College Basketball Crown payout format, winner's share: How much do teams make in CBC?

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Apr 5, 2026 - 01:30
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College Basketball Crown payout format, winner's share: How much do teams make in CBC?

One team will head home with a national championship trophy when Michigan, Arizona, UConn and Illinois face off in the Final Four and national championship game this weekend.

Another team across the country won't be winning a national title, but will be going home with $300,000 in name, image and likeness cash.

The second annual College Basketball Crown, which Nebraska won during its inaugural tournament in 2025, is a five-day tournament in Las Vegas, where eight teams that didn't make the Men's NCAA Tournament compete for cash prizes.

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Oklahoma, Baylor, Creighton and West Virginia already earned at least $50,000 each for reaching the semifinals of the tournament, which are being played Saturday, April 4. The championship game will be held Sunday, April 5.

The CBC is a similar postseason tournament to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), which usually features the top non-NCAA Tournament teams in a given season. NIL, though, is shaking up which consolation tournament teams choose to be a part of, especially with the CBC featuring all power conference teams.

Here's a look at the payout structure for the CBC in 2026, which features $500,000 in prize money:

CBC winner's share: How much does champion make in prize money?

  • CBC champions: $300,000

The champion of the College Basketball Crown earns $300,000 in NIL money.

College Basketball Crown payout structure 2026

Teams competing in the CBC are guaranteed to earn NIL cash prizes as long as they won their first-round game in 2026. Here's how the CBC payout structure works:

  • CBC champions: $300,000
  • CBC runners-up: $100,000
  • Semifinalists: $50,000 each

College Basketball Crown bracket, scores

Here's a look at the full College Basketball Crown bracket so far, with scores for each game:

Wednesday, April 1

  • Oklahoma 90, Colorado 86
  • Baylor 67, Minnesota 48

Thursday, April 2

  • West Virginia 82, Stanford 77
  • Creighton 82, Rutgers 69

Saturday, April 4

  • Oklahoma vs. Baylor | 1:30 p.m. ET
  • Creighton vs. West Virginia | 4 p.m. ET

Sunday, April 5:

  • Championship game | 5:30 p.m. ET

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College Basketball Crown payout, winner's share: How much do teams make in CBC?

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