International sports broadcaster ESPN has renewed its domestic rights for the Big South US college sports conference, for another six years.
The new agreement, which will run through the 2030-31 academic year, extends a relationship that began in 1991 and will see the bulk of Big South competition remain on the ESPN+ streaming service – its primary home since 2018 when ESPN+ was launched.
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The package spans several sports across the conference, including American football, men’s and women’s basketball and soccer, women’s volleyball and lacrosse, baseball, and softball.
The Big South has nine colleges and universities, including Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Longwood, Presbyterian, Radford, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, and Winthrop.
The renewal also ensures up to 50 events will be aired on ESPN’s linear channels in the southern region, with those games also available on ESPN+, including the men’s basketball championship game on either ESPN or ESPN2, while the women’s equivalent will continue to be aired on ESPNU, ESPN’s cable network dedicated to college athletics.
Additionally, ESPNU will gain six regular-season games per year, including a minimum of four men’s basketball matches. It also includes at least two additional linear opportunities on ESPNU or ESPNEWS.
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By GlobalDataBig South commissioner Sherika A. Montgomery said: “Our extended agreement is a testament to ESPN’s strong commitment to our Conference, the compelling experiences of our student-athletes, and the competitive excellence that defines our sport programs – especially in basketball.
“This enhanced partnership significantly elevates our brand visibility, recognition, and reputation on a national level. More importantly, it provides our student-athletes with a broader platform to compete, excel, and share their stories with a wider audience.”
The rights renewal comes three months after ESPN agreed to a similar six-year streaming rights deal with the Big East Conference that will see a minimum of 75 women’s basketball and 200 Olympic sports events stream on the ESPN+ service annually.
ESPN’s other college sports offerings include the Atlantic Coast Conference, under a deal renewed earlier this year through the 2035-36 academic year, while the broadcaster’s biggest college sports deal is an eight-year, $920 million tie-up with the NCAA, the governing body of college athletics in the US, announced in January 2024.
The deal, which started with the 2024-25 academic year and runs through 2031-32, includes domestic rights to 40 championships – 21 women’s and 19 men’s events – and international rights to the same championships as well as the Division I men’s basketball tournament.
It encompasses several top college sports, including American football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, tennis, gymnastics, and volleyball.
However, the contract does not include several marquee games from American football and basketball, including the Division I men’s basketball’s ‘March Madness’ tournament, which is shown by Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery via national network CBS and the Turner cable networks.
