Bruins WBB Playing in Las Vegas Thanksgiving Weekend

UCLA Athletics and Players Era announced Tuesday that the Bruins women's basketball team will be competing in the 2025 Players Era Women's Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, during Thanksgiving Weekend.

UCLA will be joined by Duke, South Carolina and Texas in the tournament from Nov. 26-27. 2025 will be the inaugural Players Era tournament and is the first event that has equal NIL opportunities for both men and women's programs.

"Players Era Championship will be the first major basketball event to include equal NIL compensation opportunities for men and women," Players Era sain in a statement on its website. "Players Era is excited to join the WTA and the World Surf League as sports properties who have events that provide equal compensation opportunities for men and women."

Three of the four programs competing in the tournament, including UCLA, are coming off Final Four appearances in the 2025 NCAA Women's March Madness tournament.

"As a program striving to consistently compete at a championship level, it's essential to measure ourselves against the best," said The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close. "We're excited for a potential rematch with South Carolina and the opportunity to compete against other exceptional programs at the Player's Era Women's Championship. This will be the premier out of conference tournament with a national audience to boot.  It is a great honor to be included in this elite event."

The Bruins are taking on the Longhorns in the first semifinals matchup on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 11 a.m. PT. South Caroline and Duke are clashing in the other semifinal matchup right after at 1:30 p.m. PT. The inaugural Players Era Women's Championship title game will be the next day on Thursday, Nov. 27, at 5 p.m. PT, followed by the third place game at 7:30 p.m. PT.

The venue and television assignment for the Thanksgiving tournament will be announced at a later date.

The Bruins are coming off a 34-3 record in their first season in the Big Ten and lost to the eventual national champion UConn Huskies in the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Close and her squad are coming into next season with desire exceed last season's results.