# Players Era Festival

The Players Era Festival is an early-season college basketball tournament. The tournament takes place in Paradise, Nevada, with the games being played inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, during the week of the US holiday of Thanksgiving. A title sponsor has yet to be announced but the tournament is being created to give each team at least $1 million towards each team's Name, Imagine and Likeness (NIL). The tournament will play its inaugural tournament during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.
In August 2024, the NCAA sent out a memo reiterating that players could not be directly compensated for participating in an MTE, even if the money was routed through a collective. EverWonder claimed that players would participate in sponsorship opportunities on behalf of the event that would allow for NIL compensation, with this compensation being described in agreements between EverWonder and the schools' NIL collectives, but not in the agreements between EverWonder and the schools themselves.
The following month, a financial representative for the event informed Sportico that an announcement would be made soon for the sponsor and TV partner. The publication questioned the event's prospective profitability, as other MTEs bring in between $1–3 million, far below the potential amount needed to make the event profitable.
On December 16, 2024, it was announced There will be an inaugural Players Era Women's Championship 2025, which will take place over three days during Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas. The women's iteration will coincide with the men's tournament.

## Men's
### 2024

On October 22, 2024, it was announced that the 2024 Players Era Festival will now feature a Players Era Championship Day on the final day of the festival where a tournament champion will be crowned. Each group will be ranked first through fourth, and after head-to-head record, seeding will be determined by total point differential in group games (capped at 20 points per game), then total points scored and fewest points allowed. The top seeds from each division will face off in the championship game, with the rest of the standings filling out the third, fifth and seventh-place matchups.

### Power Division

| Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max | Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max | Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max |
| | San Diego State | 71 |
| 21 | Creighton | 53 |
| Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max | Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max | Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max |
| | Oregon | 80 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 70 |
| Game 2 November 27 Max | Game 2 November 27 Max | Game 2 November 27 Max |
| | Oregon | 78 |
| | San Diego State | 68 |
| Game 2 November 27 Max | Game 2 November 27 Max | Game 2 November 27 Max |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 77 |
| 21 | Creighton | 73 |

### Impact Division

| Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max | Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max | Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max |
| 6 | Houston | 80 |
| 9 | Alabama | 85* |
| Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max | Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max | Game 1 November 26 TBS/Max |
| | Rutgers | 85* |
| | Notre Dame | 84 |
| Game 2 November 27 TBS/Max | Game 2 November 27 TBS/Max | Game 2 November 27 TBS/Max |
| | Rutgers | 90 |
| 9 | Alabama | 95 |
| Game 2 November 27 TBS/Max | Game 2 November 27 TBS/Max | Game 2 November 27 TBS/Max |
| | Notre Dame | 54 |
| 6 | Houston | 65 |

### Championship Day

| 7th Place Game November 30 TruTV/Max | 7th Place Game November 30 TruTV/Max | 7th Place Game November 30 TruTV/Max |
| 21 | Creighton | 80 |
| | Notre Dame | 76 |
| 5th Place Game November 30 TruTV/Max | 5th Place Game November 30 TruTV/Max | 5th Place Game November 30 TruTV/Max |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 81 |
| | Rutgers | 77 |
| 3rd Place Game November 30 TNT/Max | 3rd Place Game November 30 TNT/Max | 3rd Place Game November 30 TNT/Max |
| | San Diego State | 73* |
| 6 | Houston | 70 |
| Championship Game November 30 TNT/Max | Championship Game November 30 TNT/Max | Championship Game November 30 TNT/Max |
| | Oregon | 83 |
| 9 | Alabama | 81 |

### 2025
#### Men's

The 2025 Men's Championship will introduce an entirely new structure for early-season tournaments, with the expanded event featuring international-style group play with championship matchups.
Participating Teams:
* Alabama
* Auburn
* Baylor
* Creighton
* Gonzaga
* Houston
* Iowa State
* Kansas
* Michigan
* Notre Dame
* Oregon
* Rutgers
* San Diego State
* St. John's
* Saint Joseph's
* Syracuse
* Tennessee
* Texas A&M

#### Women's

The event features a round-robin format that ensures all teams will face one another. Then, a champion will be crowned based on head-to-head record, with a series of tiebreakers including point differential, points scored and points allowed.
Participating Teams:
* South Carolina
* UCLA
* Duke
* Texas