The Patriot League has reached a multi-year media rights deal with ESPN, which makes direct-to-consumer platform ESPN+ the conference’s exclusive digital home for live and archived sporting events, starting with the 2020-21 academic year.
The NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference is made up of smaller institutions in the Northeast United States, and also includes US Military Academy and US Naval Academy.
ESPN+ will be home to more than 800 annual events, including college football games, and men’s and women’s basketball contests.
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 baseball, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and volleyball, in addition to championship coverage of other League sports.
“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 Patriot League, which has a long-standing linear television partnership with CBS Sports, canceled its entire 2020 fall sports season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.