ESPN and the BIG EAST Conference have announced a new six-year digital media rights agreement, adding hundreds of live BIG EAST events to ESPN’s robust college sports portfolio. A minimum of 75 women’s basketball and 200 Olympic sports events will stream on ESPN+ annually beginning in the 2025-26 academic season. This deal will also include a minimum of 25 non-conference games annually for BIG EAST men’s basketball.

“We’re pleased to welcome the BIG EAST back to ESPN,” said Nick Dawson, ESPN senior vice president, programming & acquisitions. “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.”

“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. “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.”

ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer offering, which is inclusive of ESPN+, is scheduled to launch in early fall.

ESPN and the BIG EAST Conference have a relationship that spans more than three decades. The BIG EAST signed its first national television deal with ESPN in 1980, beginning a partnership that ran through 2013. Since its reconfiguration that year, the BIG EAST has maintained its stature as one of the preeminent conferences in college sports, boasting four national championships in men’s basketball and additional national crowns in women’s basketball, field hockey, men’s soccer, men’s lacrosse and women’s cross country.

Benjamin Freeman of Proskauer represented the BIG EAST in the digital media rights negotiations.