Head coach Griff Aldrich said despite losing seniors Spencer Franklin and Damarion Geter, the CBI tournament was a "great launching pad" for the future of men's basketball.
Longwood men's basketball made their first postseason appearance as a Division I program after hosting a first-round game of the 2019 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament on March 20.
The CBI is one of four tournaments hosted annually by the Gazelle Group, an organization that “creates, represents and consults across sports events,” according to their website.
Near the midway point of this past season, the Longwood Athletics Department first received interest from the tournament but nothing in a formal manner at that point, according to Interim Athletics Director Michelle Meadows.
“They wanted to know if we were interested in being considered, so we discussed that with (Longwood men's basketball coach Griff) Aldrich as well as some of the senior-level administrators at the university,” said Meadows.
After discussion with head coach Griff Aldrich and the senior-level officials, it was determined the university wanted to proceed with showing interest in participating in the tournament.
As the season moved along and the Big South Conference tournament inched closer, Longwood received a formal invitation to join the 16-team field.
The CBI is a tournament proceeding on a pay-for-play basis. Meadows said there was no entry fee, but there was a $40,000 guarantee to pay if selected to host.
According to Meadows, the Big South Conference has a postseason pool where member schools can apply for financial assistance due to the conference mission to elevate basketball across the league.
The postseason pool cut the rate down to $20,000 remaining which came from an auxiliary reserve account, per Meadows.
“That’s funds that have been saved up over the years for special opportunities, and that was taken into consideration when we discussed at the highest level,” said Meadows.
The payment came in single invoice with enough funds available to cover the cost, according to Meadows.
According to Longwood University’s fee definitions, “a comprehensive fee covers auxiliary costs such as the Farmville Area Bus (FAB), student health and wellness services, student union programming, intramural and campus recreation programs, information technology services, and Athletics.”
For the 2018-19 academic year, an in-state student at Longwood University pays $174.00 in comprehensive fees per credit hour.
According to Big South Conference Commissioner Kyle Kallander, the influence of basketball was critical for the future of Big South in the strategic planning for the year.
“If there is an institution that is interested in participating and potentially hosting postseason games and we have a conversation about that interest and there is enough in that pool to accommodate everybody certainly at least for a first-round game,” said Kallander.
Aldrich said playing in a postseason tournament has many benefits that move the program forward.
“We’ve got our top six leading scorers returning next year and we're losing two pieces in Spencer Franklin and Damarion Geter, but this is a great launching pad for the next year,” said Aldrich. “I thought that was also critical to give our guys extra time to practice to play.”
According to Aldrich, playing in a postseason tournament can be a sensitive thing because there are many players in the nation who would prefer the season be over and go on spring break.
“We kind of looked at our guys and we really closed out the season not necessarily with a bunch of wins, but I thought we were playing good basketball,” said Aldrich. “I think that proved to be true with their performance in the CBI.”
Even with less successful times in the past, Aldrich felt the experience of the CBI tournament will change the outside perspective of Longwood men’s basketball.
“I think it impacts our existing players, I think it impacts the university, the Farmville community and it absolutely positively impacts recruiting,” said Aldrich.
According to Meadows, the CBI Tournament offered a “very generous” travel reimbursement package which would be of minimal expense to Longwood.
“They covered a portion of airfare, bus, per diem and lodging for a travel party for up to 22 individuals,” said Meadows. “Even if we were participating in the Big South Conference Tournament like when we traveled to Hampton, it was much more expensive than travelling to DePaul.”
Kallander showed high praise for Longwood and their progress this year with both basketball programs.
"Longwood has really shown tremendous leadership as an institution and with the Big South and certainly with their basketball programs," said Kallander. "To have Griff come in and do the great job he did in his first year to really start building that program is tremendous and shows a real commitment to success."
