South Carolina women’s basketball players will compete in a new tournament and earn over $1 million in cash

According to a report from On3’s Talia Goodman, South Carolina women’s basketball will compete in the Players Era Women’s Championship next year. The Women’s Championship will be a new event in women’s basketball, following in the footsteps of the recent men’s version of the same event.

The South Carolina Gamecocks, UCLA Bruins, Duke Blue Devils and Texas Longhorns will take part in the 2025 Women’s Championship. Each program will receive at least $1 million in zero funding for participation. The event is expected to take place during Thanksgiving week 2025.

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Held in Las Vegas, the tournament is played in a round-robin style. That means each prominent program gets three games against the other top teams. The champions will win their crown based on head-to-head record in these games, and multiple tie-breaks will also be introduced to avoid split titles.

Goodman’s story included the following quote from South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley:

“We are excited to be among the first women’s teams invited to the Players Era Women’s Championship,” said the South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “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.”

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From the South Carolina Athletics press release:

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s basketball is one of four teams selected to compete in the Players Era Women’s Championship in 2025, Players Era, an EverWonder Studio company, announced today. The tournament, which also includes UCLA, Duke and Texas, offers athletes the opportunity to engage in non-competitive NIL activities valued at at least $1 million for Players Era and its sponsors.

Following the groundbreaking and successful launch of the Men’s Players Era Festival in 2024, the Women’s Championship will take place over three days during Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas, coinciding with next year’s Players Era Men’s Championship. The round-robin format ensures three top matches for each team, with the overall winner determined by head-to-head record, followed by 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 participate in the Players Era Women’s Championship,” said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. “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.”

The Players Era Women’s Championship is the second event of Players Era, a groundbreaking college basketball initiative designed to captivate fans and provide college athletes the opportunity to engage in unique name, image and likeness (NIL) activities. to participate.

“Players Era is creating the first-ever tentpole women’s college basketball MTE with an incredibly crowded field and intriguing storylines, early-season matchups that are sure to set the tone for the rest of the season,” said Seth Berger, CEO of Players Era. “Our women’s championship includes the same level of guaranteed NIL opportunities for players as the men’s championship. Women’s college basketball continues to provide an unprecedented level of excitement and engagement, and this incredible lineup of four national championship contenders will transform the possibilities for early-season women’s college basketball competition and become one of the most anticipated sporting events in the world will be the year.”

South Carolina is back in action this week, concluding its pre-holiday schedule with a noon tipoff on Thursday, December 19th against Charleston Southern at Colonial Life Arena.

For more information about the program, continue to visit GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB).