More MVC Hoops on ESPN Networks

ST. LOUIS — Celebrating its 110th season, the Missouri Valley Conference will have an exclusive 104-event package on ESPN networks during the 2016-17 academic year, Commissioner Doug Elgin announced today.

The Valley, which enters the third year of a 10-year agreement with ESPN, will clear 41 men’s basketball telecasts on ESPN platforms — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.

Another 63 MVC events — regular-season baseball and women’s basketball plus postseason championships for women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field, women’s basketball, softball and baseball — are featured in the package this year.

An additional 450 live events by Conference institutions will be delivered exclusively by The Valley on ESPN3 — the league’s co-branded digital network with ESPN.

“Through multi-layered platforms, ESPN provides us with an invaluable national promotional vehicle in an ever-evolving video environment,” Elgin said.

“Academic commitment from all corners of our campuses has fueled the development and implementation of The Valley on ESPN3,” he said. “Between linear delivery (ESPN-ESPN2-ESPNU) and digital endeavors (ESPN3), our fans consume our product across multiple devices at any time and at any location.”

The ESPN men’s basketball package begins with Wichita State playing host to Tulsa on Nov. 16 in the first of four league-produced exclusive non-conference games on ESPN3.

San Diego State at Loyola (Dec. 3), Butler at Indiana State (Dec. 7) and Oklahoma State visiting Wichita State at INTRUST Bank Arena (Dec. 17) complete the non-MVC contests for ESPN3.

The game at Loyola is one of nine match-ups on Dec. 3 which are part of the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge.

This will be the second year of a four-year agreement between the leagues, with Evansville, Indiana State, Southern Illinois and Wichita State securing wins during the 2015 event.

The Missouri Valley Conference also has two additional non-conference contests on ESPN platforms — Wichita State versus Oklahoma in Oklahoma City (ESPN2) on Dec. 10 and Northern Iowa at North Carolina (ESPN2) on Dec. 21.

Four MVC schools will compete in ESPN Events-branded multi-team tournaments — Northern Iowa in the Tire Pros Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which has been relocated to Orlando, Fla., Illinois State in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Indiana State in the AdvoCare Invitational and Wichita State in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Each league school will participate in three games with every contest being delivered on an ESPN platform — ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3.

“Continued participation in ESPN-branded tournaments is critical for The Valley,” said Elgin. “These events are vital when building at-large resumes for NCAA Tournament consideration and

having the opportunity to play these teams on a neutral floor in front of a national audience is huge exposure.”

In terms of league regular-season men’s basketball shows, The Valley has two contests on ESPN2 — Wichita State at Illinois State (Jan. 14) and Illinois State at Wichita State (Feb. 4) — and another where ESPN will utilize the netflex process (waiting until 7-10 days out from competition) to determine whether the game — UNI at Wichita State (Feb. 18) — is shown on ESPN or ESPN2.

For the final Conference’s exposure on Saturday, Feb. 25, ESPN will utilize both the netflex and Wildcard (picking one of five games) selection processes to determine which match-up is shown on ESPN or ESPN2.

The Valley’s regular-season men’s basketball package on ESPNU will feature one Saturday and five Sundays. The Sundays will also use the ESPN netflex selection process (one game appearing on The Valley on ESPN3 and the other on ESPNU).

“The Wildcard selection process allows ESPN to position the game with the most impact to cap our season,” said Jack R. Watkins, Associate Commissioner. “As a result of this process, Wichita State completed its three-peat of MVC regular-season championships on ESPN2 during the 2016 finale telecast.”

“This year, we will continue to utilize the netflex process for our Sunday ESPNU telecasts, and for the second straight year, we have pre-determined consistent times on both networks,” Watkins added. “That helps our men’s and women’s basketball programs in a myriad of ways, including home game management and travel for the visiting teams.”

The remaining two ESPNU telecasts will be Valley regular-season baseball contests which have yet to be determined.

The Conference will distribute league-produced, nine-week men’s basketball (Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday) and women’s basketball (Fridays or Sundays) packages on ESPN3 — ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network streamed line on WatchESPN, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

The men’s basketball package starts on Thursday, Dec. 29, with Bradley playing host to Southern Illinois.

The opening round on March 2 and all four quarterfinal games on March 3 from the 2017 State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Tournament in St. Louis will also be shown on ESPN3 outside the league’s five-state footprint of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

Editors: This is part of a release from mvc-sports.com