Ohio State has withdrawn from the 2025 Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in an attempt to find a different event that will better suit its financial and on-court interests, according to multiple reports.
The Buckeyes were initially scheduled to head to the Bahamas next Thanksgiving week to compete in the tournament, an event that they had scheduled for a while after the team originally was supposed to play in the 2020 iteration of the Battle 4 Atlantis before it got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because it has pulled out of the contract it signed on Feb. 21, 2020, Ohio State will now have to pay a $100,000 fine and return any portion of the $75,000 appearance fee the event was to pay the Buckeyes for participating, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Now, Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes will turn to finding a new tournament or showcase that will include an NIL element. Last season, its two showcase games against Texas in Las Vegas and Auburn in Atlanta included an NIL aspect to it, although the specific number is not known.
Auburn also withdrew from the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament due to the similar reasons, and it will now reportedly play in the 2025 Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, an event that gave the winner $9 million in NIL payments last season and each team $1 million. Ohio State will not participate in that tournament but will seek a similar NIL-based tournament.
Ohio State’s 2025-26 schedule is still far from solidified, with the only given being that the Buckeyes will travel to Pittsburgh at some point of the season to complete a home-and-home series.
