The West Virginia Mountaineers are playing more basketball despite missing out the NCAA Tournament – and there is a sizeable incentive for the program to pull out some victories in the postseason.
WVU basketball will be headed to the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas this April, a tournament entering it's second season of existence. The event will consist of an eight-team field this year, down from 16 last season, and the Mountaineers will join seven other Power 5 programs in the field. And the prize? Well, it's a sizeable NIL payout.
$500,000 in NIL money on the line for West Virginia in Las Vegas
This season's prize appears to be the same as last year, with a half-millon dollars in a prize pool set to be divvied up between multiple teams based upon tournament performance.
No hard figures have been attached to how it will be handed out this season, but last year $300,000 was awarded to the tournament champion, $100,000 to the runner-up, and $50,000 to the two other teams who made the semifinals.
It's not a massive sum in terms of NIL, and current players will be awarded with at least some of the prize money given out – but it's still potential free money for the program for winning, and you never want to turn down a shot to play for otherwise free money.
The West Virginia Mountaineers will open action in the event on Thursday, April 2 against the Stanford Cardinal of the ACC.