College Basketball Crown Unveils First-of-Its-Kind Wearable Trophy for Inaugural Tournament

Associated Press

28-03-2025

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 28, 2025--
The College Basketball Crown today unveiled the 2025 Crown Trophy for the inaugural tournament, introducing the first wearable trophy of its kind in modern sports. Designed by award-winning agency rEvolution, the trophy is meant to be physically worn by the future College Basketball Crown champions. A bold new symbol of championship prestige, it has been designed to transform tradition into a moment of triumph.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
The College Basketball Crown today is the first wearable trophy of its kind in modern sports.
'When AEG and FOX Sports came together to create the College Basketball Crown, the business of creating a proper and impressive trophy for the ultimate champions was a key priority,' said Kara Korber, Sr. Director of Business Development, AEG. 'With its one-of-a-kind design, the Crown Trophy, which will be worn proudly by the first-ever champions on April 6 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, will be just as innovative and unique as the tournament itself.'
Taking direct inspiration from the tournament's logo, also designed by rEvolution, the trophy merges the iconic seams of a basketball with the regal form of a crown. The final piece is a gold plated, high polished CNC 6061 aluminum crown set atop a black walnut wood base, complete with routed channel and laser-etched details. Measuring at 9.85' w x 11.0' d x 7.0' h (with the base at 11.0' w x 11.0' d x 3.0' h), the coveted trophy features a removable crown designed to be worn by the tournament champions during the FOX-televised final and throughout postgame celebrations.
'Early on in the development of the name and identity for the tournament, the opportunity to align those elements cohesively with an innovative concept for the trophy itself emerged, and it was too exciting to pass up – we think that excitement will be felt in the moment of presentation as well, when the players can finally lift it – and wear it,' said Kevin McGraw, Sr. Creative Director for rEvolution.
Launched by FOX Sports and AEG, the College Basketball Crown is a premier postseason college basketball tournament taking place from March 31 to April 6, 2025, in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena, airing on FOX and FS1. The tournament features 16 elite teams from conferences including the Big Ten, Big 12, and BIG EAST, along with additional at-large participants. Athletes participating in the post-season competition will also be entered in a first-of-its-kind NIL initiative, which will award $500,000 in NIL compensation and student-athlete endorsement deals on behalf of Vivid Seats to the tournament's top four finishing teams – making the College Basketball Crown a landmark event both on and off the court.
The first round of the College Basketball Crown tournament features eight games. The matchups include Utah vs. Butler, George Washington vs. Boise State, Nebraska vs. Arizona State and Georgetown vs. Washington State, followed by DePaul vs. Cincinnati, Oregon State vs. UCF, Colorado vs. Villanova and Tulane vs. USC.
For more information on tickets and tournament schedule, visit vividseats.com or collegebasketballcrown.com for the latest updates.
ABOUT THE COLLEGE BASKETBALL CROWN
Launched by FOX Sports and AEG, the College Basketball Crown is a premier postseason college basketball tournament debuting in March 2025 in Las Vegas at MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena. Featuring 16 elite teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, BIG EAST, and additional at-large participants, the tournament offers a new and highly competitive postseason opportunity for student-athletes and fans alike. The inaugural College Basketball Crown will take place from March 31 to April 6, 2025, with all games airing on FOX and FS1.
Key partners of the inaugural College Basketball Crown include:
Vivid Seats – Official Ticketing Provider
GHOST® – Founding Partner; Official Energy Drink and Hydration Partner
JSX – Founding Partner; Official Air Carrier
Circa Resort & Casino – Founding Partner; Official Host Hotel
MGM Resorts International – Official Partner
Valvoline™ Global Operations – Official Motor Oil Partner
For more information on the College Basketball Crown, visit: https://collegebasketballcrown.com.
ABOUT AEG
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, AEG is the world's leading sports and live entertainment company. The company operates in the following business segments:
Music through AEG Presents, which is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performances, including the production and promotion of global and regional concert tours, an extensive portfolio of clubs, theaters and other music venues, concerts and special events and world-renowned festivals such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival;
Venues and Real Estate, which develops, owns and operates world-class venues, as well as major sports and entertainment districts like Crypto.com Arena and L.A. LIVE, Uber Platz in Berlin and The O2 in London;
Sports, as the world's largest operator of high-profile sporting events and sports franchises including the LA Kings, LA Galaxy and Eisbären Berlin;
Global Partnerships, which oversees worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships including naming rights, premium seating, and other strategic partnerships; and
Ticketing, which, through its AXS.com ticketing platform, provides more than 400 clients worldwide with ticketing services that cover the gamut of entertainments, including sporting events, arena tours, music clubs festival, rodeos and family events.
Through its worldwide network of venues, portfolio of powerful sports and music brands and its integrated entertainment districts, AEG entertains more than 90 million guests annually. More information about AEG can be found at www.aegworldwide.com.
ABOUT VIVID SEATS
Founded in 2001, Vivid Seats is a leading online ticket marketplace committed to becoming the ultimate partner for connecting fans to the live events, artists, and teams they love. Based on the belief that everyone should 'Experience It Live,' the Chicago-based company provides exceptional value by providing one of the widest selections of events and tickets in North America and an industry leading Vivid Seats Rewards program where all fans earn on every purchase. Vivid Seats also owns Vivid Picks, a daily fantasy sports app. Through its proprietary software and unique technology, Vivid Seats drives the consumer and business ecosystem for live event ticketing and enables the power of shared experiences to unite people. Vivid Seats has been recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Best Companies for Customer Service in ticketing. Fans who want to have the best live experiences can start by downloading the Vivid Seats mobile app, going to vividseats.com, or calling 866-848-8499.
Michael Roth, AEG
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Shannon Donnelly, AEG Global Partnerships
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Jack Pennington, FOX Sports
[email protected]
Julia Young, Vivid Seats
[email protected]
SOURCE: AEG
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PUB: 03/28/2025 09:23 AM/DISC: 03/28/2025 09:23 AM