Holiday Basketball Tournament Replaces UCLA

The other three teams, Ohio State, Kentucky, and North Carolina, will remain part of the field throguh 2029, beginning at Madison Sqaure Garden in New York City this December. It will air on The CBS Television Network and Paramount+.

UCLA's History in the CBS Sports Classic

UCLA had only missed the CBS Sports Classic twice since its debut season: 2025 for travel reasons and 2021 in Las Vegas due to COVID-19 protocols. The Bruins held a 3-7 record in 10 appearances, defeating Ohio State once and Kentucky twice. UCLA's last win in the event came against the Wildcats in 2022.

However, the move is not a big surprise as CBS Sports reported that head coach Mick Cronin's travel concern grew from the timing of the mid-December event and the Bruins' subsequent demands throughout the season in an expanded Big Ten. Cronin has made several transparent comments about how bad the travel involved with the tournament was for his team, and it rarely had success in the games anyway.

Therefore, once UCLA officiallly pulled out of the 2025 event last spring, it was only a matter of time before a permanent replacement needed to be found.

What Does It Mean For UCLA?

Based on Cronin's concerns, it's doubtful the Bruins will seek a replacement event. The publicity of playing against some historically great porgrams had to help everyone on some level, but Cronin seems rightfully focused on conference play, especially at that time of year.

Most teams use that week to rest up after the semester and get ready for the conference portions of their schedules, but playing on the other side of the country so often was a clear dertiment to the West Coast team. This year, UCLA stayed home and played a couple local teams right before Christmas and had an extended break into conference play.

Despite having to deal with injuries recently, it's turned out fine. The Bruins are 6-3 in the league and have a top-12 win (top-4 at the time) over Purdue. So, while it may disappoint some of the fanbase, UCLA no longer being involved with the CBS Sports Classic just made sense for the program.

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