Valley Partners With ESPN

Editor: The following is part of a press release from mvc-sports.com.

(St. Louis, MO) – Celebrating its 112th season, the Missouri Valley Conference will have an exclusive 100-event package on ESPN networks during the 2018-19 academic year, Commissioner Doug Elgin announced today.

The Valley, which enters the fifth year of a 10-year agreement with ESPN, will clear 37 men’s basketball matchups on ESPN networks — ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network and ESPN3, as well as ESPN+, the first-ever multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International group, in partnership with ESPN.

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

An additional 650 live events produced by Conference institutions will be delivered exclusively by The Valley on ESPN — the league’s co-branded digital network with ESPN available through the ESPN App.  The Valley on ESPN features productions for ESPN3 and ESPN+.

“Our relationship with ESPN is pivotal to our continued success as an athletic league,” Elgin said. “The ever-increasing exposure from the numerous live event and original content opportunities we have on the network’s linear and digital platforms has provided a boost to the teams and student-athletes in every one of our athletic programs.”

Games aired on an ESPN network will also be available through the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

The ESPN men’s basketball package features Southern Illinois opening the season at Kentucky on Nov. 9 in a SEC Network contest.

Indiana State travels to Fort Worth, Texas, for a game at TCU on Sunday, Dec. 16, for a telecast on ESPNU.

Non-conference games from the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge will also be shown, featuring 2018 NCAA Final Four participant Loyola playing host to 2018 NCAA Sweet Sixteen qualifier Nevada on Tuesday, November 27 on ESPNEWS.

On Saturday, Dec. 1, a day-night twinbill occurs on The Valley on ESPN, as Illinois State entertains San Diego State while Bradley plays host to New Mexico.

After splitting the series (5-5) in 2017, this will be the final year of a four-year agreement between the Mountain West Conference and The Valley.

Two MVC schools will compete in ESPN Events’ early-season basketball tournaments — Valparaiso in the Myrtle Beach Invitational and Indiana State in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.  Each school will participate in three games with every contest being delivered on an ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3.

Missouri State will compete in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Missouri, with both its games being shown on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.

In terms of regular-season men’s basketball games, the league has three tilts on ESPN2 — Illinois State at Loyola (Jan. 12), Loyola at Illinois State (Feb. 2) and Bradley at Illinois State (Feb. 16).

The final MVC exposure on Saturday, March 2, will use the Wildcard selection process (picking one of five games) to determine which match-up is shown.

The Valley’s regular-season men’s basketball package on ESPNU will feature one Saturday and five Sundays.  For three of the Sundays, ESPN will utilize the netflex selection process (one game appearing on ESPN3 and the other on ESPNU), while two others, ESPN will use the Wildcard process to select from two games.

“The Wildcard selection process provides time to evaluate in-season results prior to choosing the best Valley game possible on that date,” said Jack R. Watkins, Associate Commissioner.  “Working in conjunction with our staff, ESPN has successfully utilized this method to showcase MVC teams competing at a maximum level.”

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

With host institutions providing the production and transmission, the league has also selected men’s and women’s basketball packages for distribution on The Valley on ESPN — accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and streaming devices through the ESPN App.

The MVC men’s basketball package starts on Wednesday, January 2, with Bradley playing host to Northern Iowa.

The opening round on March 7 and all four quarterfinal games on March 8 from the 2019 State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Tournament in St. Louis will also be shown on The Valley on ESPN outside the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

The Valley will also live stream its postseason championships for cross country, women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball and baseball in their entirety on The Valley on ESPN.

“In the fall of 2014, the MVC Presidents Council, combined with vital backing from ESPN, made the bold decision to create a vehicle on which we now share our storied past and daily accomplishments via the ESPN App,” Watkins concluded.