The Hall of Fame Classic (formerly known as the Guardians Classic, CBE Classic, CBE Hall of Fame Classic and Hall of Fame Classic) created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) is an annual season-opening college basketball tournament founded in 2001. The tournament is currently held in mid-November at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Before the 2007 tournament, the final rounds were held at Municipal Auditorium, except for one year at Kemper Arena in 2001.
From the inaugural tournament in 2001 until 2019, twelve teams participated in the tournament. In this format; the first two rounds were played at campus sites on two different days hosted by regional hosts, regional hosts automatically advanced to the championship rounds which are played at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Championship rounds took place one week after the initial round. Teams not hosting advanced to sub regional rounds where they played three games. From 2020 until 2023 four teams participated in a traditional four team tournament with a Championship and Consolation game.[1] The 2024 Hall of Fame Classic will be a showcase doubleheader, instead of a traditional four team tournament.[2]
| Year | width=150 | Champion | Score | width=150 | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 78–77 | Iowa | |||
| 2002 | 80–75 | Notre Dame | |||
| 2003 | 67–61 | Richmond | |||
| 2004 | 65–64 (OT) | Ohio State | |||
| 2005 | 68–59 | Iowa | |||
| 2006 | 73–62 | Duke | |||
| 2007 | 68–63 | Michigan State | |||
| 2008 | 89–81 (OT) | Kansas | |||
| 2009 | 78–62 | Pittsburgh | |||
| 2010 | 82–68 | Kansas State | |||
| 2011 | 92–53 | Cal | |||
| 2012 | 73–59 | St. Louis | |||
| 2013 | 75–62 | BYU | |||
| 2014 | 72–63 | Iowa State | |||
| 2015 | 80–70 | Kansas State | |||
| 2016 | 65–54 | Georgia | |||
| 2017 | 65–59 | Creighton | |||
| 2018 | 70–52 | Nebraska | |||
| 2019 | 69–68 | Stanford | |||
| 2020 | 56–52 | Liberty | |||
| 2021 | 73–67 | Cincinnati | |||
| 2022 | 67–63 | Wichita State | |||
| 2023 | Colorado State | 69–48 | Creighton |
| Year | Third place | Points | Fourth Place | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 81 | 70 | |||
| 2002 | 70 | 62 | |||
| 2003 | 72 | 52 | |||
| 2004 | 57 | 55 | |||
| 2005 | 80 | 66 | |||
| 2006 | 67 | 53 | |||
| 2007 | 84 | 70 | |||
| 2008 | 86 | 84 | |||
| 2009 | 74 | Iowa | 57 | ||
| 2010 | 66 | Marquette | 63 | ||
| 2011 | 61 | 57 | |||
| 2012 | 55 | 54 | |||
| 2013 | 77 | 59 | |||
| 2014 | 76 | 71 | |||
| 2015 | 67 | 62 | |||
| 2016 | 81 | 74 | |||
| 2017 | 72 | 70 | |||
| 2018 | 99 | 80 | |||
| 2019 | 77 | 66 | |||
| 2020 | 69 | 58 | |||
| 2021 | 72 | Kansas State | 64 | ||
| 2022 | 69 | Northern Iowa | 67 | ||
| 2023 | Loyola Chicago | 71 | Boston College | 68 |
* – Denotes overtime period
All matches aired on ESPN Networks
Kansas State, Mississippi State and Nebraska, will headline the 2025 Hall of Fame Classic, with the fourth team to be announced.[3]