Vivid Seats will fund $500,000 in NIL money to athletes of the winning teams in the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas that begins next week.
Arizona State will face Nebraska at 5:30 p.m. on Monday (ESPN 620 AM and 98.7 HD-2) in the first round of the tournament that includes 16 teams that didn’t make the NCAA or NIT tournaments.
“What is important here is that we’re seeing the goals of multiple parties achieved and this tournament is enhancing college basketball for student athletes, for fans and for brands,” AEG president and COO of global partnerships Nick Baker told Sports Business Journal. “The prize pool speaks to that.”
Vivid Seats will split the $500,000 among the top four finishing teams, giving athletes brand ambassador deals. Those athletes will, in turn, become involved in marketing campaigns, such as social media activations.
According to Sports Business Journal, the money will be distributed like so:
— $300,000 to the winning team
— $100,000 to the second-place team
— $100,000 evenly to the third- and fourth-place teams
The College Basketball Crown will run from Monday through April 6 and be played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the opening rounds and T-Mobile Arena in the semifinals and championship game.
It is also sponsored by Ghost Energy, JSX, MGM Resorts International, Valvoline, Mercury Insurance and Circa Resort & Casino.
In the bracket, ASU and Nebraska are joined by Boise State, Butler, Cincinnati, Colorado, DePaul, Georgetown, George Washington, Oregon State, Tulane, UCF, USC, Utah, Villanova and Washington State.
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