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Indiana in discussion to participate in notable non-conference event beginning in 2027

headshotby: Alec Lasley13 hours agoallasley

Indiana could be ready to participate in one of the newest and most notable events in college basketball.

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports is reporting a significant new early-season tournament is in the works and it would include Indiana. The new annual non-conference event would begin in 2027.

According to Norlander, the event is the ‘Diamond Cup’ and is expected to include Arizona, Connecticut, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina.

This is expected to be a neutral site event. While details are still getting finalized, this would likely mirror that of other events around Thanksgiving.

Teams involved in the event would also get significant revenue split from the event to share with players, similar to the Players Era event that began a few years ago.

According to Norlander, “The initial pitch was a four-game series for every team (16 games per season overall) on a three-year contract starting in 2027-28. That format includes three regular-season matchups and, to start, one October exhibition game that would nonetheless count toward the Diamond Cup’s pool-play results to determine a champion. The initial eight schools were lobbied in 2025 on the premise that they could make approximately $17 million over the course of the deal, sources said, provided the optimal media rights package could be sold.

“That number has since changed, as has the format for Year 1. The 2027-28 season will likely be a two-game agreement, with open discussions on potentially moving to a four-game format (one preseason, three regular season) for 2028-29, sources said. Under a two-game arrangement in 2027, schools will purportedly receive $2.25 million apiece, sources said. The format for Years 2 and 3 are supposed to bump to $3.75 million per school.”

There has been no confirmation of involvement from Indiana’s side, and details are still being worked out, sources tell TheHoosier.com.

 “I think we got some, I’m not sure what’s all concrete, but I think we have some good opportunities out there, again,” Darian DeVries said about IU’s non-conference schedule this spring. “Some really good games, some challenging games that we’re excited about as that gets us ready for Big Ten play. So it’s in a lot of ways similar to what we had last year.”

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