NIL-driven Las Vegas college basketball event set with Alabama vs. Houston among marquee matchups

The Players Era Festival, an event revolutionary one-off regular season men’s basketball event which will be held in Las Vegas in November, was formally announced on Wednesday. Your point of sale is based on O main factor that has drastically altered college sports in the last three years: name, image and likeness compensation for players.

Alabama, Creighton, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State and Texas A&M have committed to playing in the event for the next three seasons, sources told CBS Sports. In a first for college sports, the event will also include $1 million NIL payouts to eight participating schools. Players who participate will have future earning opportunities through long-term NIL contracts, sources said. CBS Sports extensively reported the details of the event in early May.

The Players Era Festival will be played in two four-team formats during Thanksgiving week. According to sources, the brackets are planned as follows: Alabama (SEC), Houston (Big 12), Notre Dame (ACC) and Rutgers (Big Ten) is a multi-team event; Creighton (Big East), Oregon (Big Ten), San Diego State (Mountain West) and Texas A&M (SEC) the other. Teams from the same conference cannot play each other in MTEs under current NCAA rules (which may be subject to change in the coming months).

The opening clashes will be:

Houston vs. Alabama
Rutgers vs Notre Dame
Creighton vs. Oregon
Texas A&M vs. SDSU

The matchup between Houston and Alabama could potentially be a battle between the top five teams.

“This is an opportunity for us to play some of the best teams in the country early in the season,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said in a statement. “The Players Era Festival has great teams, great coaches and great players, and we are grateful for the opportunity to compete in its first year. It will be a great way for our program to test itself.”

Said Alabama’s Nate Oats: “We will always support our student-athletes at the highest levels and do everything we can to help them succeed. The Players Era Festival aligns with these goals. In addition to facing quality opponents in a NCAA Tournament- similar atmosphere, the trip should provide our players access to NIL opportunities. We look forward to being part of the inaugural class of participants.”

As for others in the 2024 field, Rutgers brings its highest-ranked freshman class in history, while Creighton playing Oregon means Ducks coach Dana Altman will again face the school she coached for 16 years. Altman ran Creighton’s program from 1994-2010. The two teams met in March in an epic double OT match in the second round.

The Players Era Festival will also include live music and other attractions for fans amid the glitz of the Las Vegas Strip.

“The broader initiative will expand to add future events with the goal of continuing to grow college basketball and create a year-round focus on the sport,” according to the event press release.” This will include additional content opportunities, including women’s basketball events, off-season events, non-fiction content and merchandising opportunities.”

After the inaugural tournament in 2024, the expectation is to more than double the size of the field (at a minimum), with at least 18 teams now the target for 2025 and beyond. In addition to the eight teams registered for this year, others that have agreed to play in Las Vegas in 2025 are: Gonzaga, Michigan, St. Duke, Kansas and Virginia, which have already been involved in negotiations, have not yet formally committed.

Organizers have committed to a five-year plan in Las Vegas in an attempt to make the Players Era Festival November’s premier multi-team college basketball event.

“College athletics is undergoing monumental change, and the Players Era Festival is planting a flag in this new frontier with a first-of-its-kind event that will be a game-changer in creating a more equitable model for college basketball,” said the CEO of EverWonder Studio, Ian Orefice. Orefice is one of the central figures who put together the event. “Everything about the Festival is completely innovative, from the format to the NIL opportunities for players and the competition that will make this a can’t-miss event for college basketball fans. With an impressive lineup for this inaugural event and an even more incredible field lined up For next season, the Players Era Festival will help usher in a new era for college sports.

Organizers are in negotiations with MGM Resorts International to hold future games at any or all of its three main venues: T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand Garden Arena and Michelob ULTRA Arena. The tentative schedule for 2024 is to play on November 26, 27 and 29, with Thanksgiving being a day off, but this is still subject to adjustment. From 2025, the expectation is to create “international-style group games with championship clashes”.

The suggested format is a novel arrangement for a university sporting event, as is the very nature of the Players Era Festival. Questions arise about its long-term viability due to the amount of money involved that will be needed to pull it off, but if the Players Era Festival is successful and financially solvent, the event will change the fundamental nature of college basketball programming in the first few weeks. of the regular season.