Players Era Men's Championships hoops event expands to 24 teams - ESPN

Players Era, the EverWonder Studio company behind the rapidly growing November tournament, and ESPN have reached a multiyear agreement for ESPN to serve as the exclusive broadcast partner for the Players Era Men's Championships.

The event is also expanding to 24 teams, which will be split into two separate bracket-play tournaments over the course of two weeks in Las Vegas.

«College basketball is the hottest and one of the fastest-growing sports properties in the country,» Players Era CEO Seth Berger said. «The players have never been better, and record ratings for early season college basketball reflect that. Led by top programs from multiple conferences across the sport, the teams in our field are stronger than ever. We can't wait to bring March to November with the number one college basketball network in the world, ESPN.»

The week of November 16 will feature The Players Era Eight, with potential preseason No. 1 Florida highlighting a field that also includes Houston, Kansas, Auburn, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Rutgers and UNLV.

Thanksgiving Week will feature The Players Era Sixteen. Reigning champion Michigan is the headliner, with the Wolverines joined by Alabama, Gonzaga, St. John's, Louisville, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Texas Tech, Baylor, Maryland, TCU, Oregon, Creighton, San Diego State and Kansas State.

Moving to a bracket-play format is a notable change from last year's 18-team format, which gave each team two scheduled games and then determined each team's third game based on record and scoring margin.

ESPN networks will be the exclusive home of all 37 games next season.

«Players Era features elite programs, meaningful competition and high-stakes matchups to start each season,» said Dan Margulis, ESPN