ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference will have a 115-live event package on ESPN networks during the 2015-16 academic year, Commissioner Doug Elgin announced today.

The Valley, which is in the second year of a 10-year agreement with ESPN, will clear 56 men's basketball telecasts on ESPN platforms -- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. As part of the package, Bradley Basketball could make as many as nine appearances on the ESPN family of networks this season, beginning with the team's participation in the ESPN produced Gildan Charleston Classic:

Nov. 19 vs. Virginia, ESPN2
Nov. 20 vs. Long Beach State or Seton Hall, ESPNU or ESPN3
Nov. 22 vs. George Mason, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss or Towson, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3
Dec. 23 vs. TCU, ESPN3
Jan. 20 vs. Illinois State, ESPN3
Feb. 14 at Illinois State, ESPNU or ESPN3
Feb. 27 at Indiana State, MVC Wildcard Weekend
March 3 MVC Men's Basketball Championship First Round, ESPN3
March 4 MVC Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals, ESPN3

An additional 59 other MVC contests -- regular-season women's basketball and baseball plus postseason championships for women's and men's soccer, volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field, women's basketball, softball and baseball -- are featured on the package this year.

“Through its various platforms, ESPN provides us with a vital national promotional vehicle in an ever-changing landscape,” Elgin said.

“Our institutions -- from the Presidents' offices to the athletics departments -- recognized the importance of ESPNU and ESPN3 in the formative days of both outlets,” he said. “With the expansion of our linear coverage and the creation and continued development of The Valley on ESPN3, our Conference will realize increased exposure and across-campus involvement from our student population which is a win-win for us.”

The ESPN men's basketball package begins with UNI participating in ESPN's eighth annual College Hoops Tip-off Marathon on Tuesday, November 17. UNI, which finished 11th in the final 2015 Associated Press poll, plays host to a 7 a.m. Central game on ESPN2 against Stephen F. Austin in a rematch of last year's thrilling OT victory by the Panthers.

Wichita State, which finished 14th nationally in the final 2015 AP poll and posted a 30-5 record, will play host to UNLV on Dec. 9 and Utah on Dec. 12 in ESPN2 telecasts, while Illinois State travels to Kentucky for an ESPN2 game on Nov. 30.

The Missouri Valley Conference also has five additional non-conference contests on ESPN platforms -- Illinois State at San Diego State (ESPN3) on Nov. 13, Wichita State at Saint Louis (ESPNU) on Dec. 5, UNI at New Mexico (ESPN3) on Dec. 12 and Iowa versus Drake (ESPN3) and UNI versus Iowa State (ESPNU) at the Big Four Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, on Dec. 19.

Five MVC schools will compete in ESPN Events-branded multi-team tournaments -- Bradley in the Gildan Charleston Classic, Evansville in the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy, Missouri State in the Puerto Rico Tip-off, UNI in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and Wichita State in the AdvoCare Invitational.

Each league school will participate in three games with every contest being delivered on an ESPN platform -- ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3.

“Participation in all five of the ESPN Events-branded tournaments is extraordinary for The Valley,” said Elgin. “You can never start too early in building at-large resumes for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee and having the opportunity to play these teams on a neutral floor in front of a national audience is huge exposure for our Conference.”

In terms of league regular-season men's basketball exposure, Wichita State will play host to UNI on Saturday, Feb. 13, in a game that has been selected as a netflex contest for airing on either ESPN or ESPN2. ESPN will select the network by Friday, Feb. 5.
The Conference's remaining ESPN2 slate includes Evansville at Illinois State on Jan. 15, Wichita State at Illinois State on Feb. 6 and a Wildcard Weekend selection on Feb. 27. The Feb. 27 telecast will also be subject to the netflex process between ESPN and ESPN2.

The Valley's regular-season men's basketball package on ESPNU will feature one Thursday and five Sundays. The Sundays will use the ESPN netflex selection process (one on ESPN3 and one on ESPNU) and occur on Jan. 17, Jan. 24, Jan. 31, Feb. 14 and Feb. 21.

“The Wildcard selection process allows ESPN to select the game with the most impact to cap our season,” said Jack R. Watkins, MVC Associate Commissioner. “Last year, we had two Top 20 teams (UNI and Wichita State) deciding our regular-season race on national television -- a fitting tribute to the great year we had.”

“This year, we will continue to utilize the netflex process for our Sunday ESPNU telecasts and for the first time, we have pre-determined consistent times on both networks. That helps our men's and women's basketball programs in a myriad of ways, including home game management and travel for the visiting teams.”

The remaining two ESPNU telecasts will be Valley regular-season baseball contests which have yet to be determined.

The Valley-produced men's and women's basketball package on ESPN3 starts with UNI playing host to North Carolina in a men's basketball contest on Nov. 21. In addition, Bradley plays host to TCU in a non-MVC men's tilt on Dec. 23.

