Players Era 8 brings eight top college basketball programs to Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from Tuesday, November 17 to Thursday, November 19, 2026. The opening session tips off Tuesday at 11:00 AM Pacific, and the hometown highlight is built in: Kansas vs UNLV at 6:30 PM on opening night.
Early-season tournament basketball has become a Las Vegas specialty, and the Players Era events are the biggest of them. This eight-team edition packs Houston, Rutgers, Florida, Notre Dame, Kansas, UNLV, West Virginia and Auburn into three days of sessions at the south end of the Strip.
Date, time and tournament details
What: Players Era 8 college basketball tournament
When: Tuesday, November 17 – Thursday, November 19, 2026; opening session Tuesday at 11:00 AM Pacific
Where: Michelob ULTRA Arena, 3950 South Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89119
Tickets: via the official Mandalay Bay / MGM Resorts entertainment pages (official venue listing, checked October 28, 2026)
Tuesday’s schedule, per the official venue event details: Houston vs Rutgers at 11:00 AM, Florida vs Notre Dame at 1:30 PM, Kansas vs UNLV at 6:30 PM and West Virginia vs Auburn at 9:00 PM, all Pacific. Wednesday’s sessions run 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and the tournament closes with the championship game Thursday at 8:00 PM.
About the tournament
Players Era has quickly become a fixture of the college basketball calendar — an early-season event built for the NIL era that plants major-conference programs in Las Vegas for made-for-November matchups. The eight-team bracket here is stacked with brands: Houston and Florida bring recent Final Four pedigree, Kansas is a blue blood, Notre Dame and Auburn travel well, and UNLV defends its home city. With four games on opening day alone, a single session ticket delivers a full day of high-major basketball.
The venue
Michelob ULTRA Arena is the 12,000-seat arena inside Mandalay Bay at the south end of the Strip — home of the Las Vegas Aces and a regular host of championship boxing, UFC and tournament basketball. Its compact bowl keeps sightlines close for hoops, and the resort around it offers a full casino floor, dining and the Mandalay Bay Beach complex. The arena sits at 3950 South Las Vegas Boulevard.
Tickets
Tickets are sold through the official Mandalay Bay and MGM Resorts entertainment channels. Tournament basketball in Las Vegas is typically offered both as single-session seats and multi-session packages, so check the official listing for the current options for each day. The Kansas vs UNLV nightcap on Tuesday and Thursday’s championship game are the sessions most likely to fill first.
Getting to Michelob ULTRA Arena
Mandalay Bay stands at 3950 South Las Vegas Boulevard, at the south end of the Strip near Russell Road. Paid self-parking is available in the Mandalay Bay garage, and the free Mandalay Bay Tram connects the resort with Luxor and Excalibur to the north. The Las Vegas Monorail’s southern terminus is MGM Grand, a rideshare or Deuce bus ride away, and rideshare drop-offs are signed at the resort’s main entrances. For an 11:00 AM tip, morning Strip traffic is light — the easiest arena arrival in town.
More Las Vegas events
Planning the rest of your trip? Browse the latest concerts, sports and shows on the Vegas Events Today homepage.
Make a day of it
Tuesday is the marathon: four games from 11:00 AM to past 11:00 PM. Pace yourself with lunch on the Mandalay Bay casino floor between sessions, and save your voice for Kansas vs UNLV in the evening.
November hoops, Vegas style
March gets the headlines, but November tournament weeks in Las Vegas offer the same brands in smaller rooms at the very start of the season. Players Era 8 is the best of this year’s crop.