A year without CIT: a look back

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 29, 2021 in Athletic Announcements

Not since 1976 has there been a basketball season without the Concordia Invitational Tournament, first held in 1951. Due to complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 event was canceled. The 2022 CIT is set to be staged inside Friedrich Arena in Seward.

For 70 years, CIT has been one of the highlights of the Bulldog Basketball season. During that time, the event has taken on a special meaning while offering a reason for four Concordias to gather to share in their faith and competitive spirit.

Five facts about CUNE women’s basketball at CIT

·        CUNE owns the most CIT titles (30) in the history of the women’s event, which dates back to 1973. The Bulldogs first seized the title in 1983 when led by head coach Carl Everts. CUNE has won 29 of the last 34 CITs.

·        Five different head coaches have led the program to CIT titles (in order): Carl Everts (seven), Mark Lemke (four), Micah Parker (four), Todd Voss (four) and Drew Olson (11). Olson’s 11 CIT championships rank as the most of any women’s basketball coach in the history of the tournament.

·        The Bulldogs have won seven-straight CIT championships, including 14-consecutive CIT games during the run. Over those 14 games, CUNE’s average margin of victory has been 31.6 points per game.

·        Six Bulldogs have earned multiple CIT MVP awards: Quinn Wragge (2016, 2017), Bailey Morris (2014, 2015), Whitney Stichka (2006, 2008, 2009), Sarah Harrison (2002, 2004, 2005), Stacey Miller (1997, 1998) and Lynda Beck (1990, 1991). Philly Lammers is the reigning CIT MVP.

·        Now in his 15th season as head coach, Drew Olson owns an all-time CIT record of 25-3 and has reached the CIT championship game in every season of his tenure. CUNE lost CIT title games to CU-Wisconsin in 2007 and to CU-Ann Arbor in both 2011 and 2013.

Five facts about CUNE men’s basketball at CIT

·        The Bulldogs have dominated the Concordia Invitational Tournament, capturing an event record 28 all-time CIT titles. Only two other Concordias have won more than 10 CIT championships: St. Louis (16) and Chicago (14). Under head coach Ben Limback, the Bulldogs have won CIT titles in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2020.

·        Tanner Shuck earned the 2020 CIT MVP award. Prior to Shuck, the program’s most recent CIT MVP was Chandler Folkerts, who picked up the award in 2016 and 2017. Folkerts is actually the only repeat CIT MVP in CUNE’s history. Folkerts piled up 136 points in his eight career CIT games.

·        Six different head coaches have led the Bulldogs to CIT titles (in order): Reuben Stohs (two), Kent Einspahr (two), Brian Mueller (two), Tom Baack (two), Grant Schmidt (16) and Ben Limback (four). Schmidt’s 16 CIT championships are tied with Eldon Pederson (Concordia-St. Louis) for the most coaching CIT titles in the history of the tournament.

·        The Bulldogs won their first-ever CIT title in 1964 under the direction of head coach Reuben Stohs while being led by MVP Gordon Bredow. CUNE has now won 26 of the past 38 CIT tournaments dating back to 1983. The first CIT was held in 1951.

·        Ben Limback is the only coach in the history of the event to win CIT titles with two different Concordias. Limback also guided Concordia-Ann Arbor to CIT championships in 2006 and 2007 while up against his college coach, Grant Schmidt.

CIT History

(As seen in the yearly CIT programs)

The Concordia Invitational Tournament is the creation of Coach Eldon “Pete” Pederson of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. In the fall of 1950, Pederson developed the idea of a basketball tournament involving the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod’s four culminating schools: River Forest and Seward, the two teachers’ colleges, and Springfield and St. Louis, the two seminaries.
 

The inaugural tournament was held in St. Louis on March 9-10, 1951. Besides Pederson, Don Dinkmeyer of River Forest, Luther Schwich of Seward, and Ronald Wagner of Springfield were the coaches in this new tournament that was held on a trial basis. St. Louis defeated River Forest, 50-40, to win the championship. The response to the tournament was so overwhelming that it became an annual event. The site of the tournament rotated so that each institution would have the opportunity to serve as the host.

