Rutgers Basketball: Players Era Tournament Adds More Teams, Splits Into Two Brackets
The Players era Tournament is back with a different look.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 25: Darren Buchanan Jr. #5 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights dribbles against Jalen Haralson #10 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half of their game during the Players Era Championship basketball tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena on November 25, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Fighting Irish defeated the Scarlet Knights 68-63.
(Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images) | Getty Images Rutgers basketball is scheduled to head back to the Players Era Tournament next season, but this time, things are going to look drastically different because the tournament has expanded to 24 teams and has been split into two separate brackets. On top of all of these changes, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported on Thursday morning that the Players Era Tournament and EverWonder Studio, the company behind the tournament, have agreed to a multiyear deal with ESPN to become the tournament’s exclusive broadcast partner. The tournament itself has been divided into two brackets, one of 8 teams and one of 16 teams.
Rutgers will play in the 8-team bracket, dubbed the Players Era 8, on the week of November 16th, while the other 16-team bracket, dubbed the Players Era 16, will take place the following week, the same week as Thanksgiving, the same week the tournament was held in years past. The seven other teams Rutgers will be competing against in their 8-team bracket are Florida, Houston, Kansas, Auburn, West Virginia, Notre Dame, and UNLV while defending national champion Michigan, Alabama, Gonzaga, St. John’s, Louisville, Tennessee, Iowa State, Miami, Texas Tech, Baylor, Maryland, TCU, Oregon, Creighton, San Diego State, and Kansas State will compete in the 16 team bracket.
The brackets for each of the tournaments are yet to be released, along with the NIL opportunities for the winners; however, it has been released that the payout for all schools in the tournament averages out to be just slightly over 1 million dollars just for participating. Rutgers is 2-4 in the Players Era Tournament overall. In 2024, they took down Notre Dame in an overtime thriller before being bested by No.