ESPN and the West Coast Conference agreed to a eight-year rights agreement extension for men’s and women’s basktball coverage and Olympic sports content across multiple platforms.
As part of the deal, which runs through the 2018-19 academic year, the WCC will receive a minimum of 48 men’s basketball appearances, including conference games and home non-conference games on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. Over the past three seasons, ESPN has televised an average of 38 WCC men’s basketball appearances.
In addition, the WCC will receive:
- A minimum of 14 conference men’s basketball games with seven on ESPN or ESPN2 and seven on ESPNU.
- More coverage of the West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship than ever with telecasts of the championship on ESPN or ESPN2, semifinals on ESPN2 and two quarterfinal games on ESPNU.
- At least five events annually across women’s basketball, soccer, volleyball and baseball on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
“We are elated to reaffirm our long term partnership with ESPN for another eight years,” said WCC commissioner Jamie Zaninovich. “ESPN has played a critical role in helping build and extend our brand as a premier national basketball conference, and this agreement will ensure that more West Coast Conference events will be telecast across more national television platforms than ever before.”