The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
32°F
Current Conditions
Overcast clouds
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Locally: Big Sky Conference, ESPN announce contract extension for broadcasting rights

Disney+ now has an ESPN tile on its homepage as Walt Disney Co. continues to integrate its streaming services’ content. (Mike Windle/Getty Images North America/TNS)
From staff reports

From staff reports

The Big Sky Conference and ESPN announced a five-year extension to their current media rights agreement, which doubles its televised coverage for football and provides a continued platform for the more than 600 Big Sky Conference live events streaming annually on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.

“We are proud to continue our wonderful relationship with ESPN and showcase the tremendous student-athletes, talented coaches and passionate fan bases across the Big Sky Conference,” Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a release Monday.

The new media rights agreement with ESPN will begin in the 2025-26 academic year and go through 2029-30.

The new contract doubles the Big Sky’s exposure for nationally televised football games, with a minimum of four regular-season contests televised on a Friday or Saturday. A minimum of two of those games will air on ESPN or ESPN2.

For Big Sky basketball, ESPN will continue to televise at least one men’s regular-season conference game, as well as three men’s conference tournament games and one women’s conference tournament game. On the men’s side, at least one of the two televised semifinal games will be on either ESPN or ESPN2, with the championship game also having an ESPN or ESPN2 distinction. The women’s championship game will continue to air on ESPNU, which first began in 2022.

In addition to all Big Sky home games for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball presented on ESPN platforms, the conference will continue to feature all home and conference tournament contests for soccer, volleyball and softball on ESPN+, as well as conference championships for several other Big Sky sports.

College soccer

Gonzaga women’s soccer is adding Clemson transfer defender Anna Rydin for the upcoming season after she signed a financial aid agreement to attend GU, the school announced Monday.

Rydin will be entering her sophomore season.

“We couldn’t be more excited to add Anna to the family,” Gonzaga coach Katie Benz said. “She comes to us ready to work and make an impact.”

Rydin, a native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, appeared in two matches for the Tigers this past season. She was named all-state as a senior at Chapel Hill High School.