Once Murray State coach Steve Prohm turned his attention to next year's schedule, he said he wanted to put his team in a tournament early next season.  Over the course of the last month, he has been trying to decide which tournament he wanted to play in: The Charleston Classic or the Preseason NIT. Thursday, Prohm finally made it official by choosing The Charleston Classic. The tournament will be held November 15th, 16th and 18th at the TD Arena in Charleston, SC.

Prohm told us today the NIT was a very attractive tournament for a couple reasons. If the Racers won their first two games in the Kansas State pod, they'd earn a trip to Madison Square Garden for the NIT Final Four.  If they didn't win those first two games, the Racers would have an opportunity to host two games in the consolation bracket.  While he really wanted those home games, Prohm said to get them meant Murray State would have to lose a game.  He said he wanted to move forward with a mindset of winning and that's what put Charleston over the top for him.

The Charleston Classic -- just like last year's Great Alaska Shootout -- will have all eight teams under the same roof.  Unlike Alaska, this time Racer fans will actually be able to make the trip to support Murray State.  Prohm said it's a great way to start out the year -- in the spotlight and in an ESPN-run tournament against a quality field.

That field now includes Murray State, Charleston, Baylor, Boston College, Colorado, Dayton, Auburn and St. John's.  Prohm says he expects the brackets for the tournament to be released within the next couple of weeks.

Southern Illinois was once a part of this field, but just hours after Murray State announced they were in, SIU withdrew and Auburn replaced them.  With new coach Barry Hinson, SIU has been trying to get out of the Charleston Classic for some time, but they have a contract with ESPN to play in an ESPN-run event.  The Southern Illinoisan reported earlier this week SIU was trying to find an alternative ESPN event that would allow them to get out of Charleston. As of now, we do not know what that event will be, only that the Salukis will not be playing in Charleston in November.

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