Report: Gonzaga in 'deep discussions' to join Diamond Cup event including Kansas, UConn, Michigan, others
May 20—Gonzaga and seven other marquee college basketball programs could be part of the sport's next premier multi-team nonconference event beginning in 2027. The Zags are one of eight teams in "deep discussions" about joining a pool-play nonconference event called the Diamond Cup, according to a report on Wednesday from CBS Sports. If the event unfolds as planned, Gonzaga would be in elite company joining a pool of teams that would include blue bloods like Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Indiana, recent national champions Michigan and UConn and Arizona, which recently made the Final Four under former Zag assistant Tommy Lloyd.
The eight teams being considered have combined to make 24 national championship appearances since 2000, including Gonzaga's two title-game appearances in 2017 and 2020. The group also includes four of the last five national champions. Event organizers are still in the preliminary stages and schools have yet to sign official contracts to participate in the tournament, according to CBS Sports.
A Gonzaga official did not immediately respond to a text message from The Spokesman-Review on Wednesday afternoon seeking comment. The tournament would feature an eight-team pool-play format debuting in 2027-28. Teams would play two games during the initial tournament before potentially shifting to a a four-game format in 2028-29, including three regular-season games and one in the preseason.
Under the two-game format, teams would play neutral-site games around the Thanksgiving holiday, with specific dates and locations still to be determined. If the event expands to four games, teams could play one exhibition and three regular-season matchups from October through Thanksgiving week in three neutral-site cities, per CBS Sports. Gonzaga's current agreement with the Las Vegas-based Players Era Festival, which runs through the 2027-28 season, could complicate the Zags' participation in the inaugural Diamond Cup.
One solution could be Gonzaga participating in the smaller, eight-team Players Era event the week before Thanksgiving — as opposed to the main 16-team field they're competing in this fall — and still playing Diamond Cup games the following week. Gonzaga could cash in by participating in one or both tournaments two years from now. In the past, Players Era has distributed $1 million to participating teams and an additional $1 million to the champion, with $500,000 going to the runner-up.
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