New postseason tournament by Fox

[Da Coach]

I agree with making it similar to a conf tournament. It would make for a fun weekend.

Last year's (2023) NIT Final Four was played in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena. The NIT now puts the hosting of the Final 4 up for bids, and they haven't done it yet for 2025 or later.

[Da Coach]

This concept of an NIL driven tournament appears to have morphed into an early season event and will start in November, 2024 with 8 teams, and expand to 16 teams in 2025. - https://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...rly-finalized/

It is being called The Players Era Festival and will be held in cooperation with MGM Resorts International.-

Event organizers are in the final negotiating stages with MGM Resorts International to hold games at any or all of its three major venues: T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand Garden Arena and Michelob ULTRA Arena. The tentative schedule is to play games on Nov. 26, 27 and 29, with Thanksgiving an off-day. The 2024 format(s) for the eight teams has not been decided. Organizers are still weighing whether to have a single eight-team tournament bracket or two separate four-team multi-team events (MTEs).

The tournament would be unique in that the NIL collective of each participating school would be paid $1 million. Additional significant NIL opportunities (believed to be in the neighborhood of another $1 million) would be awarded exclusively to the winner or winners of the event, depending on the final bracket format(s). The money would then be distributed to athletes by the collectives. The athletes, while in Las Vegas, would be required to participate in multiple off-the-court activities to earn that NIL money. That quid pro quo agreement for NIL money is a key distinction and at the core of the appeal of the festival. Pay-for-play remains against NCAA rules. However, athletes can be paid for NIL work surrounding the actual games, which is the pitch here.