National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament, 1924-1941.

Established 1924; ended 1941. The National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament (NCIBT) was held every March from 1924 through 1941 to determine the national basketball championship for Catholic high schools and academies in the United States. Under the auspices of Loyola University from 1924 through 1934, and Loyola Academy from 1935 through 1941, this invitational meet featured competition between 32 outstanding teams representing various sections or states of the United States. The NCIBT was also known as the "Cardinal's Cup Classic" because the first-place trophy was donated by George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago. The Rev. Joseph F. Thorning, a Jesuit scholastic and director of athletics at Loyola Academy, founded the NCIBT because Catholic high schools were excluded from competition in the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament held at the University of Chicago. Following the success of the first tournament, state and sectional tournaments affiliated with the NCIBT were initiated with the winner of each being automatically invited to represent their state or district in the tournament. Teams winning state championships were also invited, as were teams having exceptional records who applied for consideration and were accepted. The champions of the previous year were always invited back to defend their title. The NCIBT originally spanned a period of four days, but was increaed to five days in 1928 so that no team would have to play more than one game in a day. In 1934 a Consolation Tournament was added so that those teams which lost the first round could play each other to determine the Consolation winner, thus allowing each team to play at least two games. With the exception of the 1928 Finals held at the Colliseum in Chicago and the Consolation games held at St. Ignatius Gymnasium near the Lake Shore Campus of Loyola University, all games were held at Alumni Gymnasium on the Loyola Lake Shore Campus. Although the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament at the University of Chicago ended in 1930, the NCIBT continued through 1941. It received nationwide publicity and drew large crowds of enthusiastic supporters. But as the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations began to allow Catholic schools into state affiliates, those who joined were often not permitted to compete in tournaments outside their states. Thus the selection of outstanding teams representing the nation as a whole became increasingly more challenging for NCIBT officals. Eventually the North Central Association forbade its members to compete in national tournaments of any kind. This decision, coupled with the advent of World War II, led to the demise of the NCIBT following the 1941 tournament.