BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
The Players Era Tournament is making big waves in College Basketball as one of the new premier events in the sport. Now, the Players Era Tournament is announcing a partnership with the Big 12 Conference, they announced on Monday.
The Big 12 is gaining an equity stake in the event which will guarantee the conferences top-8 teams a bidding into the following season’s Players Era Tournament.
“The Big 12 Conference continues to lead collegiate athletics’ movement into a new landscape, and we are incredibly proud to enter into this partnership. The Conference has been instrumental to our growth from Day One. The Big 12 now receives guaranteed access to the biggest college basketball event outside of March and it will benefit perennial powers and teams with national championship aspirations. Over the next six years, Players Era will commit no less than $50 million dollars to Big 12 basketball programs in rights fees,” said Seth Berger, CEO of Players Era.
This season, Houston, Kansas, Iowa State and Baylor are in the tournaments newly expanded 18-team field.
“The Big 12 Conference is thrilled to grow its partnership with Players Era,” said Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. “The tournament is a tremendous platform to showcase our Conference, student-athletes and coaches as the best in college basketball, and we look forward to continuing to make Players Era a national marquee event.”
Six teams from last season’s Sweet 16 are participating in this years Players Era Tournament. The event will be played from Nov. 24-27 in Las Vegas. The games will be broadcasted on TNT.
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