It seems like everything in college basketball is expanding. The NCAA tournament is expanding to 76 teams starting next spring, and the Players Era tournament will also be getting bigger.
Last year’s edition of the Players Era tournament featured 18 teams, while the 2026 versionof the tournament will have 24 teams. The expanded field will feature two sets of games in back-to-back weeks that will exclusively be aired by ESPN.
The Players Era expansion does nothing to dispel the concern that many coaches and fans have about the expanded NCAA tournament field; it will only help schools in power conferences.
Excited for a new chapter of Players Era Men’s Championship 🤝 @espn
📍 24 Teams. 2 Tournaments.
📍 Bracket Play
📍 ESPN as Exclusive Broadcast Partner https://t.co/tVKnZBIgvUpic.twitter.com/JTA9uYACHA— Players Era (@Players_Era) May 7, 2026
Out of the 24 schools slated to participate in next year’s Players Era tournament, only three programs can be considered to come from mid-major conferences. Gonzaga is one of those three, but can hardly be considered a Cinderella at this point, which narrows it down to two: San Diego State (who will be part of the reworked Pac-12 come this summer), and UNLV out of the Mountain West.
It reinforces the narrative that college basketball’s ballooning business only helps the rich get richer.
Additionally, when March rolls around and strength of schedule discussions take place, the power schools in this tournament stand to have an even greater leg up, considering they will have played one another early in the calendar. That stands to box out mid-majors even more, regardless of the eight additional NCAA tournament spots.
It’ll be interesting to see if anything can or will be done to raise the profile of mid-majors in the coming years.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Players Era tournament expansion only benefits power conferences