Syracuse basketball’s non-conference contest in November against Atlantic 10 Conference member Saint Joseph’s is in limbo.<\/p>\n
On Saturday morning, Saint Joseph’s announced<\/a> that its men’s basketball team’s participation in November’s Players Era Festival “has been withdrawn, due to stipulations within the contract agreement.”<\/p>\n The Orange<\/a> and the Hawks are scheduled to play on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Las Vegas<\/a>. This is a non-conference, neutral-site game just prior to the ‘Cuse suiting up at the NIL-driven Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n While the affair between Syracuse basketball and Saint Joseph’s wasn’t part of the actual Players Era Festival, this non-conference game was affiliated with, and being run by, the event organizers, I’m told. At this point, the only confirmed news is that the Orange and the Hawks will not be squaring off in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n On September 10, Saint Joseph’s announced that Steve Donahue would become the team’s new head coach<\/a> after former head coach Billy Lange took a front-office role focused on player development with the NBA’s New York Knicks.<\/p>\n Sources: Following this week’s head coaching change, St. Joe’s will no longer participate in the 2025 Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the Hawks’ statement on Saturday, Saint Joseph’s athletics director Jill Bodensteiner said, “While we are obviously disappointed for our team and our fans to be removed from the Players Era Showcase, we knew from the beginning that our invitation and participation was contingent on Billy Lange being our head coach and proceeded with that risk. We are moving on our contingency plan and are excited to announce those games soon.”<\/p>\n Syracuse basketball may have to find another foe for one of its non-conference games.<\/p>\n In theory, it could be possible for the ‘Cuse to still play Saint Joseph’s, perhaps at the JMA Wireless Dome or on a neutral floor somewhere. A home game wouldn’t help the Orange’s NCAA NET ranking as much as potentially winning at a neutral site.<\/p>\n Perhaps it’s also conceivable that Syracuse basketball could try to schedule a contest in Las Vegas against another team that it wouldn’t be playing at the Players Era Festival.<\/p>\n The Orange will have three games at the Players Era Festival. The ‘Cuse, like all participants, is expected to receive $1 million in NIL payments, with the event’s winner capturing another $1 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Monday, Nov. 24, Syracuse basketball will play Big 12 Conference powerhouse Houston, which was the national runner-up in this spring’s NCAA Tournament and should be highly ranked in preseason top-25 polls ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n The next day, on Tuesday, Nov. 25, the Orange will duel with another Big 12 titan, Kansas. The third ‘Cuse game at the Players Era Festival will be on either Wednesday, Nov. 26, or Thursday, Nov. 27, against an opponent that isn’t yet known.<\/p>\n Syracuse basketball will have 13 non-conference contests in the 2025-26 season<\/a>. The Orange will play 18 games in Atlantic Coast Conference competition. Further details on the team’s ACC docket were revealed by the league and SU Athletics earlier this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n