Revenue Sharing and Near-Death for Ohio State Women's Tournaments

The Changing Landscape of College Basketball

Each November, college basketball teams embark on Feast Week, traveling to exotic locations or Las Vegas ballrooms for in-season tournaments. These events feature nonconference matchups and provide players with opportunities to enjoy the beach between schoolwork, practice, games, and team activities. However, for the Ohio State women’s basketball team, these trips may soon be a thing of the past.

On July 1, 2025, the revenue-sharing era of NCAA sports began. This means schools can now pay players directly after years of navigating NIL endorsements and supporting NIL collectives. The impact of this change is already evident in several areas, including roster sizes and travel schedules.

Roster Sizes and Travel Plans

For Ohio State women’s basketball, the revenue-sharing era has already affected the team's roster size. Normally, head coach Kevin McGuff would go with a full 15-player roster, with a few players destined for a redshirt. This season, however, the Buckeyes have only 11 players on their roster.

Holiday week trips, such as the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship, are also under scrutiny. On Thursday, Dec. 4, UConn WBB Weekly shared comments from Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma about his program’s new perspective on travel. Auriemma stated that it is difficult to justify adding a trip to some place unless all expenses are covered and there is financial involvement.

McGuff was asked about what travel looks like for the Buckeyes in future seasons. The last three seasons each featured a trip to a beach destination around Thanksgiving. In 2023 and 2025, the team traveled to the Bahamas, while in 2024, they went to Daytona Beach, Florida.

“The Bahamas was a great experience. I’m happy our players got to do it. We had two good games. So the quality of opponents was great,” said McGuff. “But he’s right. I mean, we’re in a different era where we’ve probably got to rethink it. These are discussions we’re having.”

Adjusting to a New Era

While the Buckeyes will still play Big Ten games on the road and schedule home-and-home games, international trips are becoming less common. Their 2025-26 schedule reflects this shift, with more tournaments resembling the trip to Newark, New Jersey, for the Coretta Scott King Classic on Jan. 19, 2026.

In this two-game showcase, McGuff’s team starts the doubleheader against the TCU Horned Frogs, followed by the Michigan Wolverines against the Vanderbilt Commodores. These tournaments offer a chance to play against high-quality opponents at a lower cost.

Financial Considerations

Programs pay third parties to enter these tournaments. For example, the 2023 Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship cost $35,000 to enter, which included 15 rooms for the team and the cost of putting on the games. The 2024 Coast 2 Coast tournament in Daytona Beach cost Ohio State $55,000, including rooms.

These fees do not cover the team’s travel needs, such as plane tickets, fuel, a pilot, food, or other miscellaneous costs. In return, the Buckeyes get two nonconference games and sometimes face ranked opponents. Players also gain life experiences and sometimes receive gifts from the tournament.

Impact on Fans

The potential end of these trips may not significantly impact fans. Ohio State averaged 237 attendees per game against Belmont and West Virginia, with most likely being family members of the teams.

For fans who attend games at the Schottenstein Center or pay for cable and a B1G+ streaming account, the tournaments are a drawback. For instance, the Buckeyes’ trip to the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship this year cost fans $27.99, before tax, to watch two games of basketball on FloSports.

Last season, the Coast 2 Coast tournament used BallerTV, a video hosting site mainly used for high school recruit highlight videos. The Buckeyes played on Thanksgiving morning, and for close to the same price as FloSports, fans could watch a game that featured no commentators, no score bug, a camera operator who sometimes forgot to move the camera when the action went from one side of the court to the other, and delayed audio to the video where fans heard cheers before any shot landed.

Looking Ahead

It has only been five months since revenue sharing began in college sports, and its impact will continue to grow. For now, it means smaller rosters and less international travel.

“Every year, we were doing something like that. I don’t know that that’ll be the case anymore,” said McGuff. “But we’ll probably do it every once in a while, but maybe not as consistently as we have been.”