ESPN and the Missouri Valley Conference on Thursday announced an extension of their media-rights deal that will provide increased coverage of sports events through the '23-24 academic year. ESPN retains rights to the MVC men's basketball tournament semifinals and final, plus the women's basketball tournament final. ESPN3 will show a minimum of 820 conference events a year in the final six seasons of the deal. The MVC and ESPN began their business relationship in '86 (ESPN). In Wichita, Paul Sullentrop notes the deal "increases ESPN3 exposure for all sports." This coming season, all men’s and women’s basketball games, as well as all conference and home non-conference volleyball games, "will be available on ESPN3, if not available on another network." The games will be branded as “The Valley on ESPN3.” MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin "trumpeted the deal as a way for the 10 members to keep up with higher-profile conferences through dramatic increases in exposure for all sports." Sullentrop notes all 90 MVC men's basketball games "will be televised, with four on ESPN2 and six on ESPNU in addition to Fox Sports Midwest and local packages such as Cox Kansas." The contract with ESPN "does not affect local TV packages" (WICHITA EAGLE, 7/24). In St. Louis, Dan Caesar notes ESPN has sent the men's basketball championship game to CBS since '06, and that deal "continues through next year." ESPN "retains the option to 'sub license' that contest under its new deal, and is likely to keep doing so" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/24).
