College basketball NIL event intends to expand to 32 teams, dubbed 'November madness'

The Players Era Festival is striving to break records with its 2026 field

Houston Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp (21) passes the ball as Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Braeden Shrewsberry (11). | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The revolutionary multi-team event dubbed the Players Era Festival, an NIL-driven college basketball tournament that will reportedly feature the Gonzaga Bulldogs next season, is striving to expand its field in historic fashion for the 2026 iteration.

According to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, event organizers are planning to put together a 32-team field for November 2026, which would make Players Era by far the biggest non-NCAA Tournament event in college hoops history.

All the details haven't been finalized, though essentially the point of the tournament, according to Norlander, would be to put bookends on the college basketball season: March Madness at the end of the season and "November madness" to tip off the season. The 32-team tournament of Players Era would last multiple weeks and likely played in different cities across the country, not just in Las Vegas. Teams that advance past group stage play would then be thrown into a four-bracket concept held in Las Vegas.

The Players Era debuted this past season with eight teams competing in the Thanksgiving week tournament: Houston, Alabama, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Creighton, Oregon, Texas A&M and San Diego State. In addition to those eight, the following 10 teams are reportedly set for 2025: Auburn, Baylor, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan, St. John's, Syracuse, Tennessee and Saint Joseph's.

It's not clear as to which teams are signed up for 2026, though it's reasonable to conclude that given the way in which Players Era has already impacted how teams schedule nonconference opponents, past participants will likely return to Las Vegas for future events. And not only does being part of the field almost guarantee premier matchups — it comes with a little bit of cash, too.

In addition to $1 million in payout to all participants, Players Era also offers NIL opportunities that student-athletes can earn through multiple off-the-court activities.

Some higher-ups in college athletics held skepticism regarding the viability and financial legitimacy of Players Era. The NCAA even sent out a memo to tournament organizers to remind them that schools from the same conference couldn't be paired up in the same midseason tournament bracket. Organizers worked around those obstacles to pull off the first event last season, and now a small wrinkle to college basketball's calendar could open the door for this 32-team tournament to take off.

Lost in the chaos of the NCAA Tournament, the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Oversight Committees proposed to expand the regular season for both men's and women's hoops from 31 to 32 games. An extra game in nonleague play could open the door, even if it's just a crack more, for a 32-team event in 2026.

If Players Era is able to expand, it could spell doom for some of the traditional MTEs around the country, such as the Maui Invitational and Battle 4 Atlantis events. According to Norlander, a "number of spots" for the 2026 Players Era Festival will be held until the spring of 2026 — a somewhat unusual timeline given that most MTEs fill their fields well in advance, sometimes years ahead. Time will tell if the Zags commit to the one-of-a-kind event for 2025 and beyond.