Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, Michigan, UConn involved in discussions with new blue-blood college basketball event

College basketball’s subsequent large regular-season event is in the works and, if it materializes as deliberate, will give the game one other large must-see attraction.

The proposal — at present in the latter planning phases — is an eight-team pool-play event referred to as the “Diamond Cup” that might debut for the 2027-28 males’s basketball season, sources advised CBS Sports. If it comes collectively as designed, the Diamond Cup might be blue blood-laden and, in addition to the Players Era Tournament, bolster the mainstream attraction of college basketball’s opening month in a means that is by no means been executed earlier than.

The eight colleges involved in deep discussions — however, as many sources careworn, aren’t but signed — symbolize the lion’s share of essentially the most storied and completed packages in college hoops historical past: Arizona, Connecticut, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina. Seven of these colleges have been in talks with Diamond Cup stakeholders since final summer season; Duke bowed out earlier this spring on account of its three-game contract with Amazon Prime Video, which begins later this 12 months. (More on that beneath.)

The Diamond Cup was concocted by former St. John’s athletic director Mike Cragg, who additionally beforehand labored at Duke for greater than three a long time; former Nike government Eric Lautenbach, who has fostered vital relationships on the college stage for many years; and former Draft Kings and tv government Ezra Kucharz. The trio has linked with William Morris Endeavor’s (WME) basketball division and IMG to assist in media advisory roles, in keeping with a pitch deck obtained by CBS Sports. Intersport, one of many premier organizations in college athletics for sport operations, has agreed to be a accomplice for ticketing, advertising and marketing and logistics, a supply added. 

In one pitch deck for the event, Diamond Cup organizers outline their new competitors as “a premium, scalable, made-for-media college basketball franchise built to redefine the regular season. It delivers guaranteed blue-chip brands, premium viewership and serialized national narratives across multiple cities.”

One large promote to the faculties: Equity in the Diamond Cup, which might probably give them further incomes potential if it turns into a serious mainstay on college basketball’s schedule into the 2030s. 

“As the first shared-equity alliance in college sports, the Diamond Cup creates deep institutional alignment and reimagines the beginning of the season for college basketball,” the pitch deck additionally states. “This long-term continuity is not just a tournament, but a new media property designed for the next era of live sports distribution.”

The driving drive of the event is a need to uplift college basketball’s opening month and make the game really feel as large as doable lengthy earlier than March Madness arrives. Diamond Cup’s founders need to foster as many big-time matchups as doable (particularly to profit the common season now {that a} 76-team NCAA Tournament might uninteresting a number of the relevance of the nonconference schedule).

The particulars and format of the Diamond Cup have shifted from the unique premise in the summer season of 2025. The preliminary pitch was a four-game collection for each workforce (16 video games per season general) on a three-year contract beginning in 2027-28. That format consists of three regular-season matchups and, to begin, one October exhibition sport that might nonetheless rely towards the Diamond Cup’s pool-play outcomes to find out a champion. The preliminary eight colleges had been lobbied in 2025 on the premise that they may make roughly $17 million over the course of the deal, sources stated, supplied the optimum media rights bundle might be offered.

That quantity has since modified, as has the format for Year 1. The 2027-28 season will probably be a two-game settlement, with open discussions on probably transferring to a four-game format (one preseason, three common season) for 2028-29, sources stated. Under a two-game association in 2027, colleges will purportedly obtain $2.25 million apiece, sources stated. The format for Years 2 and three are purported to bump to $3.75 million per college.

“Unprecedented guaranteed revenue for each school in a new era of competition and player revenue share requirements,” the pitch deck claims. “Huge guarantee [and] potential Name, Image [and] Likeness opportunities for players.”

The October preseason game is a twist on conference however was included in an effort to alleviate regular-season scheduling logistics whereas additionally simply arranging for a number of the largest packages to nonetheless play one another, amping curiosity earlier than the beginning of the season. Keep in thoughts, groups are actually commanding large figures ($500,000 or extra in many cases) to play high-profile scrimmages in October. 

Because there’s nonetheless no broadcast accomplice inked and a few groups are nonetheless awaiting extra particulars earlier than they signal contracts, the Diamond Cup is not but a assure. But this story has been brewing for nearly a 12 months, and because the months have gone on, sources at most colleges proceed to precise their curiosity in collaborating. If/in the case of fruition, here is extra on how the event might play out.

Diamond Cup format particulars

While some essential specifics have not been finalized, there may be one key aspect to creating the Diamond Cup a actuality: neutral-site places. As superb as it will be to see the likes of UNC, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan, and so forth. enjoying one another in on-campus venues yearly, the faculties’ conferences personal the printed rights to all residence video games. And since conferences have competing TV offers, this prevents the Diamond Cup from ever being an on-campus association.

By enjoying video games at sure impartial websites, the printed alternatives develop into extra versatile, and subsequently, open up the potential of an achievable media rights deal. Cup organizers described it as “low friction to current and possible future NCAA scheduling models” in their pitch to potential media companions.

A separate pitch deck introduced to the faculties included this promote: “The most ambitious and electrifying college basketball event ever created — 33 days, six playing dates, three iconic cities, eight blue blood programs, and 16 high-stakes men’s basketball games that will reshape the non-conference calendar for years to come. Each school plays four Diamond Cup games (3 regular season/1 exhibition) in pool play format from October thru Thanksgiving Week — in three neutral site cities.”

In a four-game situation (which might complete 16 video games between the eight colleges), the aim is to play video games on the West Coast, in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Chicago and New York are underneath critical consideration in that potential mannequin for 2028 and past, however provided that the Diamond Cup will get to the four-game format. In the two-game situation for all groups in 2027, the video games might be performed at one website surrounding Thanksgiving. That website is just not but determined. 

Teams from the identical convention (Michigan and Indiana, Kansas and Arizona) would theoretically not be scheduled in opposition to one another. The change in NCAA guidelines concerning MTEs (multi-team occasions) additionally makes the Diamond Cup a viable format transferring ahead.

Diamond Cup founders have vowed the “highest revenue guarantee in history to all founding institutions,” with the intention to rotate the cities/websites in order to make the event a nationwide college basketball jamboree that may be featured throughout the nation. There would even be a “player marketing fund” for the rosters, in an effort to contribute vital NIL alternatives. 

Organizers are additionally exploring the idea for ladies’s basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball for years down the highway, sources stated.

Why Duke is not in the sector

Ironically, the genesis for the Diamond Cup was sparked in no small half by one college that is not involved in the event. Before Cragg was St. John’s athletic director, he labored his means up in Duke Athletics and helped foster the advertising and marketing and scheduling for Duke all through its rise in the Nineties and 2000s as a nationwide sports activities powerhouse. It would solely make sense that Cragg would recruit Duke for the Diamond Cup, and for months the Blue Devils had been involved in talks. The Blue Devils’ inclusion in the sector was as essential, if no more so, than every other college as a result of Duke is taken into account essentially the most beneficial program in college basketball.

Connections with executives at Amazon additionally led to the chance, months in the past, for Prime Video to be in the combination as a rights holder for the Diamond Cup.

But Duke coach Jon Scheyer ultimately had different concepts. 

Flash ahead to May 2026 and Duke has its own three-game deal with Amazon Prime Video in the years ahead. In order for Scheyer and Duke to pursue that deal, it needed to make monetary sense if it was going to pivot off the Diamond Cup. And because the Diamond Cup was pitching colleges on greater than $4 million per 12 months, it is believed Duke’s deal with Amazon can pay north of $5 million per season on that multi-year deal. The Blue Devils introduced neutral-site video games for the 2026-27 season in opposition to UConn (in Las Vegas), Michigan (in New York City) and Gonzaga (in Detroit).

Coincidentally sufficient, these three opponents are all in the Diamond Cup combine for 2027 and past. Duke negotiating its Amazon deal was savvy but in addition led to a trade-off: For 2027-28 and 2028-29, the Blue Devils cannot play in every other multi-game occasions not affiliated with ESPN on account of an settlement between the varsity, the ACC and ESPN. 

Looming Players Era issues

The potential inclusion of Michigan, Kansas, Gonzaga and Arizona in the Diamond Cup will complicate one other large November event: The Players Era Tournament. The Players Era poached from different occasions; will it undergo an identical wound and lose a few of its largest colleges? It’s a serious dangling thread that has stalled the Diamond Cup’s development over the previous few months. 

Michigan has a three-year contract with that event. Year 3 can be in 2027-28 — the primary 12 months of the Diamond Cup. The Wolverines have an opt-out clause in their contract, ought to one other event provide to pay greater than Players Era, however on the similar time, Players Era additionally has the prospect to match the payout, sources stated.

If 2027-28’s first iteration of the Diamond Cup is just two video games, the problem might be prevented altogether if the Diamond Cup is staged to begin the season. But if these two video games are round Thanksgiving, which is the plan as of now, then one thing must give, because the Players Era event (which is now two separate tournaments and 24 teams total) is staged in and round Thanksgiving as properly. 

Kansas is the highest-paid workforce in Players Era and is part of the Big 12, like Arizona is. The league has a five-year contract with Players Era and can slot eight of its colleges into the 24-team area in the years forward. Would the Big 12 be OK with having its two largest colleges yearly collaborating in the Diamond Cup however not being involved in Players Era? One supply stated Kansas carved in some opt-outs, if crucial, with Players Era and that it is doable for future workarounds.

Gonzaga can also be at present on board to play in 2027 with Players Era, however as a result of MTE guidelines and laws have modified, there’s a situation in which Gonzaga might play in the eight-team Players Era match the week earlier than Thanksgiving after which in the Diamond Cup surrounding Turkey Day.

While the Diamond Cup wouldn’t be almost as massive as Players Era, it will characteristic as spectacular a bunch of mainstream packages of any event in college basketball historical past — and subsequently be a formidable competitor to Players Era whereas concurrently uplifting college basketball’s marquee attraction in November. 

It might additionally proceed to empty on different nonconference multi-game occasions in consequence.

Players Era and Diamond Cup would characteristic roughly 30 of college basketball’s largest colleges and take up greater than 50 video games value of nonconference stock. The two occasions can be large whereas concurrently diluting the alternatives for tournaments such because the Maui Invitational, the Battle 4 Atlantis, the ESPN Events Invitational, the Fort Myers Tip-Off and different single-site occasions.

The subsequent step is getting the faculties to signal the contracts in the approaching weeks, sources stated, with an official announcement on the Diamond Cup touchdown in early July if all goes to plan. If it does, the primary month of college basketball’s season come 2027 might be as anticipated as arguably any the game has seen in a technology.