With an assist from its former head coach, the University of Hawaii basketball team was invited to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

The Rainbow Warriors’ season was on the brink of ending after a first-round loss to UC Irvine in the Big West tournament.

Instead, the Rainbow Warriors (17-14) are hosting the Air Force Academy in the CIT’s first round on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Stan Sheriff Center.

Riley Wallace, chairman of the CIT selection committee, said Big West members Pacific, Cal Poly and UC Irvine had signed promissory contracts to play in the CIT. UH was put on the "wait list."

A CIT berth opened for UH after Pacific won the Big West tournament to qualify for the NCAAs and Ohio, Indiana State and Detroit accepted NIT bids.

A key factor?

"That’s my school," said Wallace, who was UH’s head coach for 20 seasons and associate head coach for six years. "They helped me. I wanted to help them. Besides, they had 17 wins. They deserved to be in the tournament."

This is the Rainbow Warriors’ second CIT appearance in Gib Arnold’s three seasons as UH head coach. In 2011, UH hosted two games, winning the first one 76-64 over Portland, before losing the next game 77-74 to San Francisco.

The 32-team CIT requires each home team to pay a flat fee of $35,000 for each game it hosts, as well as another $20,000 or so in other expenses. The higher remaining team will host the championship game.

The CIT extended the invitation to UH on Sunday afternoon. After discussing the matter, UH associate athletic director Carl Clapp called Wallace to confirm the Rainbow Warriors’ acceptance. Arnold and his staff remained on the mainland to recruit after the early exit from the league tournament.

Big West regular-season champ Long Beach State is headed to the NIT.