In 2009, Ron Everhart, the head coach of the Duquesne Dukes men’s basketball team, led the team to its first postseason tournament in over a decade. The team received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), which is a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 teams not selected for the NCAA Tournament or NIT.

Duquesne Dukes entered the tournament as the 14th seed and faced seventh-seeded Princeton in the first round. The Dukes won the game 77-73, with junior guard Aaron Jackson leading the team with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. In the second round, the Dukes defeated the University of Montana 85-84 in overtime, with junior guard Damian Saunders scoring a team-high 18 points and grabbing 16 rebounds.

The Dukes made it to the quarterfinals of the CBI, where they lost to the Richmond Spiders, who would eventually go on to win the championship. Despite the loss, the 2009 season was a major success for the Duquesne Dukes, as they finished with an overall record of 21-13, their first 20-win season in over 20 years.

Ron Everhart was named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for his efforts in leading the Dukes to their first postseason tournament since 1994.