A proposed nonconference tournament is in the works for the 2027-28 men’s college basketball season featuring eight of the sport’s top programs including Arizona.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported Wednesday that an 8-team pool play tournament called the ‘Diamond Cup’ is in the later planning stages. The tournament would feature Arizona, Connecticut, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina.
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Year 1 of the tournament will likely be a 2-game agreement, with teams earning $2.25 million apiece, sources told Norlander. The tournament could expand to four games (one exhibition and three regular season games) in 2028-29 and beyond.
The tournament would be played at neutral sites, and teams from the same conference theoretically wouldn’t play each other, Norlander reported.
Arizona’s inclusion in the Diamond Cup is complicated by the program’s agreement to participate in the 2027 Players Era Tournament, according to Norlander. The Big 12 has a 5-year agreement with the Players Era Tournament.
“Would the Big 12 be OK with having its two biggest schools annually participating in the Diamond Cup but not being involved in Players Era?” Norlander wrote.
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Sources told Norlander that an official announcement on the Diamond Cup could come out in early July, with programs set to sign contracts in the coming weeks.
Arizona already has one marquee nonconference games scheduled for the 2027-28 season; A matchup vs. Duke at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 12, 2027. Arizona is also reportedly scheduled to play St. John’s in Phoenix as part of a neutral court series with the Johnnies that includes a trip to Madison Square Garden this December.
