College Basketball Crown Announces Dates for 2026 Tournament
Dates for the 2026 tournament were announced on Monday, with the tournament starting on Tuesday, April 1, and ending on Sunday, April 5.
Just like the first edition of the tournament, the 2026 College Basketball Crown will take place in Las Vegas. Games will be played at either the MGM Grand Garden Arena or T-Mobile Arena.
However, there will be one change made to the College Basketball Crown 2026. There will only be eight teams in the tournament, cutting the field in half from the inaugural edition.
The eight teams that will make up the 2026 field for the College Basketball Crown will consist of the top two teams in the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 that didn't make the NCAA Tournament, along with two wild card teams selected by the committee.
"We launched the College Basketball Crown to create more opportunities for elite competition during the thrilling college basketball post-season – and we saw an incredible response from fans, conferences, and players for the inaugural tournament," FOX Sports executive vice president and College Basketball Crown board member Jordan Bazant said in a release. "We look forward to building on that momentum this spring by delivering high stakes matchups between top teams throughout the competition on FOX and FS1."
"The College Basketball Crown has already proven to be a premium, athlete-first post-season platform that delivers for schools, our brand partners, and fans," President and COO of AEG Global Partnerships and College Basketball Crown board member Nick Baker added. "We're proud to continue this tournament alongside FOX Sports and our partners and we look forward to raising the bar once again in 2026 with top-tier talent, world-class venues, and continued innovation."
Nebraska won the inaugural edition of the College Basketball Crown in 2025, winning three of its four games by double digits. It took down UCF in the title game, 77-66.
The inaugural edition of the College Basketball Crown featured a $300,000 name, image and likeness (NIL) prize pool for the champion. UCF, the runner-up, received a $100,000 NIL prize pool. Villanova and Boise State, who lost in the semifinals, received a $50,000 NIL prize pool.
New NIL prize opportunities related to the College Basketball Crown will be announced at a later date.
The second edition of the College Basketball Crown will also air on FOX and FS1.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily . FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Big East Big Ten Big 12
recommended
Item 1 of 1 Get more from the College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
American Press
an hour ago
- American Press
Cowboys finish hoops schedule
Finally, the Cowboys basketball schedule for the upcoming season is completed. A day after learning their Southland Conference schedule, McNeese State finished its 31-game regular season slate with a game at Rhode Island on December 3. The game will be the first meeting between the two teams. 'I knew it would be tough to get those buy games with the success the program has had over the last couple of years,' said Bill Armstrong, who takes over the Cowboys this season. 'It took a lot of work, but I like the schedule overall for us. It should help get us ready for the league.' The Cowboys will get somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000 to make the trip to Kingston, RI, just two days after they open Southland Conference play at Incarnate Word. 'I don't like playing nonconference games after we open conference play at all,' said Armstrong. 'It is just the way things turned out when the league expanded the conference schedule to 22 games.' The SLC released its schedule on Wednesday. McNeese will play two home games following the trip to Rhode Island against Northwestern State (Dec. 5) and East Texas A&M (Dec. 12) before hitting the road to Houston Christian on Dec. 15. They then head to Michigan on December 29 to close out 2025 and pick up somewhere around $90,000 to play the Wolverines. Two years ago, the Cowboys traveled to Michigan and announced their presence as an up-and-coming program with an 87-76 win, their first and only victory in 11 tries against a Big Ten school. Both teams have gone through significant changes in their roster since. As for the Rams, they finished last season 18-13, missing the NCAA Tournament by one game. The Rams lost to Fordham 88-71 for the Atlantic 10 championship. The Rams did not receive a bid to any postseason tournament. The game will be played in Kingston, RI, inside the 8,000-seat Ryan Center on the school's campus. That will give McNeese games on all three coasts as they will travel to Santa Clara to finish up a home-and-home series started last season in Lake Charles. The Cowboys will be looking for revenge in that game, as Santa Clara is the only team to beat McNeese on their home floor the last two years. They will also play at Corpus Christi, Texas, on the Gulf Coast, along with Rhode Island. The Rams will also be the second A-10 opponent on McNeese's schedule. They will take on George Washington, considered by some to be the favorite to win the Atlantic 10, to open their 3-game trip to the Cayman Islands on Sunday, November 23. They will finish up the Cayman Islands Classic with games against Murray State and Middle Tennessee the following two days. 'That is a very good tournament that will test us,' said Armstrong. 'We will also get some time together as a team, which helps build chemistry.' Getting the schedule finished was once again a grind, as teams have shied away from playing McNeese since the school has been winning. The Cowboys are 58-11 over the last two seasons, including winning for the first time in the NCAA Tournament in March. The Cowboys entered this week with two games to fill, but on Monday, it was learned they will play at Michigan for the second time in three years on December 29. McNeese will play just three home games outside the conference this season, opening with Champion Christian on Monday, November 3. They will also host the College of Biblical Studies (Nov. 10) and Louisiana-Lafayette (Nov. 14). 'It will be difficult playing all but three of our nonconference games away from home, but it is something we hope to use to our advantage,' said Armstrong. 'It should get us ready for the conference schedule. 'We have raised the bar here with our schedule in hopes of helping our seeding if we get to the NCAA Tournament again. That is the standard.' The last two years, McNeese has gone 1-2 in the NCAA, both times entering as a 12 seed. The Cowboys lost to Gonzaga in 2024 in the first round, but beat Clemson in the opener last before Purdue knocked them out.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Vikings Name Starting QB for First Preseason Game
