Gonzaga in talks for new premier college basketball event featuring blue blood programs

Gonzaga could earn over $2M annually for participating in this event each November

Dec 15, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Connecticut Huskies center Donovan Clingan (32) and Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Braden Huff (34) shake hands after the game at Climate Pledge Arena | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

There's a new premier multi-team event potentially coming to college basketball in 2027, and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are expected to participate.

The Zags are one of eight teams in "deep discussions" about joining the Diamond Cup, a proposed pool-play event that is currently in the late planning stages and expected to debut in the 2027-28 season, according to a report from Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

Duke, Arizona, UConn, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, and of course Gonzaga are the eight teams that have been involved in conversations around this event since last summer. Since then Duke has bowed out, due to their three-game contract with Amazon Prime which includes a regular season matchup with the Zags in February.

None of the schools have officially signed any kind of agreement, and no one at Gonzaga has commented publicly on the event as of this writing.

Kentucky's inclusion is possibly a factor in the series between them and Gonzaga, which was supposed to conclude in Spokane during the 2027-28 season, being cancelled with two games remaining.

More $ for Zags

A big appeal for this event is equity for the participating schools, which could give each program additional earning potential if it becomes a consistent annual event.

"As the first shared-equity alliance in college sports, the Diamond Cup creates deep institutional alignment and reimagines the beginning of the season for college basketball," the pitch deck states, per Norlander. "This long-term continuity is not just a tournament, but a new media property designed for the next era of live sports distribution."

The latest projections for the event are that it will be a two-game agreement for 2027-28, with the schools earning $2.25 million apiece. That number is expected to raise to $3.75 million in the second and third years - with the hope that the format will also expand to four games, including one preseason game that will count toward the seeding of the regular season event.

These games would take place on neutral floors around Thanksgiving, with specifics yet to be determined. The hope is this event draws more attention on college basketball early in the season.

What about Player's Era?

This event could cause issues with Gonzaga's current agreement with the Players Era Festival, which runs through 2027-28. A simple solution could be to have the Zags play in the 8-team PEF tournament, which takes place the week before Thanksgiving, freeing them up to participate in Diamond Club during feast week.

If Gonzaga were to stay in both events, they could earn upward of $5 million in cash, with Player's Era still paying out $1M to each participating team, and additional money for teams that finish first or second.

Gonzaga's 2026 non-conference schedule already includes a marquee matchup with Duke on Feb. 20, which will be part of the Blue Devils new agreement with Amazon Prime and reportedly will include over $500,000 heading Gonzaga's way for participating.

The Zags are also set to play Purdue on Nov. 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and Michigan State on Dec. 19 at Acrisure Arena in Las Vegas.