Players Era Unveils New Format with Two Brackets after Heavy Criticism Following

There were loud concerns and complaints from coaches and fans regarding the format of the Players Era Festival and now there have been major changes implemented.

After its inaugural two years dealing with Turner Sports as a broadcast partner, Players Era inked a multi-year agreement with ESPN to serve as its exclusive broadcast rights holder for the event.

Expanding to 24 teams this season, Players Era has split its field into two brackets and will crown two champions in Las Vegas during mid-November.

The first bracket, ‘The Players Era Eight’, which begins play on Monday, November 16 will feature Auburn, Florida, Houston, Kansas, Notre Dame, Rutgers, UNLV, and West Viginia.

The other bracket, ‘The Players Era Sixteen’, will start action on Monday, November 23 and is comprised of Alabama, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Miami (FL), Michigan, Oregon, San Diego State, St. John’s, Tennessee, TCU, and Texas Tech.

Florida, West Virginia, Louisville, Miami (FL), TCU, and Texas Tech are the new teams added to the field while Syracuse dropped out.

“Players Era features elite programs, meaningful competition and high-stakes matchups to start each season. 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,” ESPN Senior Director of College Basketball Programming & Acquistions Dan Marguils said in a statement.

“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.”

Michigan rolled to a title in last year’s rendition of the event – winning its three games by a combined margin of 110 points -- and will be looking to repeat not only as Players Era champions but National Champions. Each team is still guaranteed $1 million in NIL for participating in the event.

Details on brackets, matchups, schedules, and broadcast information will be released within the coming weeks.

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