Sports
Players Era CEO flips, to rethink format for 2026
LAS VEGAS — Only 24 hours after organizers promised to stick to their current setup, Players Era Festival CEO Seth Berger told ESPN that organizers will consider a new format when next year’s field expands to 32 teams.
Berger said organizers rethought their stance following online backlash after Wednesday’s matchups weren’t announced until after midnight ET. Those games were set using a format based on margin of victory, record, AP ranking, head-to-head record, points allowed and points scored through two games in the event.
“The reality of this is having the humility to listen,” Berger told ESPN on Wednesday. “That’s all it is. We thought we had come up with the right solution.
“… I don’t know that we’re going to a bracket, but all ideas are on the table.”
Berger on Tuesday said the event would not make any changes to its format even after admitting that fans in Las Vegas had told him that they didn’t understand the way it works. On Wednesday, he said he realized the format for an 18-team tournament may not work with a 32-team event next year, which prompted his reversal.
Iowa State defeated St. John’s, the reigning Big East champion, on Monday and then dominated Creighton by 18 points a day later, despite playing without star Tamin Lipsey. Yet the Cyclones were matched Wednesday against Syracuse, which had lost both of its games in Las Vegas, because Iowa State’s overall margin of victory (plus-19) wasn’t sufficient to earn a spot in the championship or third-place games.
Iowa State beat Syracuse, 95-64.
That’s significant because the winner of the Players Era title game between Michigan and Gonzaga will earn $1 million in additional NIL compensation, coupled with the $1 million guarantee for every participant. The runner-up will receive $500,000. The winner of the third-place game between Tennessee and Kansas gets $300,000, while the loser gets an additional $200,000.
Iowa State did not get the opportunity to earn additional NIL compensation despite an undefeated record and the best collection of wins in the field.
In 2026, the event will look a lot different with four eight-team pods and a faceoff between “the four kings” of those groups.
“Next year, we have four, eight-team groups,” Berger said. “Beyond that, we have not finalized the format yet.”
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has identified a host of athletic competitions it classifies as “major sporting events” — aside from soccer’s 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games — that athletes and coaches will be allowed to travel to the U.S. to take part in despite a broad visa ban on nearly 40 countries.
In a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates Wednesday, the State Department said athletes, coaches and support staff for the World Cup, the Olympics and events endorsed or run by a long list of collegiate and professional sporting leagues and associations would not be subject to the full and partial travel bans that apply to citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority.
However, the cable made clear that foreign spectators, media and corporate sponsors planning to attend the same events would still be banned unless they qualify for another exemption.
“Only a small subset of travelers for the World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics, and other major sporting events will qualify for the exception,” it said.
President Donald Trump’s administration has issued a series of immigration and travel bans as well as other visa restrictions as part of ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for foreigners. At the same time, the administration has been looking to ensure that athletes, coaches and fans are able to attend major sporting events in the U.S.
Trump’s Dec. 16 proclamation banning the issuance of visas to the 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority had carved out an exception for athletes and staff competing in the World Cup, the Olympics and other major sporting events. It delegated a decision on which other sporting events would be covered to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Wednesday’s cable lists the events that are covered, including “all competitions and qualifying events” for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan-American Games, and Para Pan-American Games; events hosted, sanctioned or recognized by a U.S. National Governing Body; all competitions and qualifying events for the Special Olympics; and official events and competitions hosted or endorsed by FIFA, soccer’s governing body, or its confederations.
The exemption also will cover official events and competitions hosted by the International Military Sports Council, the International University Sports Federation and the National Collegiate Athletic Association as well as those hosted or endorsed by U.S. professional sports leagues such as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Little League, National Hockey League, Professional Women’s Hockey League, NASCAR, Formula 1, the Professional Golf Association, Ladies Professional Golf Association, LIV Golf, Major League Rugby, Major League Soccer, World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship and All Elite Wrestling.
The cable said other events and leagues could be added to the list.
Of the 39 countries, a full travel ban applies to Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and people with Palestinian Authority-issued passports.
A partial ban is in place for citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Togo, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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President Donald Trump will return to the sidelines Monday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the College Football Playoff championship in Miami, where the Indiana Hoosiers will face the Miami Hurricanes.
Trump’s expected attendance was first reported by Axios.
President Donald Trump, right, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attend an NFL game between the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Monday’s appearance at the national championship game marks another high-profile outing for the president, who has attended several major sporting events during his second term.
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In April, Trump sat alongside UFC President Dana White outside the octagon for UFC 314 in Miami and again two months later at UFC 316 in New Jersey. He also attended several events in September, including the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York and a New York Yankees game on Sept. 11, 24 years after the 9/11 attacks.
President Donald Trump waves to the crowd as he arrives on the first hole on the first day of competition for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. (Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters via Imagn Images)
TRUMP WARNS COLLEGE SPORTS ARE IN ‘BIG TROUBLE’ IN CRYPTIC POST
President Trump has taken a special interest in sports in his second term.
In December, he warned the current state of name, image and likeness (NIL) was not sustainable and could pose a threat to college athletics, especially sports outside of football. He has also made ensuring the fairness and safety in girls and women’s sports a top priority of his administration.
President Donald Trump attends the 126th Army-Navy Game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Dec. 13, 2025. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
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Top-seeded Indiana, led by Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, will take on Miami at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, Monday at 7:45 p.m. ET.
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In the latest gambling scandal to rock sports, a federal indictment accuses bettors and athletes of “point-shaving” in NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games.
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