College sports fans will have more matches to look forward to as ESPN and Big Sky Conference announce a new multi-year deal. In addition to streaming live on ESPN+, ESPNU and other ESPN networks will broadcast regular season and tournament Conference games.
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What’s Happening:
- ESPN and the Big Sky Conference have announced a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement starting this summer.
- The new deal will add hundreds of Big Sky live events to ESPN’s college sports portfolio.
- More than 600 Big Sky events in both men’s and women’s sports will stream on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.
- ESPNU will televise two football games each year and a regular season men’s basketball game.
- ESPN networks will bring audiences championship games for the Big Sky Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments.
- Big Sky Conference’s annual Football Kickoff will be the first event broadcast as part of the deal and will stream live on ESPN+ on Monday, July 26th.
What They’re Saying:
- Dan Margulis, ESPN senior director, programming and acquisitions: “The Big Sky Conference consistently delivers compelling storylines and high-caliber competition across all 16 of its sports, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to further highlight the student-athletes and member institutions as we showcase hundreds of matchups each year across our ESPN platforms.”
- Tom Wistrcill, Big Sky Commissioner: “This landmark agreement for the Big Sky and our membership rightfully aligns the nation’s preeminent FCS conference with the strongest media brand in sports. We are absolutely thrilled to join the ESPN family and deliver an elevated viewing experience with hundreds of Big Sky contests on ESPN+ each year. In addition, the numerous linear opportunities on ESPN networks now available to us is unprecedented among our peers, and yet another way that we will enhance the brand of the Big Sky.”
About the Big Sky Conference:
- Founded in 1963, the Big Sky Conference is a NCAA Division I conference competing in the Football Championship Subdivision.
- With 165 teams representing 15 institutions in 16 sports (seven men’s, nine women’s), the Big Sky prides itself on its “#ExperienceElevated” platform that emphasizes the unique traits and lifelong benefits that the conference and its member institutions provide to around 4,000 student-athletes each year.
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