The 2024 Players Era Festival was an early-season men's college basketball tournament. It was first edition of the Players Era Festival and was played from November 26 to November 30, 2024. Oregon won the tournament.
Overview The tournament was created to give each team at least $1 million toward each team's Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
In August 2024, the NCAA sent out a memo reiterating that players could not be directly compensated for participating in an MTE, even if the money was routed through a collective. EverWonder claimed that players would participate in sponsorship opportunities on behalf of the event that would allow for NIL compensation, with this compensation being described in agreements between EverWonder and the schools' NIL collectives, but not in the agreements between EverWonder and the schools themselves.
The following month, a financial representative for the event informed Sportico that an announcement would be made soon for the sponsor and TV partner. The publication questioned the event's prospective profitability, as other MTEs bring in between $1–3 million, far below the potential amount needed to make the event profitable.
Teams Rankings from the AP poll Team ConferenceSan Diego StateMountain WestNo. 21 CreightonBig EastOregonBig TenNo. 20 Texas A&MSECNo. 6 HoustonBig 12No. 9 AlabamaSECRutgersBig TenNotre DameACC
Bracket Power Division
Impact Division
Championship Day
All-Tournament team MVP in bold PlayerPosition TeamTJ BambaGuardOregonDylan HarperGuardRutgersWade Taylor IVGuardTexas A&MMiles ByrdGuardSan Diego StateMark SearsGuardAlabama
Broadcasting TNT Sports holds the exclusive rights to broadcast the 2024 Players Era Festival. Games aired across TNT, TBS, TruTV and Max. All games additionally streamed on Max, two games were exclusive to the streaming service.
The broadcast teams were as follows: Brian Anderson, Grant Hill, Allie LaForce JB Long, Candace Parker, Lauren Jbara
References