Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
After struggling through a losing season, the Butler University men’s basketball team wouldn’t typically be considered for postseason tournament play.
However, thanks to new rules that let players receive compensation for playing, this isn’t a typical time for college sports.
Butler is one of 16 teams that will play in the new College Basketball Crown tournament, which runs Monday through Sunday in Las Vegas. The final four teams will receive payments to their name, image and likeness, or NIL, funds that can be distributed to their players,
The Bulldogs will get the single-elimination tournament started by taking on the University of Utah Utes at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 3 p.m. Indianapolis time. The game will be televised on Fox Sports 1, or FS1.
Butler, which finished 14-19 overall and 7-15 in the Big East Conference, hasn’t played a game since March 13, when it lost to top seed St. John’s in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney.
The Utes finished 16-16 on the season and 8-12 in Big 12 Conference play.
The Butler-Utah winner will play the winner of Boise State-George Washington in the second round Wednesday.
Tournament organizers gave invitations to the top two teams in the Big Ten Conference, Big 12 and Big East that did not qualify for March Madness. The rest of the field was chosen by a selection committee.
The tournament champion will receive a $300,000 NIL package, with the runner-up getting $100,000. The other teams in the top four will get $50,000 each. If Butler lands any winnings, the money will go to the All Good Dawgs collective for distribution to the players.
Other first-round games on Monday feature Nebraska vs. Arizona State and Georgetown-Washington State.
First-round games on Tuesday are DePaul-Cincinnati; Oregon State-Central Florida; Colorado-Villanova; and Tulane-Souther California.
Butler has lost six of its last 10 games, while Utah went 3-7 in its final 10.
NIT tourney at Butler
While the Bulldogs are in Las Vegas, another men’s hoops tourney, the National Invitational Tournament, will be taking place on their home court, Hinkle Fieldhouse, on Tuesday and Thursday.
North Texas will play the University of California-Irvine at 7 p.m. Tuesday with TV coverage on ESPN. Chattanooga takes on Loyola Chicago at 9:30 p.m. with TV coverage on ESPN2. The winners play Thursday at 9 p.m. with coverage on ESPN.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
Traditional collegiate athletics should be severed from university operations and facilities at this point. Return them to academic pursuits with 100 percent commitment.
The reasons for attending universities continues to evolve . While they still claim to prioritize academics, the purpose of higher education remains conflicted. The demands of the employment market and the diminished interest in liberal arts makes their mission unclear. NIL represents one end of continuum and challenges traditional views of academia. I would favor a developmental sports option to serve those using underduate institutions as a training program for professional sports. If universities need this approach to sports to help fund other academic programming, then perhaps it’s not so bad. The loss of liberal education would be a greater issue for me than the addition of NIL etc.