersfield 60Bartow Arena Birmingham, AL 2012Minnesota 88 Northern Iowa 74 Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN2013Detroit 73 McNeese State 62Calihan Hall Detroit, MI2014 UIC 73 Stephen F. Austin 64 UIC Pavilion Chicago, IL2015Louisiana 52 Siena 50Earl K. Long Gymnasium Lafayette, LA2016 87 Weber State 852017 Rice 74 UNC Greensboro 62 Tudor FieldhouseHouston, TX2018 Yale 54 Central Arkansas 50 Farris CenterConway, AR2019Appalachian State (2) 76 North Texas 59 Holmes Center Boone, NC2020No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.2021 67 64William Exum Center Frankfort, KY2022 80 73Clive M. Beck Center Lexington, KY2023Cal Baptist 63New Mexico State 61Clive M. Beck Center Lexington, KY2024–2026Tournament not held. Through the 2019 edition, games were played at campus sites; the championship game venue is listed. Starting with the 2021 edition, the entire tournament was played at a single site.
See also NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament Women's National Invitation Tournament National Women's Invitational Tournament NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament NAIA Women's Basketball Championships
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