We are just five days away from the Minnesota Vikings kicking off their first preseason game of the 2025 season. They'll play host to the Houston Texans. Plenty of parallels exist there with Danielle Hunter, Cam Robinson, Aireontae Ersery, and Ed Ingram all standing on the opposing sideline. There isn't much to glean from most exhibition games, but this one could be a bit different. After suffering a season-ending knee injury against the Las Vegas Raiders during the preseason last year, J.J. McCarthy will be back under center. Related Headlines Byron Buxton Rejected Multiple Trade Inquiries Before Deadline MN Twins Interested in Former (Familiar) Top Reliever 5 Quarterbacks the MN Vikings Should Dump Sam Howell For JJ McCarthy will start for Minnesota Vikings Last season J.J. McCarthy made his preseason debut against the Las Vegas Raiders on August 10, 2024. He'll return to the field for the first time one day shy of his year anniversary. McCarthy threw 17 passes against the Raiders and completed 11 of them. He passed for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed twice for 18 yards. So far in training camp the Vikings defense has had the offense struggling to move the football. Brian Flores' front seven ranks as the best in the sport, and that's not a surprise it would create problems for McCarthy and the offense. It's not a surprise that the Vikings would want to get McCarthy into game action. That said, the greatest point of growth throughout training camp may arguably be the joint practices with the New England Patriots. Mike Vrabel's squad will be in town for the week leading up to their exhibition contest. Those practices are an opportunity to learn, and McCarthy will see a defense other than his own. If there is a group for the former Michigan product to grow against though, it's his own teammates. McCarthy is constantly seeing high-level looks in practice, and that should only serve him well when the game goes at breakneck speed. McCarthy enters the season as the Vikings unquestioned starter after being made a first round pick last April. Minnesota is hoping he can be their franchise quarterback of the future, and the proving ground will be the results this season. Related: Everywhere he has been McCarthy has won. He left college after winning a National Championship. The Wolverines quarterback threw for 2,991 yards on a Big Ten-leading 72.3 completion rate. Minnesota hopes to see more of that and their first chance this season takes place on Saturday. Vikings revealed the expected with JJ McCarthy Earlier in training camp Thor Nystrom reported that the Minnesota Vikings would start McCarthy in their first preseason game. It is also the only game he is expected to play in. With McCarthy on the sidelines for both the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans contests, there will be plenty of time to evaluate the backups. Minnesota traded for Sam Howell as presumably the lead candidate behind McCarthy, but things haven't trended that way. The Vikings love Brett Rypien, and Max Brosmer joined the squad as an undrafted free agent. That trio will have their time to shine, or prove the backup isn't currently on the roster. When trying to establish a legitimate QB2, it's possible the Week 1 option is not currently on the roster. Related Headlines Byron Buxton Rejected Multiple Trade Inquiries Before Deadline MN Twins Interested in Former (Familiar) Top Reliever 5 Quarterbacks the MN Vikings Should Dump Sam Howell For
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
New Gophers QB Tasked With More Responsibilities at LOS
To say that Drake Lindsey has big shoes to fill would be putting it lightly. The reality is that Max Brosmer put up the best season we have seen from a Minnesota Gophers quarterback in recent memory. Now with the Minnesota Vikings, and already turning heads as part of the backup quarterback situation, Brosmer would love to see his replacement play at a high level. Lindsey knows there is plenty expected of him, and this schedule sets up well for P.J. Fleck's team to make noise. Lindsey will be under center later this month against the Buffalo Bulls, and the head coach is handing him plenty of responsibility. Related Headlines Justin Jefferson's House Up For Sale at Bargain Price… MN Twins Experimenting with New Pitching Philosophy Latest MN Vikings Injury Updates Bring Good News for Decimated Offense Drake Lindsey trusted early by Minnesota Gophers After transferring in from New Hampshire, Max Brosmer quickly acclimated to the Division 1 level and showed he was capable of hanging in the Big Ten. Drake Lindsey signed with Minnesota in December 2023, and has waited for his chance. It's now here and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. told the Star Tribune he's giving Lindsey everything he can handle. 'He's doing more [adjustments] at the line of scrimmage than Max was. That's by design,' Harbaugh said of Lindsey. 'He can handle it. It's exciting because he's been able to get our offense in great situations.' With the plan being for Lindsey to spread the ball around, Harbaugh realizes the complexities involved in not having one alpha receiver grab the bulk of the catches. Players must be on board. 'The first talk I gave this year was about being selfless,' Harbaugh said. 'We have to be able to understand that someone might come and get you out of the game. They're in there for that particular reason because they can execute that scheme. That's where we have to be.' Star Tribune Randy Johnson talked with Harbaugh about the plans for Minnesota's new quarterback. If Lindsey is going to succeed, or even improve upon the foundation that Brosmer laid, then this year is the launching point. The Big Ten is a gauntlet and Lindsey has a whopping five pass attempts under his belt. The redshirt freshman is excited about leading this team, but he must lean into the direction around him. Brosmer has continued to be an asset for P.J. Fleck, and he'll be a sounding board for Lindsey as long as the Arkansas-native wants him to be. Minnesota has been a running back school for some time now. That's not going to change with Darius Taylor and A.J. Turner in tow. If Lindsey can establish a passing game with a couple of transfers joining Le'Meke Brockington, then this offseason could surprise plenty around the nation. Related: Fleck continues to build momentum for the program. He earned yet another extension following the Duke's Mayo Bowl victory. The trajectory and limit for success this season is even higher. Related Headlines Justin Jefferson's House Up For Sale at Bargain Price… MN Twins Experimenting with New Pitching Philosophy Latest MN Vikings Injury Updates Bring Good News for Decimated Offense
