The Players Era Men’s Championships event in Las Vegas is expanding.
According to a report from ESPN on Thursday, the event will grow to 24 teams for the new season and split into 2 separate tournaments over the course of 2 weeks. The first tournament will take place Nov. 16. The next will start on Nov. 23.
In total, 4 SEC teams will take part in the event. Florida and Auburn will participate in the “Players Era Eight” bracket on Nov. 16. Alabama and Tennessee will be part of the 16-team bracket the following week.
The format change is a welcome one. It was an 8-team elimination event in 2024. Last year, the field grew to 18 teams and switched systems, guaranteeing 2 games for each team and then scheduling a third based on record and scoring margin.
Michigan beat Gonzaga in the final. Tennessee played Kansas in the third-place game.
The Gators and Tigers will be joined in the 8-team, Nov. 16 bracket by Houston, Kansas, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Rutgers, and UNLV.
In the 16-team, Thanksgiving Week bracket, Tennessee and Alabama will be joined by defending national champion Michigan, Gonzaga, St. John’s, Louisville, Iowa State, Miami, Texas Tech, Baylor, Maryland, TCU, Oregon, Creighton, San Diego State, and Kansas State.
ESPN will hold the exclusive broadcast rights to all 37 games. With the network going all in on the expanded Player’s Era event, traditional Feast Week MTEs like the Maui Invitational and the Battle 4 Atlantis could ultimately end up being undercut.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