MVC women's coverage begins on Sunday, Dec. 13, when the league will televise both games from MVC-MAC Challenge at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois, when UNI plays Akron and Illinois State tangles with Northern Illinois.

The league will also distribute nine-week men's basketball (Wednesday or Thursday) and women's basketball (Fridays) Conference packages and events on ESPN3 -- ESPN's live multi-screen sports network streamed line on WatchESPN, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.

The men's MVC schedule begins on Wednesday, Dec. 30, when Indiana State visits Evansville continues with Loyola at Illinois State on Jan. 6, UNI at Indiana State on Jan. 13, Illinois State at Bradley on Jan. 20, Illinois State at Loyola on Feb. 3, Missouri State at UNI on Feb. 10, Indiana State at Illinois State on Feb. 17 and Indiana State at UNI on Feb. 24. There is one Thursday game -- Evansville at Southern Illinois on Jan. 28.

The opening round on March 3 and all four quarterfinal games on March 4 from the 2016 State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Tournament in St. Louis will also be shown on ESPN3 outside the league's five-state footprint of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

The women's league slate starts on Friday, Jan. 1, when Southern Illinois visits Drake and continues with Drake at Missouri State on Jan. 8, Wichita State at Loyola on Jan. 15, Evansville at Missouri State on Jan. 22, Indiana State at Southern Illinois on Jan. 29, Missouri State at UNI on Feb. 5 and UNI at Indiana State on Feb. 12.

The final two women's basketball airings will utilize the Wildcard selection process to determine which will be distributed on Feb. 19 and Feb. 25-26-27, with the selected contests announced on Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, respectively.

“Our women's basketball coverage on ESPN3 continues to grow,” Watkins said. “With the move to ESPN3, we are no longer subject to clearance window limitations, and we are able to establish a consistent, game-of-the-week time and date for our contests.

“At the same time, we are grateful that we can preview the new home of our women's basketball tournament with the MVC-MAC Challenge on December 13,” Watkins said. ”There are great things occurring for our women's basketball and its postseason championship, and this increased exposure is a direct product of that excitement.”

The entire women's basketball tournament will be shown on ESPN3, with coverage beginning on Thursday, March 10, with two opening round contests, four quarterfinal telecasts on Friday, March 11, two semifinal games on Saturday, March 12 and the title contest on Sunday, March 13.

The Valley will also air its postseason championships for women's and men's soccer, volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball and baseball in their entirety on ESPN3.

“When we first began discussion about the creation The Valley on ESPN3, the regular-season success of our Olympic sport programs and their continued NCAA Tournament achievements were our calling cards,” Watkins said.

“Most collegiate sports observers tend to focus on the success of our basketball as a barometer for the league's overall strength, but some of the greatest stories in the 109-year-old history of The Valley have nothing to do with hoops. Collegiate Cup marches, Volleyball Sweet 16 runs, numerous CWS baseball trips and countless track and field student-athletes who continue to receive All-America recognition helped turn the concept of The Valley on ESPN3 into reality,” Watkins added.

“Every day, we recognize the fact that ESPN supported this decision to bring numerous stories to a national platform like ESPN3,” Watkins said.

Postseason coverage starts with the 2015 MVC Women's Soccer Championship at McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Indiana, on Friday, Nov. 6 (semifinals) and Sunday, Nov. 8 (title match).

The 2015 MVC Men's Soccer Championship at Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Illinois, will be contested on Wednesday, Nov. 11 (quarterfinals), Friday, Nov. 13 (semifinals) and Sunday, Nov. 15 (title match).

For the fourth-straight year, The Valley will deliver the MVC Volleyball Championship on ESPN3, but in 2015, all five matches will be shown from Hammons Student Center in Springfield, Missouri, on Thursday, Nov. 26 (quarterfinals), Friday, Nov. 27 (semifinals) and Saturday, Nov. 28 (title match).

For the second-straight year, the Conference will televise competition from the 2016 MVC Indoor Track and Field Championship at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 27-28.

In the spring, The Valley will air the 2016 MVC Softball Tournament from Dr. Charlotte West Stadium at Carbondale, Illinois, on Thursday-Saturday, May 12-14.

For the first time in league history, The Valley will televise competition from the 2016 MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championship at Gibson Track in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Saturday-Sunday, May 14-15.

The league will conclude its 2015-16 schedule on ESPN3 on Wednesday-Saturday, May 25-28, from the 2016 MVC Baseball Championship at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute, Indiana. It will mark the fifth-consecutive year that games from the tournament have been shown on ESPN3 and the second time in three years from Warn Field.

“There are a number of benefits having our championships shown on ESPN3,” Watkins concluded. “With live access across all devices, our families and fans plus NCAA Division I sport committee members will be able to catch our most important action at a critical stage of the season.”

“We appreciate each and every one of those opportunities to showcase our student-athletes, coaches and facilities,” Watkins concluded.

The Conference also plans to televise the 2015 MVC Men's and Women's Basketball Tipoff in St. Louis on Tuesday, October 27.