Concordia Seminary, Springfield, dropped its intercollegiate athletics program in 1963. Westmar College, LeMars, Iowa and Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Indiana participated until 1967 when Concordia St. Paul, having just become a four-year college, entered the tournament as the fourth participant.

Women’s tournament basketball was introduced in 1965 in River Forest with a single game between the Seward “Lady Bulldogs” and the River Forest “Kittens.” In 1971, St. Paul was invited to participate in a three-team round-robin tournament. The tournament became a four-team format in 1973, with the host school responsible for inviting the fourth team. St. Louis School of Nursing, Concordia Milwaukee, Augsburg College, Maryville College, Dana College, North Park College, St. John’s Winfield, Concordia Portland, and Concordia Mequon have all participated as the fourth team.

A new beginning and a gracious farewell marked 1994. After 42 years of participation, and winning 16 championships (the last coming in 1973), Concordia Seminary, St. Louis withdrew from the tournament. The Concordia Wisconsin men’s team began its first year of competition in the tournament after being invited to fill the slot vacated by St. Louis. The Concordia Wisconsin women’s team had been the fourth invited team since 1990.

One final change came about as St. Paul switched their affiliation to NCAA Division II and thus competed in their final tournament in 2001. Concordia Ann Arbor was invited to fill their position and began play in 2002. Coinciding with this change, the site rotation was changed so that Ann Arbor did not have the burden of hosting in their initial appearance, and Wisconsin assumed the host’s role for 2002 with Ann Arbor following in 2003.

In 1957, Aid Association for Lutherans donated the tournament’s traveling trophy, designed by Dr. Adalbert Kretzmann. The trophy stands not only as a symbol of tournament victory, but also serves to correlate the true meaning of athletics among the Concordias. The inscription reads: “Inaugurated to sponsor the highest ideals in competitive athletics, in fullest conformity with the Spirit of Christ and its demand in the lives of Christian men.” In 1981, Aid Association for Lutherans donated a similar traveling trophy for the women. The champions of the tournament are in custody of the trophy until the subsequent tournament.

All-tournament teams for men have been selected since 1959. The All-Tournament Team is comprised of two members from the championship team, in addition to one member from each of the other participating teams. In 1962, the River Forest Cougar Club donated a most valuable player trophy, and it soon became a permanent part of the tournament awards presentation. In 1977, the women adopted the same tournament format and awards presentation.

The Concordia Invitational Tournament was originally scheduled as a post-season tournament but, due to conflicts with conference, district, and national tournaments, it was moved to the end of January in 1977. Scheduling conflicts caused the cancellation of the 1976 tournament. In 1990, the tournament was moved to early December as an experiment. The December date was immediately unpopular with the fans, coaches, and administrators, so it was quickly shifted back to the last full weekend of January, where it has remained since that time.

For the first 15 years of the tournament, the teams were matched, or seeded, at the discretion of the host institution. In the mid-1960s, the seeding was based on the win-loss record of the participating schools, with the top team playing the team with the poorest record. This format prevailed until 1990 when, at the 40th tournament, it was decided to match the teams that did not play each other the previous year. In recent years, conference scheduling concerns have allowed for the Concordias of Chicago and Wisconsin to play one of their two head-to-head games in the first round when one of the two is hosting. When CIT is played at Ann Arbor or Nebraska, the host will determine the first-round pairings.

In 1963, a bowling tournament was added for the men. This tournament provided many exciting moments for fans and participants alike. Because of financial and scheduling concerns, this phase of the program was dropped in 1978. In 1971 and 1972, River Forest and Seward competed in wrestling, with each school posting a win over the other.

Cheer and dance teams, pep bands, yell leaders and mascots have always been an integral part of the festivities. At the 2018 CIT in Mequon, the first-ever CIT competition for cheer and dance teams was held, with all four schools participating. Based on the reception in 2018 and again in 2019, it appears as if this has become the newest tradition at CIT!

The excitement, spirited competition, and fellowship lives on and continues to grow with each Concordia Invitational Tournament. Truly, it has become one of the highlights of the athletic year. Whether you have experienced it before or you are participating in your first one this year, we hope you will experience those aspects that have made the Concordia Invitational Tournament a very special event!