By: Joe Wisniewski
March 19th, 2025
Photo Credit: FOX Sports
The college basketball postseason scene is getting a shake-up. FOX Sports and AEG Worldwide have unveiled The College Basketball Crown, a new 16-team tournament launching in 2025 that will give programs another postseason stage outside the NCAA Tournament. Set in Las Vegas, with games at MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena, the event promises high-quality matchups and national television exposure on FOX and FS1.
But this isn’t just another basketball tournament, it’s a direct challenge to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), an event that has long served as the secondary postseason destination for teams that missed the NCAA Tournament. By securing automatic bids for top non-march madness teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, and Big East, the College Basketball Crown effectively pulls marquee programs away from the NIT.
For decades, the NIT has been the fallback option for teams that fell short of an NCAA Tournament berth. Historically, the NIT granted automatic bids to regular-season conference champions who missed out on March Madness. That changed in 2024, and the latest shift now sees 16 automatic bids going to top-ranked non-NCAA Tournament teams, favoring major conference programs. The key issue? The College Basketball Crown will drain the NIT of its most marketable teams. In response, the NCAA has adjusted its NIT selection process, prioritizing top teams from the ACC and SEC, as well as high-ranking programs across the top 12 conferences based on mainstream advanced analytics rankings databases such as KenPom, BPI, and NET.
While the NCAA claims these changes will create more opportunities for mid-major programs, the reality is clear, the NIT has been weakened. What was once a prestigious postseason event now finds itself scrambling to maintain relevance amid the emergence of a direct competitor.
For FOX Sports and AEG, this tournament isn’t just about basketball, it’s about business and control of the postseason market. The NCAA owns and operates the NIT, which means FOX had no way to gain media rights or revenue from that event. By creating their own tournament, FOX locks in exclusive TV rights, commercial sales, and sponsorships, while AEG controls ticketing, hospitality, and event operations. Las Vegas, now a hub for major sporting events, is the perfect setting.
With The College Basketball Crown launching in 2025, postseason college basketball is entering a new era. The NIT, once a premier second-tier tournament, now faces a fight for survival as FOX and AEG position their tournament as the go-to destination for high-profile programs that miss March Madness. This move reflects a broader trend in sports: media giants shaping competition structures to suit their business interests.
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