Fox Sports unveils unnecessary college basketball tournament for 2025

Are you ready for some meaningless postseason college basketball? If so, Fox Sports has the product just for you.

On Wednesday — in a move no one asked for — Fox Sports announced the inaugural College Basketball Crown set for March 31-April 6, 2025 in Las Vegas.

The 16-team field will feature automatic bids from three conferences that have media rights deals with Fox — the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East — while the remaining 10 spots will feature at-large representatives.

The timing is curious, with the tournament occurring weeks after the teams played in their conference tournaments. 

Some coaches withdrew their teams from this year's NIT to focus on recruiting and the transfer portal. While the tournament's later date somewhat negates those concerns, teams in the CBC could look considerably different than they did at the end of the season.

The transfer portal opens on March 17, giving players two weeks to enter, which could throw rosters into disarray. Some programs will likely have made coaching changes, not satisfied with their season culminating with a prestigious College Basketball Crown bid.

The exclusion of the ACC and SEC, which have media rights deals with ESPN, further delegitimizes this charade. It's nothing more than a way for the network to wring money from its media rights deals with the conferences.

Excuse us for sticking with the women's NCAA Tournament and the opening week of the MLB season instead of tuning in. Heck, reading NFL mock drafts would be more productive.

The CBC is an unnecessary addition to an already-overstuffed college basketball calendar. Let's hope it doesn't get renewed for a second season.