College Basketball Crown returning in 2026, but field will be smaller than first edition

USA Today

6 days ago

College basketball's newest postseason tournament will be significantly shrunk next season.
The College Basketball Crown will return for 2026, Fox Sports and AEG announced on Monday, July 21. However, the field will be cut in half from the inaugural edition, going down from 16 teams to eight.
The tournament, which will remain in Las Vegas and be played April 1-5, will feature the top two teams from the big Ten, Big 12 and Big East that didn't receive an NCAA Tournament bid, as well as two wild card selections determined by its committee.
Name, image and likeness prizes are the big selling point for the tournament. In 2025, champion Nebraska received a $300,000 prize pool for winning the tournament, while Central Florida got $100,000 as the runner-up. Semifinalists Boise State and Villanova each got $50,000 for their respective finishes.
"We launched the College Basketball Crown to create more opportunities for elite competition during the thrilling college basketball post-season – and we saw an incredible response from fans, conferences, and players for the inaugural tournament," Fox Sports executive vice president Jordan Bazant said in a statement.
Why is College Basketball Crown field is smaller?
While it's a positive sign the tournament will return, it's notable how the field is cut in half. In the 2025 tournament, 16 teams were in, with guaranteed spots for the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East.
However, teams like Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State and West Virginia turned down invitations, even though they were the next best teams left in their respective conferences.
It has become an ongoing trend for squads that just miss out on the tournament. When teams don't hear their names called on Selection Sunday, it usually means players hit the transfer portal, leaving rosters in doubt of whether it will have a suitable lineup to play in. The NIT and other smaller postseason tournaments have dealt with the same issues.
With a smaller field, the College Basketball Crown could have a better field for its bracket, and it comes with possible expansion of the NCAA Tournament in 2026. Still, there is a chance the best teams left in each of conference could decline any postseason invitation, which would leave the College Basketball Crown to go down the conference standings to fill its spots.
Still, the College Basketball Crown was a success in terms of non-NCAA Tournament postseasons. It averaged 260,000 viewers on Fox and FS1, higher than the NIT on ESPN's platforms at 212,000 viewers. The championship game between the Cornhuskers and Knights − which went against the women's basketball national championship − averaged 822,000 viewers, the most for a non-NCAA Tournament postseason game.
College Basketball Crown 2026 schedule
The 2026 College Basketball Crown will be played April 1-5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and it will air on Fox and FS1.