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In the final year of the Big Sky conference in Southern Utah, T-Birds will have extra attention for their sports teams.
Big Sky reached a multi-year media deal with ESPN to broadcast every SUU conference game on ESPN +.
This deal replaces the Big Sky deal with PlutoTV, which aired the Big Sky Conference basketball tournament as well as the Big Sky Football games this spring.
This is the movementUU leaders see something that will help athletics as it moves to the Western Sports Conference.
WAC has a WAC Digital Network that produces and streams games on its own website and also produces games for ESPN +. Starting to work with ESPN will benefit SUU Athletics.
“This just helps us really make the transition,” said Debbie Corum, SUU’s athletics director. “ESPN is used to us when we get to WAC.”
The first event to be part of the new deal is the Big Sky Conferences Football Kickoff, which will be broadcast live on ESPN + on Monday, July 2nd.
The Big Sky Conference continues to provide compelling stories and high-quality competition in all 16 of its sports, “said Dan Margulis, ESPN’s Director of Programming and Acquisitions. Athletes and member institutions as we present hundreds of matches each year on our ESPN platforms.
This is not the only time the MOUTH is on a larger platform. T-Bird football will play in San Jose on the CBS Sports Network to open its football record on Aug. 28 and in Arizona on the Pac-12 Network on Sept. 2.
After that, the football games will be broadcast on ESPN +, and the Thunderbirds got to ESPNU. As part of the deal, ESPNU will televise two football games a year.
One regular season men’s basketball game and both championships in the Big Sky Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments will also appear on ESPN networks.
However, there will be a few changes to the SUU landscape. ESPN requires athletics to add more cameras to all outdoor events.
But Corum sees this as a way to improve viewership and improve instant replay for sports such as football. It will also allow SUU’s in-house production man to also develop, which is part of the athletics that Corum said is already being praised by the Big Sky environment.
“When you’re in the world of athletics, exposure is everything that contributes to our program,” Corum said. “It’s a great step to show how much progress we’ve made and all of that is positive.”
While T-Birds will remain on ESPN platforms when they join WAC next season, SUU will benefit from the Big Sky deal for one season.
According to Corum, any exposure involving ESPN can only be considered positive, which is why he considers it positive for SUU.
The only downside is how SUU is now transitioning for fans from free PlutoTV to ESPN +, which requires a subscription. However, Corum said it hopes fans can look at the subscription plan as a way to help SUU.
“This is going to be a way to support us,” Corum said. “There’s a little more revenue, more media money coming back to us. And in a way, it’s just a way to transfer money back to our program.”
Even with the new joining requirement, SUU gets an agreement that Big Sky management calls a “landmark agreement”.
This significant agreement with Big Sky membership and our membership aligns the nation’s primary FCS conference with the strongest media brand in sport, Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill said in a statement. We’re really excited to join the ESPN family and offer a higher viewing experience with hundreds of Big Sky races on ESPN + each year. In addition, the numerous line options on ESPN networks that are now available are unmatched among our peers, and yet another way to enhance the Big Sky brand.
Chris Kwiecinski covers The Spectrum Series Area 9, Dixie State and Southern Utah Athletics. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_and contact[email protected]or (435) 414-3261.
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