ESPN and the Sun Belt Conference are going long, announcing a new long-term rights agreement that extends ties through the 2027-28 college season. ESPN will become the exclusive media partner of the Sun Belt Conference, delivering coverage of more than 500 conference-controlled events, across the conference’s 18 sports, each season on ESPN’s linear television networks and ESPN+. Beginning in the 2020-21 season, a minimum of 15 of those events will air on ESPN’s linear networks with hundreds of additional events available exclusively on the new digital platform.
“The continuation of our agreement with ESPN marks one of the most historic announcements since the Sun Belt’s founding in 1976,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson. “This is truly an ‘all in’ collaboration with ESPN, the Sun Belt, and our member institutions and the volume and accessibility of our games will have a profound impact on the future of the Sun Belt. We have enjoyed a long relationship with ESPN since its founding in 1979 and we look forward to being featured on its newest platform, ESPN+, which promises to revolutionize how fans of the Sun Belt and all of college sports watch their favorite teams in action.”