Alabama Basketball will play in Houston at the Players Era Festival

Alabama basketball will face Houston in the first game of the Players Era Festival on Nov. 26, according to a report from ESPN’s Jay Bilas.

The Players Era Festival is the first-ever NIL-based college basketball multi-team event, which will take place in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week during the upcoming basketball season. Teams that participate are expected to receive $1 million in NIL incentives.

It was previously reported that the event will have a round-robin format, meaning all eight teams in the field (Alabama, Houston, San Diego State, Creighton, Oregon, Texas A&M, Rutgers, Notre Dame) will be divided into two groups of 4 teams. , with all teams in the pod playing against each other.

Alabama’s other two opponents at the Players Era Festival have not yet been announced.

The addition of Houston adds to Alabama’s already busy non-conference schedule for the 2024-25 season. The Crimson Tide will play additional highlight games on the road against Purdue on November 15, against Illinois in Birmingham on November 20 and at home against Creighton on December 14.

Additionally, Alabama has home games scheduled against McNeese on November 11 and Kent State on December 22, as well as a road trip to face North Dakota on December 18.

Alabama still has one unannounced opponent for the SEC/ACC Challenge and will add a few more non-conference games to the schedule before it is completed.

Coming off a Final Four run, the Crimson Tide are considered one of the favorites for the 2025 national championship, and the game against Houston could very well be against two preseason top 5 teams.