FOX Sports and AEG announced the College Basketball Crown, a college basketball postseason tournament which will begin in 2025. The 16-team tournament will feature matchups from select conferences as the inaugural event will feature schools from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East along with at-large teams.
The first College Basketball Crown will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from Monday, March 31 to Sunday, April 6, 2025. All of the games will air on FOX and FS1.
Teams that did not qualify for the NCAA tournament will be eligible for the College Basketball Crown, with two automatic qualifiers coming from each participating conference and additional teams chosen by a committee.
“Postseason college basketball is one of the most exciting times of year and FOX Sports is proud to be at the forefront of efforts to evolve and elevate the sport,” said Jordan Bazant, Executive Vice President, FOX Sports. “Alongside AEG and the Big Ten, Big 12 and BIG East, we are thrilled to provide more opportunities for student-athletes to compete in high quality postseason college hoops and for viewers to enjoy the chase for the College Basketball Crown.”
AEG Global Partnerships will have exclusive rights to all commercial sales and sponsorship activations for the College Basketball Crown with FOX Sports overseeing media rights and broadcast sales.
“We are thrilled to join FOX Sports, the Big Ten, Big 12 and BIG EAST who share our vision and our enthusiasm to create one-of-a-kind experiences and events that benefit both fans and the entire global sports landscape,” said Todd Goldstein, Chief Revenue Officer, AEG. “The time is right, Las Vegas is the ideal destination, and the College Basketball Crown is the perfect additive event to further elevate the most exciting postseason in sports.”
