The CBE Classic was created in 2001 as the Guardians Classic, a two-week tournament consisting of four regional sites hosted at campuses across the country.

This year, the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic will be played under a new format. Regional hosts automatically advance to the Championship Rounds in Kansas City regardless of the regional results. All other participants will advance to play a round-robin series at one of two other sites. Thus, every participating team will be guaranteed four games.

The College Basketball Experience
The event is named after the College Basketball Experience, a highly interactive college hoops fan facility that opened October 17, 2007 and features the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The College Basketball Experience is the nation's only facility that celebrates, in its entirety, the sport of men's collegiate basketball. In its first year of operation, the College Basketball Experience played host to over 100,000 visitors. The tournament was initially established in 2001 as the Guardians Classic, in partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

National Association of Basketball Coaches
www.nabc.org

The National Association of Basketball Coaches was founded in 1927 and since its inception, the NABC has acted as a guardian of the game of basketball by furthering the best interests of the game as well as the players and coaches who participate.

The association currently has approximately 5,000 members consisting of university, college, junior college and high school coaches, with affiliate memberships afforded to athletic directors, other collegiate basketball team personnel and youth basketball coaches.

The NABC holds its annual convention and exhibition each spring at the host city of the NCAA men’s Final Four. Over 3,500 NABC members converge on the Final Four city to engage in five days of meetings, professional development, social events and the Final Four.

The NABC engages in many efforts to enhance the college basketball experience for players, coaches and fans. The association’s website, NABC.com, features the activities of the NABC and also serves as a worldwide resource for information concerning basketball and coaching.