ESPN Events Unveils Inaugural Vegas Showdown Tournament Field

ESPN Events announced today the inaugural Vegas Showdown will be one of 10 ESPN owned and operated events during the 2023-24 college basketball season. The new four-team event will feature Arizona State, BYU, NC State and Vanderbilt to be contested Nov. 23 and 24 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Three of the four teams appeared in the 2023 postseason, with Arizona State and North Carolina State earning at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament and Vanderbilt advancing to the postseason NIT Quarterfinals.

Additionally, ESPN Events announced the tournament fields for the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, Myrtle Beach Invitational, ESPN Events Invitational, NIT Season Tip-Off and Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

Matchups, ticket information, times and ESPN platform designations for all events will be released at a later date.

Vegas Showdown Tournament Field Notes:

  • Arizona State, led by coach Bobby Hurley, has topped the 20-win mark in four of the last five full seasons, including three NCAA Tournament appearances during that span.
  • BYU, led by coach Mark Pope, enters its first season in the Big 12 on a run of 20 postseason (NCAA or NIT) appearances in the last 23 years in which postseason tournaments were held.
  • NC State joins Duke, Louisville and North Carolina as the only ACC schools to win multiple National Championships, as the Wolfpack won the title in 1974 and 1983. Coach Kevin Keatts has taken the Wolfpack to the postseason four times in five postseason opportunities.
  • Coach Jerry Stackhouse has guided Vanderbilt to a postseason berth in each of the past two years, advancing to the NIT Quarterfinals both years.
  • Hurley, Pope and Stackhouse played a combined 29 seasons in the NBA, while Hurley (Duke 1991, 1992) and Pope (Kentucky 1996) added NCAA titles to their resumes.

For more information on ESPN Events, visit www.espnevents.com

About Michelob ULTRA Arena

The Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is a multi-purpose arena home to World Championship Boxing, premier concerts and special events. With seating for as many as 12,000, the arena, which was recently renovated in 2018, offers excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art lighting and sound. The entertainment venue is home to the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, the city’s first professional basketball team, and has hosted prominent events and concerts such as Justin Timberlake, KISS, Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, John Mayer, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Alejandro Fernandez and David Foster & Friends. World championship boxing events have featured fighters including Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins. The Michelob ULTRA Arena also has been home to multiple Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, USA Basketball and the Latin GRAMMY Awards.

About ESPN Events

ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2023, the 32-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, and a college softball event, in addition to a new a college gymnastics event coming in 2024. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, while reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.