Players Era, the EverWonder Studio company behind the rapidly growing November tournament, and ESPN have reached a multiyear agreement for ESPN to serve as the exclusive broadcast partner for the Players Era Men’s Championships.
The event is also expanding to 24 teams, which will be split into two separate bracket-play tournaments over the course of two weeks in Las Vegas.
“College basketball is the hottest and one of the fastest-growing sports properties in the country,” Players Era CEO Seth Berger said in a statement. “The players have never been better, and record ratings for early season college basketball reflect that. Led by top programs from multiple conferences across the sport, the teams in our field are stronger than ever. We can’t wait to bring March to November with the number one college basketball network in the world, ESPN.”
The week of Nov. 16 will feature the Players Era 8, with potential preseason No. 1 Florida highlighting a field that also has Houston, Kansas, Auburn, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Rutgers and UNLV.
Thanksgiving Week will feature the Players Era 16. Reigning champion Michigan is the headliner, with the Wolverines joined by Alabama, Gonzaga, St. John’s, Louisville, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Texas Tech, Baylor, Maryland, TCU, Oregon, Creighton, San Diego State and Kansas State.
Moving to a bracket-play format is a notable 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.
“Players Era features elite programs, meaningful competition and high-stakes matchups to start each season,” Dan Margulis, ESPN senior director of college basketball programming and acquisitions, said in a statement. “These tournaments immediately strengthen ESPN’s industry-leading college basketball portfolio and underscores our commitment to showcasing the best teams and storylines across the sport. We’re excited to partner with the Players Era team to continue to elevate the Players Era 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 are ranked in ESPN’s most recent Way-Too-Early Top 25.
Schedules and venues will be announced later this offseason.
“We couldn’t be more excited to forge this new partnership with ESPN, which will deliver an even larger platform for what has become the best college basketball tournament outside of March and create new opportunities to engage with fans across the country,” EverWonder CEO Ian Orefice said in a statement. “I also want to thank TNT Sports for giving us the opportunity to launch this signature showcase event; they have been outstanding partners over the past two years and 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 $1 million in NIL opportunities, with Oregon winning the inaugural event. It expanded to 18 teams last year, with Michigan jump-starting its national championship run with a dominant three-day stretch in Las Vegas that included three wins by a combined 110 points.
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