College Basketball Crown's unique trophy unveiled as tournament nears tip-off
The College Basketball Crown unveiled a unique trophy that will be handed to the winners of the 16-team men's postseason tournament in Las Vegas next month.
The trophy is an actual crown and the first wearable piece of hardware of its kind in postseason college basketball. The gold crown was unveiled on FOX Sports' "Breakfast Ball" on Friday morning with the tournament getting ready to tip off on Monday.
The crown's unveiling came in the midst of a week of huge news surrounding the tournament.
The tournament will include a name, image and likeness (NIL) prize pool that will award the winning school with a $300,000 NIL package. The second-place school will earn a $100,000 package, and the two semifinalists will earn $50,000 through the Vivid Seats Ambassador Program.
"We're trying to raise the experience for student-athletes," FOX Sports executive vice president Jordan Bazant said on Tuesday. "College football has evolved in so many ways. There's no big-game bowl experience for basketball programs. We have 12 NBA teams coming to this event, if not more. If you're in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT, you can't send someone to every game. At our event, you can, and we'll have NBA people at every single game. It's exposure that they wouldn't otherwise have.
"For our programs, this is their first game and first week in the 2025-26 year. It cleanses you of the year you've had to a degree, or it provides that next step for a program."
Arizona State, Boise State, Butler, Cincinnati, Colorado, DePaul, Georgetown, George Washington, Nebraska, Oregon State, Tulane, UCF, USC, Utah, Villanova and Washington State will all compete. The games will take place at the T-Mobile Arena and MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The tournament begins Monday and runs through April 6. Games can be seen on FS1 with the final being shown on FOX.
FOX Sports is also running a Super 6 contest for fans to make predictions around the tournament games.
A competitor would have to predict team and player performances, compete against other fans on FOX Sports and climb the leaderboard for a shot at the top prize. First prize includes $3,000. Second place will yield the competitor $1,000. The third-place winner gets $500, fourth gets $250, fifth gets $150 and sixth wins $100.
The Vivid Seats discount is only valid for orders to the College Basketball Crown placed via Vivid Seats' site or app. 20% off ticket price (excl. taxes, fees & shipping costs), Max Savings $250. Discount expires at 11:59 pm PT, Sunday, April 6, 2025. Discount is non-transferable. Not valid for past orders.
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