Blue Blood' Men's CBB Event Reportedly Eyed for 2027-28 Season, Full Details Revealed

Several top schools are reportedly in deep discussions on a new regular-season event for the 2027-28 college basketball season.

According to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, an eight-team pool-play event called the "Diamond Cup" is currently being planned.

Arizona, UConn, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina are the eight schools involved in the proposal. Duke was initially a part of discussions as well before leaving earlier in the spring due to a three-game contract with Amazon Prime Video, per Norlander.

Norlander noted that neutral-site locations will be a key factor in the Diamond Cup potentially being implemented, as the conferences for each school own the broadcast rights to every home game. Playing games at a neutral site would allow for the inclusion of a media rights deal.

The format of the event is reportedly likely to start as a two-game agreement for the 2027-28 season before moving to four games in future years. Teams would face off in three regular-season contests and one October exhibition game that would count towards pool-play results under the four-game model.

Per Norlander, schools will purportedly receive $2.25 million each for the two-game format before increasing to $3.75 million per school in the second and third years of the Diamond Cup.

If the eventual four-game event is agreed upon, Chicago and New York are two locations that are under serious consideration to host games (via Norlander).

Large college basketball events held near the beginning of the season aren't an uncommon occurrence, as the Players Era Festival is entering its third year and expanding to 24 teams after it debuted in 2024.

Still, the Diamond Cup would allow fans to see several of the sport's blue bloods face off well before March Madness rolls around each season.

If the Diamond Cup is agreed upon and finalized, an official announcement is expected in early July.