Patriot League Inks Multi-Year Rights Agreement With ESPN+
The Patriot League has reached a multi-year agreement that makes ESPN+ the exclusive digital home for live and archived Patriot League sporting events, starting with the 2020-21 academic year. ESPN+ will be home to more than 800 annual events, including college football games, and men’s and women’s basketball contests.
“The Patriot League has been among the leaders within intercollegiate athletics for its live streaming production with its robust and high-quality live digital programming for more than a decade,” said Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel. “We are thrilled to work with ESPN+ to showcase Patriot League student-athletes on this leading sports streaming platform.”
The agreement also includes regular-season coverage of Patriot League men’s and women’s lacrosse in addition to regular and post-season coverage of Patriot League baseball, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, and volleyball, in addition to championship coverage of other League sports.
Since launching its digital programming in the fall of 2006, the Patriot League has offered thousands of live events and on-demand videos. Annually, the Patriot League broadcasts more than a dozen of its championships.
The first event involving a Patriot League school this fall is scheduled for Sunday, September 20, when Navy hosts Pittsburgh in a women’s soccer contest (2 p.m. ET).
“The Patriot League has a proud academic and athletic history featuring so many great institutions and rivalries, which we will showcase on ESPN+ through this new multi-year agreement,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN Executive Vice President, Programming Acquisitions and Scheduling. “As a Holy Cross alum, I am personally very excited about the opportunity to watch my alma mater play among the more than 800 annual events that this deal includes.”
In addition to the Patriot League, ESPN+ has agreements with more than 20 leading college athletic conferences, offering fans thousands of live events from the Big 12, AAC, America East, ASUN, Atlantic 10, Big South, Conference USA, ECAC Hockey, Horizon, The Ivy League, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Missouri Valley, NEC, Ohio Valley, Southern, Southland, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC and more.