Pride, money are incentives in College Basketball Crown

LAS VEGAS — It’s April, which means the college basketball season has dwindled down to a handful of games.

Of course, at this point, they’re all meaningful. Whether it’s the Final Four or the NIT in Indianapolis or the College Basketball Crown here at the MGM Grand Garden and T-Mobile Arena, if you’re still playing, it matters.

And while the Crown may not carry the prestige of the Final Four or the NIT, it’s an opportunity for eight teams to get better and generate some revenue for their Name, Image and Likeness collective while playing in front of a national television audience on FOX Sports.

Ultimately, the money may be more important than the trophy the champion of the Crown will receive Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile. Getting $300,000 is not chump change. It may be enough to buy yourself a backup point guard or a power forward.

We are living in strange times for college sports. Every athlete thinks he or she is worth millions and expects to be paid handsomely. If not here, then somewhere else.

It’s what happened at UNLV with football and basketball. Quarterback Anthony Collandrea, who came to Las Vegas from Virginia, wasn’t making enough bank playing for Dan Mullen, so he hightailed it to Nebraska. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who transferred to the Runnin’ Rebels from Illinois, and had a tremendous season, is on the move again as he’s entering the transfer portal in search of a bigger payday. And Myles Che, who transferred from UC Irvine to UNLV but never played a minute for the Rebels after breaking his foot in the off-season, is also leaving.

UNLV fans haven’t forgotten Dedan Thomas Jr.’s bolting to LSU a year ago rather than stay and play for Josh Pastner.
It feels like the only loyalty is to the almighty dollar. So if you’re a college basketball coach, you better find creative ways to boost your NIL collective. Sixteen schools were able to participate in the Players Era in Vegas in November where you were guaranteed a minimum of $1 million. Next season,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pride-money-incentives-college-basketball-052244358.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-02 05:22:00

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