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Matchups set for Tennessee Basketball in Players Era tournament in Las Vegas

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey07/01/25GrantRamey

Tennessee Basketball will face Rutgers in the first game played in the 2025 Players Era Festival in Las Vegas on November 24, in a 10 a.m. local time start. It’s the first of three games in the tournament for the Vols, who will play Houston on November 25, at 3 p.m. local time, then an opponent to be determined.

Tennessee has played Rutgers twice, winning in New York City in March 1969 and at Rutgers in November 1992.

The Vols met Houston in the Elite Eight on March 30 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the Cougars winning 69-50 to advance to the Final Four, on the way to an appearance in the national championship game.

Much of the 2025-26 schedule has yet to be announced.

It was reported in May that Tennessee will continue its series with Illinois, playing the Illini on December 6 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville during the 2025-26 season. The two teams played a home-and-home over the last two seasons, with the Vols sweeping the series.

The Vols will also host Louisville on December 16 at Food City Center, after starting the home-and-home with a win at Louisville last November.

Tennessee plays at Syracuse in the ACC-SEC Challenge on December 2. The Vols lost at North Carolina in November 2023, in the first year of the Challenge, and beat Syracuse 96-70 in Knoxville last season.

Players Era Festival paid $9 million in NIL last season

Oregon beat Alabama to win the inaugural men’s Players Era championship in November. The eight-team 2024 field included Creighton, San Diego State, Houston, Texas A&M, Rutgers and Notre Dame, along with the Ducks and Crimson Tide.

The Players Era website describes the tournament as “a week-long celebration of college basketball, taking place Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas, featuring elite players, teams and coaches. In addition, an innovative format designed to invigorate early season tournament competition before the start of conference play, there will also be financial education programs, and multiple on-call NIL opportunities for players. 

The tournament “is committed to providing $9 million in NIL to college basketball players in 2024 for their engagement in activities separate and apart from competition, and more than $50 million in NIL over the next three years. For these NIL payments, players will perform services and activities fully compliant with current NCAA regulations.”

Vols have won in-season tournament titles twice in last three years

Tennessee has won an in-season tournament title two of the last three seasons. The Vols this season beat Virginia and Baylor on back-to-back nights in The Bahamas to win the four-team Baha Mar Championship. 

In November 2022 Tennessee beat Butler, USC and Kansas to win the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. The Vols last season finished fourth in the Maui Invitational, beating Syracuse in the first round before back-to-back losses to Purdue and Kansas.

In November 2021 Tennessee split games at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, losing to Villanova then beating North Carolina.

The Vols played in the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida in 2019-20 and they have made two trips to New York, playing in the Barclays Center Classic in 2015, the first year of the Rick Barnes era, and in the NIT Season Tip-Off in 2018.