Battle 4 Atlantis field is completed as Iowa signs on

The Battle 4 Atlantis is a relatively young preseason exempt tournament, but its offering of unprecedented riches to participants has advanced it into one of the elite early-season events in college hoops. The event awards over $2 million to participating teams annually.

Seven of the eight teams involved in the tournament were announced back in October, with Kansas, USC, Xavier (yes, two Big East teams), Wake Forest, Tennessee, and UTEP slated to join Villanova on Paradise Island in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving weekend. The eighth team wasn't announced at that time, but according to CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman, that team will be the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Battle 4 Atlantis field down in the Bahamas is: Kansas, Tennessee, Villanova, Xavier, Iowa, Wake, UTEP and USC.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanCBS) May 2, 2013

Iowa had been previously slated to take part in the Great Alaska Shootout, but that tournament has waned in terms of prestige in recent years. When the Atlantis organizers reached out to the Hawkeyes, the Big Ten school had a tough decision to make.

"Iowa returns nearly 93 percent of its scoring on an upper-division Big Ten team that won 25 games last year," theGazette.com writes. The team and coach intend to try to fight their way into the top of the ever-more-competitive Big Ten conference next season after finishing sixth in 2012-13. They have been listed in a couple of extra-early preseason top-25's for next season as well.