Coach Richie Riley blasts NIT for 'meaningless apology' after South Alabama invite rescinded

A rare postseason bid snafu caught up multiple teams, as UC Riverside was initially announced as a participant in both the NIT and the CBI. That left both tournaments and a handful of schools, including South Alabama, scrambling.

On Monday, clarifying statements began to come out about the mishap, but they haven’t satisfied everyone. South Alabama coach Richie Riley in particular.

So how does South Alabama fit into things? Well, the Jaguars were extended an invite to the NIT, only to have it later rescinded.

The NIT released a statement explaining that after UC Riverside (though it did not name the program in its statement) was found to have received and accepted a bid to the CBI, the NIT scrambled to find a replacement team. It invited South Alabama “prematurely,” only to rescind the invitation upon learning that UC Riverside, in fact, planned to play in the NIT rather than the CBI.

“We understand the emotional impact this confusion created,” the NIT statement read, “and we sincerely apologize to South Alabama, Head Coach Richie Riley, and all the student-athletes for the error.”

Riley was not having any of it on Monday morning. He fired back on Twitter.

“A meaningless apology to the most meaningful group of players I’ve ever coached!” Riley wrote. “What they did to us last night is inexcusable! These guys in our locker room don’t deserve this and it’s sad your idea of making it right is a copy and paste apology!”

The complete NIT statement on the snafu involving South Alabama is included below. It as issued by NCAA senior vice president of basketball and the chair of the NIT board of managers Dan Gavitt.

“After the NIT bracket was released Sunday evening, it was brought to the NIT’s attention that one of the teams scheduled to participate in the tournament had also committed to a non-NCAA affiliated postseason event,” the statement read. “In an effort to secure another participating team, the NIT prematurely extended an invitation to the South Alabama Jaguars, prior to learning that the original team chose to accept its invitation to the NIT.

“Regrettably, the NIT rescinded its invitation to South Alabama. We understand the emotional impact this confusion created, and we sincerely apologize to South Alabama, Head Coach Richie Riley, and all the student-athletes for the error.”