A new men’s college basketball tournament is in the works, Seth Davis of The Messenger reported Monday morning.
FOX Sports is negotiating a tournament that would consist of the top 16 teams from the Big East, Big Ten, and Big 12 conferences. The tournament would take place in Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena during the final week of March after the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament. FOX’s current proposal would require the 16 invited teams to play in the tournament, whether they are invited to the NIT or not.
Though unable to pay players directly due to NCAA rules, FOX plans to promote its participating players at the individual level. As described in Davis’s article, the tournament would include promotion of the competing players through Name, Image and Likeness deals arranged between FOX and its corporate partners.
FOX and the NCAA have had ongoing arrangements for the tournament since the 2022-2023 season and are expected to make a final decision in the coming days.
