Players Era Men's Championships Expand to 24 Teams

The Players Era Men's Championships in Las Vegas will expand to 24 teams next November, organizers announced Thursday, splitting the event into two bracket-style tournaments and securing ESPN as the exclusive broadcast partner under a multiyear agreement.

The Players Era Eight will take place the week of November 16, featuring Florida, the national champion from a year ago, alongside Auburn, Houston, Kansas, Notre Dame, Rutgers, UNLV and West Virginia. The Players Era Sixteen follows during Thanksgiving week, headlined by reigning national champion Michigan and including Alabama, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Oregon, St. John's, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas Christian and Texas Tech. All 37 games will air on ESPN networks, with ESPN Events collaborating on staging and operations.

Participating teams will play a minimum of three games each, with pairings and brackets to be determined later. Organizers said teams receive at least $1 million on average in name, image and likeness payments. The Big 12 Conference holds an equity stake, and the top eight teams in the standings earn automatic bids to the following year's event...