Editor: The following is part of press releases from mvc-sports.com.
Men’s and Women’s Games
(St. Louis, MO) – The Missouri Valley Conference will have an exclusive 28-game men’s basketball schedule on ESPN platforms during the 2025-26 academic year, Commissioner Jeff Jackson announced Wednesday.
The Valley will clear productions on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN+, the leading sports streaming service. There will be four games on ESPN2, a total of six contests on ESPNU and a league-selected package of 18 digital exclusive games distributed on ESPN+.
For nine of the 10 linear telecasts, ESPN and The Valley will utilize a Wildcard Selection process to determine which game will be aired on a specific date. As part of the Wildcard Selection process, ESPN, working in tandem with league staff, will announce its telecast selection 14 days from competition.
The 2026 State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Championship — the league’s 36th-consecutive event in St. Louis — on March 5-8 will feature 10 games with the first seven contests being shown nationally on ESPN+. This year’s tournament will be the Conference’s 50th overall men’s basketball championship.
Women’s Games on ESPN
The Missouri Valley Conference has selected a 23-game women’s basketball package for distribution on ESPN’s networks during the 2025-26 academic year.
For the fifth-consecutive year, the 2026 Credit Union 1 MVC Women’s Basketball Tournament title game will be presented on ESPN2 or ESPNU on Sunday, March 15. The championship contest has been distributed either on ESPNU (2022-2023) and ESPN2 (2024-2025) for the past four years. The first nine tournament contests will be shown exclusively on ESPN+, the leading sports streaming service.
With its 2026 neutral site tourney in Coralville, Iowa, The Valley will match the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 Conference Tournaments, as the only current Division I stand-alone women’s basketball championships to be held at a neutral site for more than 18 consecutive years.
The Valley — in its second year of a five-year agreement with ESPN — will also stream a 13-game, regular-season slate on ESPN+.
Additional regular-season men’s and women’s basketball games produced by MVC institutions will be delivered exclusively by The Valley on ESPN — also available via the all new ESPN App on smartphones, tablets and connected streaming devices with TV Everywhere credentials.
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Opening round of #ArchMadness is today. The only quarterfinal we know is @UIC_MBB v @RacersHoops tomorrow at 2:30. We look at their contrasting styles heading into the @MVCsports tournament. #FatherHarry
Don't look now, but @BustingBrackets tells us some of the hottest teams coming into #ArchMadness aren't the teams at the top of the bracket. @ValpoBasketball, @SIU_Basketball & @UNImbb shouldn't be overlooked. #FatherHarry
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