College Basketball International Series Plans Games in Croatia and Serbia

College basketball teams are increasingly stocking their rosters with European talent.

Now, plans are in place to bring high-profile college games to two of the continent’s biggest basketball hotbeds. Games are set to come to Zagreb, Croatia, and Belgrade, Serbia, as soon as November as part of a new College Basketball International Series launched in tandem by Intersport and Rochelle Management Group.

According to Mark Starsiak, Intersport’s senior vice president and general manager of basketball, the goal is for four teams to play two games, one in Zagreb in partnership with professional team KK Cibona at a location still to be determined and one at Belgrade Arena in Serbia. Games are expected to take place in the first week of the 2026–27 season to allow for maximum flexibility from a travel perspective. If the timeline is too condensed to pull that off, Intersport expects to bring two teams to one of the two sites for a one-off matchup then building up the event in the future.

“We’re pretty cognizant that this is ambitious for eight months from now, but things happen so fast in college athletics from a recruiting standpoint and from a game-making standpoint now that we think there’s a very strong opportunity and pathway to do that,” Starsiak says. “I think that’s our minimum product and goal for Year 1 with the chance to grow it to more in Year 2 and 3 and beyond.”

It’s not the first time college teams have played in Europe. In 2022, Michigan and Kentucky played a game in London, and a handful of games in the 2010s were played in Northern Ireland as part of a tournament. Next season, Villanova and Notre Dame are set to open the season in Rome near the Vatican, catalyzed in part by Pope Leo XIV being a Villanova alumnus.

However, the events in Zagreb and Belgrade target two areas loaded with prospective college talent. Balkan nations have long had pipelines into the NBA, but recent changes in the college landscape have made countries like Croatia and Serbia college recruiting hotbeds. At present, there are 44 Division I players from Serbia and 16 more with hometowns listed in Croatia, and those numbers are expected to continue to grow as top programs invest more resources into recruiting throughout Europe. With NIL and revenue-sharing agreements, college teams increasingly have the financial might to raid European pro teams’ rosters for top young talent. One Belgrade-based team, Mega Superbet, sent six players from last year’s team to high-major college programs this season. KK Cibona, which Intersport and Rochelle are partnered with in Zagreb, has multiple prospects that could eventually be college-bound.

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, among the biggest adopters of international recruiting, told Sports Illustrated in 2024 that it was critical for players overseas to see the Illinois logo regularly by making recruiting trips to the continent. The next step for many teams invested in recruiting European talent could well be playing games in the region.

The process of recruiting teams for the event is underway, per Starsiak, though no commitments have been made yet. That said, he feels strongly that at least in the early stages of the event, it’s critical that the teams they bring have a connection to the Balkans, either in the form of a current or former player that resonates.

“If you watch highlights and YouTube videos of Croatian and Serbian basketball leagues, there’s pyrotechnics in a fun way, there’s pyrotechnics in an aggressive way, there’s packed stadiums, there’s people that are excited and passionate about what the sport is over there,” Starsiak says. “As we start in earnest from a team recruiting standpoint beyond what we’ve already done, we have to be pretty purposeful in who we bring over there. … Initially we have to be really smart in who we bring and why and what the natural storylines are, and then those natural storylines can be combustible for a pretty cool and fun atmosphere.”

Also boosting the prospective event’s legitimacy with locals are a pair of Hall of Famers with deep ties to the region. Croatian-born Toni Kukoč and Serbian-born Vlade Divac will serve as ambassadors for the series.

“Working alongside pioneering Eastern European basketball legends like Toni Kukoč and

Vlade Divac to bring college basketball back to Europe is incredibly exciting,” Scott Rochelle, who spent time as the president of the NBA Retired Players Association before launching his management group, said. “These icons helped build the bridge between European and American basketball decades ago, and now we have the opportunity to bring the next generation of players to compete in front of the fans and communities that shaped the global game. It’s a powerful full-circle moment for the sport.”

Starsiak says the International Series could expand throughout Europe and into other continents in the coming years, with ambition to lead the sport’s international expansion. Expanded schedules in college basketball also create additional opportunities, with the sport moving to a maximum 32-game season from 31 and discussion about further growth upward in the coming years. International games could also provide opportunities for more NIL engagement, helping facilitate deals that are harder to execute for international students while in the U.S. on student visas and providing valuable “above-the-cap” dollars beyond the House settlement’s revenue-share cap. But Starsiak emphasized that international events, starting in Zagreb and Serbia, will be very targeted to places that are basketball-hungry and natural fits for college teams to want to boost their presence in.

“We’re not racing to the top of the mountain to play a game in the most random location for the most money,” Starsiak says. It has to be more purposeful for everyone involved.”

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