South Carolina, UCLA, Duke, Texas in the first Players Era Women’s Championship

South Carolina, Duke, UCLA and Texas will compete in the inaugural 2025 Players Era Women’s Championship, which will take place over three days during Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas.

The tournament offers players and teams the opportunity to earn at least $1 million through NIL opportunities.

The event features a round-robin format, ensuring all teams compete against each other. A champion is then crowned based on head-to-head record, using a series of tiebreakers including points difference, points scored and points allowed.

“We are excited to be among the first women’s teams invited to the Players Era Women’s Championship,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said in a statement. “This innovative event combines everything we are looking for – quality games early in the season, a great place for fans to enjoy and ZERO opportunities for our players.”

All four teams represented in the 2025 event are currently ranked – the Bruins are at No. 1, the Gamecocks are at No. 3, the Longhorns are at No. 6 and the Blue Devils are at No. 9.

“This will be the first non-conference tournament with a national audience. It is a great honor to compete in this elite event,” UCLA coach Cori Close said in a statement.

Duke coach Kara Lawson said, “The brands and talent together create a premier showcase for our sport. I have great respect for these programs and their willingness to challenge each other.”

The Players Era Championship was first held in men’s basketball in 2024. Next year, the women’s version will coincide with the men’s basketball tournament.

In early December, Players Era announced that it had distributed $8 million to the NIL collectives of the eight participating teams in 2024. ESPN reported that most of NIL’s activity was to create content for event sponsors.

“The opportunities that Players Era will provide us in the NIL are truly unprecedented,” said Texas coach Vic Schaefer.