NIL might threaten prestige of Battle 4 Atlantis, Maui Invitational in future seasons

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Of the 77 multi-team events being played in college basketball this season, many of them this week, two are especially hard for high-major teams to turn down for pretty obvious reasons.

There’s the Maui Invitational, played in an atmospheric band box known as the Lahaina Civic Center, with teams housed in high-end resorts fronting Kaanapali Beach and the Pacific Ocean.

Then there’s the Battle 4 Atlantis, played in a converted ballroom on an Atlantic Ocean island that’s literally called “Paradise” and dedicated mostly to luxury tourism.

But in the NIL era of college basketball where many things are changing quickly, this trend could, too.

A new event in Las Vegas known as the Players Era Festival is guaranteeing each team $1 million in NIL money to play this week, though technically the “NIL” funds are meant to go to players as compensation for off-court activities. Similar events are expected in the works.

So it isn’t a big jump to wonder if that sort of financial incentive – allowing a coach to tell a player he’s guaranteed his share of $1 million for playing in just one event – could siphon appeal from the traditionally coveted MTEs.

“Atlantis and Maui have done a great job of creating a must-go-to event, so I think these two are pretty solid,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “Those of us at the highest level want to be involved and they’re great places to go to. Obviously, it’s a wonderful, beautiful resort, great part of the world, much like Maui.

“But everybody’s adapting. Programs are adapting. Coaches are adapting. Promoters are adapting. And it’s a changing world. So we’ll see.”

The Arizona Wildcats are regulars at the Maui Invitational, appearing just about every four seasons, while making their second trip ever to the Battle 4 Atlantis this week.

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UA has not announced yet which MTE it will play in next season and coach Tommy Lloyd said “we’ve had calls” about the new events. But, like so many things in the NIL era, there’s an opaqueness about it all.

“I just don’t know what’s real,” Lloyd said. “That’s where I’m at.”

The NCAA began allowing athletes to profit from “name, image and likeness” in 2021 but NIL has since taken on many other forms than just commercial endorsements.

Programs have collectives around them that effectively funnel money from fans to to players as long as they participate in some of the collective’s events. And neutral-site and MTE games now are being built with NIL events in mind, working in ways for players to profit from appearances or other side promotions around them.

Who knows where it goes next?

“I wish I had a crystal ball,” Lloyd said. “I mean, there’s so many changes and it’s hard to understand what’s right and what’s wrong.

“I’m glad it’s going in the direction where the players are part of it now, but it’s just there’s so many people grabbing at so many things. And you know what I want to do? I want to play basketball … anything more than that is little bit outside of my wheelhouse.”