KU basketball to join expanded field for 2025 Players Era tournament in Las Vegas
Kansas figures to earn $1 million or more in name, image and likeness funds for its men’s basketball players during the 2025-26 school year after agreeing to appear in the second Players Era Men’s Championship in November of 2025 in Las Vegas.
KU announced Thursday that it will participate in the multi-team event, which in Year 2 is expected to grow from eight to 18 or more teams.
This year’s tourney consisted of eight schools, ones that all received checks for $1 million for participating in three games. The NIL dollars provided go to players in exchange for various local sponsorship opportunities centered on the tournament.
KU coach Bill Self explained the reason for the Jayhawks’ participation Thursday at a news conference held in advance of Sunday’s nonconference finale against Brown. Tipoff is 2 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
“Speaking to coaches that participated this past year, first class all the way,” Self said. “For a first year, it could not have been pulled off any better based on what the coaches have told me and the experiences their players had. I think there’s still some things that obviously have to be worked out detail-wise, like exact formats, how many teams and all that stuff.
“But we know the financial backing is there that this is going to be a big-time deal, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it,” Self added. “Times have changed and they’re going to continue to change, and scheduling will be done more and more with the thought of, ‘How does this benefit us from a revenue standpoint, not just from an experience standpoint,’ and with the Players (championship) there I think we’re pretty fortunate we get to still experience both.”
The first Players Era event debuted over Thanksgiving week at MGM Grand Garden Arena and was shown on TNT Sports.
The 2025 event will introduce a new structure for early season tournaments. The expanded event is expected to feature international-style group play with championship matchups.
The Jayhawks join eight programs that participated in last month’s inaugural tournament: Alabama, Creighton, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State and Texas A&M along with new participants Baylor, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Michigan, St. Joseph’s, St. John’s and Syracuse.
Teams this year were guaranteed three games in the event over a four-day period.
Oregon was the winner of the inaugural tourney.
“This will be a great opportunity for our team and I’m sure our fan base will enjoy spending a few more days in Las Vegas,” Self said.
Playing in the Vegas event could affect KU’s playing in traditional multi-event tourneys such as the Maui Invitational, ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Florida and/or Battle4Atlantis in Bahamas. The Vegas event pays all expenses compared to those events, which require schools to take care of their own flights, food and lodging.
KU reportedly had been considering playing in a four-team tourney in San Diego next November with Florida, Wisconsin and Providence.
KU did not compete in a traditional multi-team event this season and instead played Duke in Las Vegas and Furman at KU in the Vegas Showdown.
“Adding the University of Kansas — a perennial national championship contender and arguably the most accomplished program in the history of NCAA men’s basketball — to our 2025 Men’s Championship field elevates our event to an entirely different level,” Players Era CEO Seth Berger said Thursday in a release. “I want to thank coach Bill Self for his commitment to Players Era and his belief in what we are building, putting the players’ needs above all else and building an unprecedented field of top-tier programs. It includes multiple teams from each power conference and the Big 12 leading the way with four squads, which is going to make this a must-see event.”
KU in 2025-26 will play Duke in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Jayhawks will travel to North Carolina and N.C. State. KU will play Missouri at T-Mobile Center.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 1:05 PM with the headline "KU basketball to join expanded field for 2025 Players Era tournament in Las Vegas."
