The NCAA on Tuesday circulated a memo related to the association's rules regarding men's basketball multiple-team events (MTE) that raised some eyebrows as it pertains to the new Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, which will pay $1 million to each of the NIL collectives of its eight participating teams.
Alabama, Creighton, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State and Texas A&M are all on board for the tournament.
The tournament is expected to double in size in 2025 and beyond, and Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan, Syracuse and Virginia have all been in discussions about playing next year. Event organizers are currently in talks to land T-Mobile Arena, MGM Grand Garden Arena and Michelob ULTRA Arena as host sites for the games. Games will be played on Nov. 26, 27 and 29, with Thanksgiving held as an off-day.
According to Sportico, which obtained a two-page FAQ sent Tuesday to tournament operators and schedulers, the NCAA reiterated that its bylaws make it “impermissible” for athletes to receive NIL money in exchange for participating in an MTE, even if that money is first routed through a collective. EverWonder, which previously has said it’s been working with the NCAA, has sought to distinguish the money it is paying to collectives as being tied to athlete “NIL opportunities” with “sponsors outside of competition.”
The other issue the NCAA took issue with in its memo was the tournament's format. The NCAA currently prohibits two teams from the same conference simultaneously participating in the same MTE.
“Even if the MTE is structured in such a way (e.g., divisions/brackets) in which two teams from the same conference will not play each other, two teams from the same conference may not participate in the same MTE,” the association wrote.
