Syracuse basketball will not participate in the 2026 Players Era in Las Vegas, a team spokesperson confirmed to me late Wednesday afternoon.
In recent days, Sportico had reported that the Orange may not be part of the event in 2026. The Players Era's field in 2025 was 18, including the 'Cuse, which went 0-3 last November around the Thanksgiving holiday - losing to Houston, Kansas and Iowa State.
BREAKING: Our @NeilAdlerSU just got the following statement from a Syracuse basketball spokesperson: "Syracuse will not be participating in the 2026 Players Era Championship." Neil had written about this topic earlier on Wednesday. 🔽 https://t.co/psOVgphyr4
— InsideTheLoudHouse (@LoudHouseFS) April 1, 2026
According to Sportico, the Players Era was eyeing 32 participants in 2026, but the field might get scaled back to 24 teams, and that retrenchment could have impacted expected participants such as Syracuse.
Beyond confirming that the Orange will not suit up in the 2026 Players Era, the Syracuse basketball spokesperson declined to comment further, saying he could not discuss "contract details." As such, it's unclear, at least to me, if the 'Cuse pulled out of the event, if it was told it did not have a spot in 2026, or if there was some combination of those two scenarios.
Syracuse basketball and other 2025 participants in the Players Era were reportedly going to receive at least $1 million in name, image and likeness ("NIL") payments.
The Orange won't be heading to Las Vegas around Thanksgiving in 2026.
In February, Sportico reported that some of the teams that competed in the 2025 Players Era were still waiting on their NIL funds, although Syracuse wasn't named specifically one way or another. When that report came out, I asked both an SU Athletics spokesperson and a Syracuse basketball spokesperson if the Orange had received its NIL payments, but I didn't receive a response.
While the 'Cuse won't head to the Sin City for the 2026 Players Era, the Orange will play Indiana and Providence in non-conference duels this coming season, as first reported by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. SU will face the Hoosiers in Indianapolis and the Friars in Boston.
The Orange's 13-game non-conference slate in 2026-27 will likely include a match-up in the annual ACC-SEC Challenge. It's entirely possible that Syracuse basketball will play in another non-conference event, with the Players Era off the table.
Personally, I'd love to see SU compete in a preseason tournament in New York City or another key recruiting market for the 'Cuse and its new head coach, Gerry McNamara.