The college basketball event in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving week, known as the NIL-based Players Era Festival, has announced the schedule, venue, and TV partners. San Diego State will play Creighton, Oregon, and Texas A&M in a four-team round-robin tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The event, aimed at promoting the NIL era in college sports, offers significant payouts to teams and features innovative formats, live music, and financial education programs.
Despite concerns raised by an NCAA memo regarding NIL payouts, the event is moving forward as planned. SDSU officials have been in regular contact with the NCAA to ensure compliance. Coach Brian Dutcher faces a tough challenge as he looks to build a new team after losing key players from last season’s successful run. The upcoming nonconference schedule will include matchups against ranked teams like Gonzaga, and a fully balanced conference schedule with 20 games.
The event provides SDSU with an opportunity to compete against strong opponents and build their resume. With the Mountain West moving to a fully balanced round-robin schedule, the team will have limited opportunities for nonconference games. Despite the challenges ahead, Dutcher remains optimistic about his team’s potential and the competitive experiences they will gain from participating in the Players Era Festival.
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