Gonzaga to Play in NIL Las Vegas Tournament in 2025

The future of college basketball holiday tournaments is upon us. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports first announced that an NIL-driven college basketball tournament will start next season with eight teams and then grow to 18 teams in 2025.

Gonzaga will officially be in the 2025 field with the likes of Houston, Alabama, Creighton, Oregon, San Diego State, Michigan, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Saint John’s, and Saint Joe’s. Duke, Kansas, and Virginia are still to be determined as all have previously been involved in talks.

The Players Era Festival in 2024 will take place from November 26th, 27th, and 29th (no games played on Thanksgiving) at the MGM Las Vegas. The event will include $1 million NIL payouts to each of the participating schools. Players involved will have also have future earnings opportunities through long-term NIL contracts.

The tournament will also include live music as well as other attractions. It’s being put on by EverWonder Studio, a production company based in New York.

Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho