In 2008, a Penn student was named national semifinalist in the Siemens Competition.

The first major upset seen in this bracket was unseeded and unranked BYU defeated six seeded and 2006 national semifinalist Washington on Washington's home court.

The third place game featured the losing team from the national semifinalist to determine 3rd and 4th places in the tournament.

Rinearson was subsequently a national semifinalist for NASA's Journalists in Space project, cancelled in the wake of the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy.