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The Top of the World Classic started big back in 1996. It was full of big teams. Its organizers had big hopes.

That first year and the years immediately following brought Fairbanks some big-time attention — attention expected when men’s college basketball squads from schools such as Baylor, Providence, Gonzaga, Villanova and Wisconsin would take the floor with the Nanooks of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

But times have changed.

The Top of the World’s field has grown noticeably weaker in recent years. The big schools don’t come anymore.

As a result, the Top of the World Classic died this week.

In truth, the tournament has been dying for a little while, victim of a 2006 rules change at the NCAA that allowed so many other pre-season tournaments to pop up and make travel to Alaska unnecessary. The NCAA had certified only 10 pre-season tournaments prior to the rule change. Last year, after the change, 45 pre-season tournaments dotted the country. More are expected, draining the pool and increasing the competition among tournaments.

The rub is that teams actually get paid to appear at these tournaments, and Top of the World organizers determined that it wouldn’t be right to begin spending university money in a bidding war to bring teams to Fairbanks. The tournament, thanks to many sponsors, has for all of its years been self-supporting.

It is, unfortunately, probably the only choice that could have been made.

The Top of the World had a good run, and those who worked to bring Division I men’s basketball to Fairbanks deserve thanks for their repeated efforts to make the tournament work. So, too, do the people who played host to the visiting teams and the lead sponsor, BP, for its repeated contributions.

So now, the thousands of Fairbanks residents who bundled up each November for a trip to the Carlson Center will have to find something else to look forward to.

So long, Top of the World. Thanks for the memories.