College Basketball Crown Announces Dates for 2026 Tournament

We may not know who will wear the College Basketball Crown in 2026. But we now know when we’ll find out. 

Dates for the 2026 tournament were announced on Monday, with the tournament starting on Tuesday, April 1, and ending on Sunday, April 5. 

Just like the first edition of the tournament, the 2026 College Basketball Crown will take place in Las Vegas. Games will be played at either the MGM Grand Garden Arena or T-Mobile Arena.

However, there will be one change made to the College Basketball Crown 2026. There will only be eight teams in the tournament, cutting the field in half from the inaugural edition.

The eight teams that will make up the 2026 field for the College Basketball Crown will consist of the top two teams in the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, along with two wild card teams selected by the committee.

“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 and College Basketball Crown board member Jordan Bazant said in a release. “We look forward to building on that momentum this spring by delivering high stakes matchups between top teams throughout the competition on FOX and FS1.”

“The College Basketball Crown has already proven to be a premium, athlete-first post-season platform that delivers for schools, our brand partners, and fans,” President and COO of AEG Global Partnerships and College Basketball Crown board member Nick Baker added. “We’re proud to continue this tournament alongside FOX Sports and our partners and we look forward to raising the bar once again in 2026 with top-tier talent, world-class venues, and continued innovation.”

Nebraska won the inaugural edition of the College Basketball Crown in 2025, winning three of its four games by double digits. It took down UCF in the title game, 77-66.

The inaugural edition of the College Basketball Crown featured a $300,000 name, image and likeness (NIL) prize pool for the champion. UCF, the runner-up, received a $100,000 NIL prize pool. Villanova and Boise State, who lost in the semifinals, received a $50,000 NIL prize pool.

New NIL prize opportunities related to the College Basketball Crown will be announced at a later date.

The second edition of the College Basketball Crown will also air on FOX and FS1.

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