Players Era Festival reveals new bracket format for 2026, what it means for Gonzaga

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs have never been afraid to challenge themselves during the non-conference portion of the schedule, which is what made the Players Era Festival so appealing last season.

That, and the $1M NIL payout to every participating team.

This year, that payout will still be in effect, but nearly everything else about the fledgling event will look different.

Entering its third year, Players Era has now expanded to 24 teams and will divide the event up into two distinct bracketed tournaments - the Players Era 8, featuring eight teams and running the week of Nov. 16, and Players Era 16, featuring the remaining 16 teams and running during 'Feast week' Nov. 23-27.

Gonzaga will be part of the 16-team bracket, giving them three guaranteed games and potentially a fourth if they advance to the championship game.

The Zags defeated Alabama and Maryland before losing to Michigan in the championship game in 2025, and could face all three of those teams again in 2026.

Gonzaga, Michigan, Alabama, and Maryland are joined by St. John's, Louisville, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Kansas State, Oregon, Creighton, and fellow Pac-12 team San Diego State in the 16-team bracket.

Florida, Houston, Kansas, Auburn, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Rutgers, and hometown UNLV make up the Players Era 8.

Here are the official Players Era Festival fields for the week before Thanksgiving and for Thanksgiving Week pic.twitter.com/DZupKvChNB
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 7, 2026

Specific matchups, dates, times, and locations will be announced at a later date this offseason. Gonzaga can expect to avoid Creighton and San Diego State, at least in the first round, with a road matchup against Creighton expected elsewhere in the non-con and two matchups set against the Aztecs in Pac-12 play.

Oregon could also be on Gonzaga's non-con in Seattle, with that game slated to take place either in 2026-27 or 2027-28, according to Ducks head coach Dana Altman.

Worldwide Leader in the mix

In addition to announcing the new format, Players Era revealed a multiyear agreement with ESPN to serve as the exclusive broadcast partner. ESPN will broadcast all 37 games in the event this season, giving Gonzaga another opportunity to play on the national network.

"We couldn't be more excited to forge this new partnership with ESPN, which will deliver an even larger platform for what has become the best college basketball tournament outside of March and create new opportunities to engage with fans across the country," EverWonder CEO Ian Orefice said in a statement. "I also want to thank TNT Sports for giving us the opportunity to launch this signature showcase event; they have been outstanding partners over the past two years and played a tremendous role in our success."

Elite Non Conference for Zags

These four games in Vegas will be part of what is already an incredibly tough non-conference schedule for Few and the Zags. Gonzaga is set to play Purdue in Las Vegas on Nov. 2 to open up the season, and will face Michigan State on Dec. 19 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs.

Gonzaga also has a mid-February showdown against the mighty Duke Blue Devils on Feb. 20 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, part of Duke's new deal with Amazon.

Finally, the Zags will play both Creighton and Kentucky on the road as part of an ongoing series. Gonzaga is also reportedly renewing a two-year series with UCLA, and is set to host Oregon in Seattle, although neither of those games is confirmed to be happening in 2026-27 as of this writing.

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