Big East’s Bold ESPN Partnership Set to Revolutionize College Sports Broadcasting—What Fans Need to Know

The deal includes a minimum of 75 women’s basketball games and at least 200 Olympic sports events to be streamed on ESPN+ per year, beginning in the upcoming 2025-26 season. It also includes a minimum of 25 nonconference men’s basketball games each season.

Big East basketball and Olympic sports fans, brace yourselves—there’s a fresh game-changer in town. The conference just unveiled a six-year digital media rights pact with ESPN that will shake up how we catch over 300 thrilling matchups every year on ESPN+. Imagine at least 75 women’s basketball showdowns and 200 Olympic sport contests, all streaming live starting in the 2025-26 season, alongside 25 nonconference men’s games each year. It’s not just about more coverage; it’s about racing to bring Big East’s electric action front and center on a premier digital stage, something Commissioner Val Ackerman is clearly jazzed about, too. This move, while enhancing exposure for all 22 sports, especially elevates those Olympic squads that used to call FloSports home. And just to keep things interesting, FOX Sports still holds the reins as the lead broadcaster, with NBC and TNT rounding out the basketball coverage crew through 2031. ESPN’s senior VP Nick Dawson couldn’t be prouder to roll out the welcome mat again for the Big East—a true testament to the conference’s elite status and tradition. This is a fresh chapter in collegiate sports broadcasting that you won’t want to miss! LEARN MOREThe addition of ESPN+ will mostly impact Olympic sports, which had been broadcast on FloSports.
“We’re pleased to welcome the Big East back to ESPN,” said Nick Dawson, ESPN’s senior vice president of programming & acquisitions, in a release. “This agreement returns one of the country’s premier conferences and its tradition of excellence to ESPN platforms. We look forward to this new chapter in our relationship with the Big East.”
The Big East Conference announced a six-year digital media rights agreement with ESPN on Tuesday, which will include more than 300 sporting events events streamed on ESPN+ annually.

The Big East announced a year ago that FOX Sports would remain the conference’s lead network provider as NBC Sports (NBC, Peacock) and TNT Sports (TNT, TBS, truTV and Max) joined the media rights agreement for basketball, which will still run through the 2030-31 season.
“This exciting partnership with ESPN reinforces our commitment to placing Big East teams front and center on the leading digital sports platform,” said Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman in a release. “Streaming on ESPN+ gives all 22 of our sports — especially women’s basketball and Olympic sports — the visibility they’ve earned and the access our fans expect. We look forward to delivering elevated coverage and a streamlined viewing experience to fans and family members who want to follow Big East action across our wide array of sports offerings.”