Just because you (and myself, as well) think it would be a cheap way to gain a buzz, and since we’ve established it’s not against the rules, doesn’t mean it wouldn’t gain eyeballs/make more people aware of the CBI.
The tournament director is on record saying he reached out to Detroit Mercy first to gauge interest and let them know the fee to compete in the tournament. He kept talks going with the school afterwards. He also never offered a contract to play. While he wouldn’t admit it, the prevailing thought is he came to the conclusion that campaign made it clear that a lot of people didn’t want to see the record broken by this guy.
The truth of the matter is comparatively to their current ratings, they would have drove more numbers/received more exposure.