The UNLV Rebels bench cheer action against the Creighton Bluejays in the first half at CHI Health Center Omaha. Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

2025 Player Era Festival Brings $20M NIL Showdown To Las Vegas Featuring UNLV

Originally posted on UNLV Rebels on SI
By Mark Morales-Smith | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 1:15 PM ET

The 2025 Player Era Festival, also being called "November Mania" is viewed as the most anticipated regular season event of the college basketball season. The event will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and Michelob Ultra Arena on Thanksgiving week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 24-26. The teams will be competing for a pot of more than $20 million in NIL-related earnings.

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels will be competing in the second year of this game-changing tournament. They will be battling for the tournament championship with 17 other teams. Last season the tournament had just eight teams, and the only team that will not be returning is Texas A&M. This year, the field will consist of Alabama, Creighton, Houston, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, San Diego State, Maryland, Auburn, Baylor, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan, St. John's, Syracuse, Tennessee and UNLV.

The matchups are set:

Monday, Nov. 24

No. 22 Tennessee vs. Rutgers, 1 p.m.

Baylor vs. Creighton, 2 p.m.

No. 18 Kansas vs. Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m.

No. 1 St. John's vs. No. 13 Iowa State, 4:30 p.m.

No. 2 Houston vs. Syracuse, 6 p.m.

No. 17 Oregon vs. No. 19 Auburn, 8 p.m.

No. 14 Alabama vs. No. 21 Gonzaga, 9:30 p.m.

No. 8 Michigan vs. San Diego State, 10:30 p.m.

Maryland vs. UNLV, 12:00 a.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 25

Rutgers vs. Notre Dame, 1 p.m.

No. 13 Iowa State vs. Creighton, 2:30 p.m.

No. 18 Kansas vs. Syracuse, 3:30 p.m

No. 1 St. John's vs. Baylor, 5 p.m.

No. 2 Houston vs. No. 22 Tennessee, 6 p.m.

No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 19 Auburn, 8:30 p.m.

No. 21 Gonzaga vs. Maryland, 9:30 p.m.

No. 17 Oregon vs. San Diego State, 11 p.m.

No. 14 Alabama vs. UNLV, 12:00 a.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 26

Consolation/third-place game: 7 p.m.

Championship game: 9:30 p.m.

All of the other games on Wednesday will be determined by the results of the games on Monday and Tuesday. Teams that go 2-0 in the opening two rounds will move into Wednesday's championship rounds. If more than two teams are 2-0 when it comes time for the championship game, then tiebreakers will come into play.

How the money will be split among player is still a work in progress after the recent House Settlement:

"If you want to give a player $70,000, that would be clean, but one guy getting 400 (thousand), probably not," one head coach in the event told CBS Sports. "You would think there would probably be a line there. I'm not sure what it is, I'm not Deloitte, but north of six figures seems too much."