Players Era to launch NIL-driven women's basketball tournament featuring South Carolina, UCLA, Duke, Texas

Players Era announced it will launch the Players Era Women’s Championship in 2025. 

The event features four national powerhouses: South Carolina, UCLA, Duke and Texas. Each program will engage in at least $1 million of NIL activities for Player Era and its sponsors outside of competition, meaning each program will receive $1 million in NIL for participating.

“We’re excited to be among the first women’s teams invited to play in the Players Era Women’s Championship,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “This innovative event brings together everything we’re looking for – quality games early in the season, a great location for fans to come and enjoy, and NIL opportunities for our players.”

The announcement of the women’s tournament comes after the successful launch of the men’s Players Era Festival, which debuted at MGM Grand Garden Arena and was distributed on TNT Sports. At that event, players from the nation’s top teams engaged in $9 million of NIL activities.

“Players Era is creating the first-ever tentpole women’s college basketball MTE with an unbelievably loaded field and fascinating storylines, early season matchups that are sure to set the tone for the rest of the season,” said Players Era CEO Seth Berger. “Our women’s championship includes the same level of guaranteed NIL opportunities for the players as the men’s championship. Women’s college basketball continues to drive an unprecedented level of excitement and engagement, and this incredible lineup with four national championship contenders is going to transform what’s possible for women’s college basketball early-season competition and is going to be one of the most anticipated sports events of the year.”

Players Era event features round-robin format

The women’s championship will take place in Las Vegas over three days during Thanksgiving week and coincide with next year’s men’s championship. The round-robin format gives each team three marquee matchups, with an overall champion determined by head-to-head record, then a series of tiebreakers including point differential, points scored, and points allowed.

“This is the premier regular season tournament in women’s college basketball,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “The brands and the talent combined create an elite showcase of our sport. I have a lot of respect for these programs and their willingness to challenge each other.”

Each of the four participating teams is currently ranked in the top eight of On3’s Top 25, making this a tournament with elite talent. 

“As a program striving to consistently compete at a championship level, it’s essential to measure ourselves against the best,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We’re excited for a rematch with South Carolina and the opportunity to compete against other exceptional programs at the Player’s Era Women’s Championship. This will be the premier out-of-conference tournament with a national audience to boot. It is a great honor to be included in this elite event.”