COLUMBIA — South Carolina women’s basketball is one of four teams in the inaugural Players Era Women’s Championship to take place in Las Vegas in November 2025.
The Gamecocks will play three games over Thanksgiving week at MGM Grand next season alongside a men’s tournament that debuted with eight teams last month. The tournaments are “an opportunity for athletes to engage in at least $1 million of NIL activities for Players Era and its sponsors outside of competition,” according to a school release Monday. Organizers plan to expand the men’s tournament to 18 next season.
“We’re excited to be among the first women’s teams invited to play in the Players Era Women’s Championship,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “This innovative event brings together everything we’re looking for – quality games early in the season, a great location for fans to come and enjoy, and NIL opportunities for our players.”
The tournament is a round-robin event so every team will play each other then an overall champion is determined by head-to-head record, then a series of tiebreakers including point differential, points scored and points allowed.
South Carolina has already faced two of the four teams in the tournament once this season. It lost to UCLA on Nov. 24, and defeated Duke on Dec. 5. The Gamecocks play a home-and-home series with Texas, a newcomer to the SEC. They host the No. 6 Longhorns in Colonial Life Arena on Jan. 12 then travel to Austin on Feb. 9.
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South Carolina has two more home games to close out 2024, beginning with Charleston Southern on Dec. 19 (noon., SEC Network+) and Wofford on Dec. 29 (2 p.m., SEC Network).
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina, Dawn Staley selected for 2025 Players Era tournament
