In 2025, Fox Sports and AEG will launch the College Basketball Crown, a new postseason college basketball tournament that promises to be an exciting alternative to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The tournament will take place from March 31 to April 6 at two iconic venues in Las Vegas: the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena. These venues have a rich history of hosting college basketball games, including the Pac-12 tournaments.
The College Basketball Crown is open to all teams that do not qualify for the NCAA tournament. The Big Ten, Big 12, and Big East conferences, whose games are broadcast on Fox, will each have two automatic entries into the tournament. The rest of the teams will be selected by a committee. This means that several schools from power conferences who have declined invitations to the NIT will have another opportunity to compete in high-quality postseason college basketball.
Fox Sports executive vice president Jordan Bazant expressed his excitement about the new tournament, stating that postseason college basketball is a thrilling time of year and they are proud to be leading efforts to elevate the sport. The goal of the College Basketball Crown is to provide more opportunities for student-athletes to compete in high-quality postseason college basketball and for viewers to enjoy the competition for the College Basketball Crown.
The NIT is college basketball’s oldest major postseason tournament, but with its recent changes in selection process that includes more teams from power six conferences, several schools from power conferences have declined invitations. However, this shift reflects a growing interest in postseason basketball competitions and provides an opportunity for new players and fans to experience something different from traditional tournaments like NCAA or NIT.
