The Players Era Men’s Championship Hoops event has expanded to 24 teams

Players Era, the EverWonder studio company behind the fast-growing November tournament, and ESPN have reached a multi-year deal for ESPN to serve as the exclusive broadcast partner for the Players Era Men’s Championship.

The event is also expanding to 24 teams, which will be split into two separate bracket-play tournaments over two weeks in Las Vegas.

“College basketball is one of the most popular and fastest-growing sports properties in the country,” said Seth Berger, CEO of Players Era. “The players have never been better, and the record ratings for the first season of college basketball reflect that. Led by the top programs in multiple conferences across the sport, our teams on the field are stronger than ever. We can’t wait to bring ESPN, the number one college basketball network in the world, from March to November.”

The Player’s Era will feature eight during the week of Nov. 16, with potential preseason No. 1 Florida Highlighting a field that includes Houston, Kansas, Auburn, West Virginia, Our Lady, Rutgers And UNLV.

The Players Era Sixteen will be featured during Thanksgiving week. The current champion Michigan headliner, joined by The Wolverines Alabama, Gonzaga, St. John’s, Louisville, Tennessee, State of Iowa, miami, Texas Tech, Baylor, Maryland, TCU, Oregon, Creighton, San Diego State And State of Kansas.

The move to a bracket-play format is a significant change from last year’s 18-team format, which gave each team two scheduled games and then determined each team’s third game based on record and scoring margin.

ESPN Networks will be the exclusive home of all 37 games next season

“The Players Era features elite programs, meaningful competition and high-stakes matchups to kick off each season,” said Dan Margulies, ESPN senior director of college basketball programming and acquisitions. “These tournaments immediately strengthen ESPN’s industry-leading college basketball portfolio and reinforce our commitment to showcasing the best teams and storylines across the game. We are excited to partner with the PlayersEra team to promote the PlayersEra men’s championships and showcase them to fans across the country.”

Of the 24 teams across the two tournaments, 13 made the 2026 NCAA Tournament and 10 made ESPN’s most recent rankings. Way-To-Early Top 25.

The schedule and venue will be announced later this offseason.

“We couldn’t be more excited to form this new partnership with ESPN, which will provide an even bigger platform for what has become the best college basketball tournament outside of March and create new opportunities to connect with fans across the country,” said EverWonder CEO Ian Orefice. “I would also like to thank TNT Sports for the opportunity to launch this signature showcase event; they have been outstanding partners over the past two years and have played a tremendous role in our success.”

The Players Era Festival began in 2024 as an eight-team tournament that promised each team at least a $1 million NIL opportunity, with Oregon winning the inaugural event. It expanded to 18 teams last year, with Michigan starting its national championship run with a dominant three-day stretch in Las Vegas that included three wins by a combined 110 points.