Alabama Basketball to Play Houston in Players Era Festival

The Crimson Tide and Cougars will match up for the third time in four years this coming November.

Dec 10, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) shoots the ball as Houston Cougars guard Jamal Shead (1) defends during the second half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama basketball will play Houston in the first game of the Players Era Festival on Nov. 26, per a report from ESPN's Jay Bilas.

The Players Era Festival is the first-ever NIL-based multi-team event for college basketball, which will take place in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week this coming basketball season. Teams who participate are slated to receive $1 million in NIL incentives.

The event has previously been reported to have a round robin format, meaning the eight teams in the field (Alabama, Houston, San Diego State, Creighton, Oregon, Texas A&M, Rutgers, Notre Dame) will be split into two 4-team pods, with every team in the pod playing each other.

Alabama's other two opponents in the Players Era Festival are still yet to be announced.

The addition of Houston adds to Alabama's already-loaded non-conference schedule for the 2024-25 season. The Crimson Tide will play other marquee games on the road against Purdue on Nov. 15, against Illinois in Birmingham on Nov. 20, and at home against Creighton on Dec. 14.

In addition, Alabama has home games on the schedule against McNeese on Nov. 11 and Kent State on Dec. 22, as well as a road trip to play North Dakota on Dec. 18.

Alabama still has an unannounced opponent for the SEC/ACC Challenge and will have a few more non-conference games added to the schedule before it is complete.

Coming off a Final Four, the Crimson Tide is viewed as one of the favorites for the 2025 national championship, and the game against Houston could very well be against two preseason top-5 teams.