The Missouri Valley Conference will have a 115-live event package on ESPN networks during the 2015-16 academic year, Commissioner Doug Elgin announced on today (September 30, 2015).

The Valley, which is in the second year of a 10-year agreement with ESPN, will clear 56 men’s basketball telecasts on ESPN platforms -- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. The University of Northern Iowa Panthers are slated to appear in 12 of those 56 games.

An additional 59 other MVC contests -- regular-season women’s basketball and baseball plus postseason championships for women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, indoor and outdoor track and field, women’s basketball, softball and baseball -- are featured on the package this year. There area handful of Panther volleyball and women's basketball mixed into those 59 games.

“Through its various platforms, ESPN provides us with a vital national promotional vehicle in an ever-changing landscape,” Elgin said.

“Our institutions -- from the Presidents’ offices to the athletics departments -- recognized the importance of ESPNU and ESPN3 in the formative days of both outlets,” he said. “With the expansion of our linear coverage and the creation and continued development of The Valley on ESPN3, our Conference will realize increased exposure and across-campus involvement from our student population which is a win-win for us.”

The ESPN men’s basketball package begins with UNI participating in ESPN’s eighth annual College Hoops Tip-off Marathon on Tuesday, November 17. UNI, which finished 11th in the final 2015 Associated Press poll, plays host to a 7 a.m. Central game on ESPN2 against Stephen F. Austin in a rematch of last year’s thrilling OT victory by the Panthers.

Five MVC schools will compete in ESPN Events-branded multi-team tournaments -- Bradley in the Gildan Charleston Classic, Evansville in the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy, Missouri State in the Puerto Rico Tip-off, UNI in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and Wichita State in the AdvoCare Invitational.

“Participation in all five of the ESPN Events-branded tournaments is extraordinary for The Valley,” said Elgin. “You can never start too early in building at-large resumes for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and having the opportunity to play these teams on a neutral floor in front of a national audience is huge exposure for our Conference.”

The Valley’s regular-season men’s basketball package on ESPNU will feature one Thursday and five Sundays. The Sundays will use the ESPN netflex selection process (one on ESPN3 and one on ESPNU) and occur on Jan. 17, Jan. 24, Jan. 31, Feb. 14 and Feb. 21.

“The Wildcard selection process allows ESPN to select the game with the most impact to cap our season,” said Jack R. Watkins, MVC Associate Commissioner. “Last year, we had two Top 20 teams (UNI and Wichita State) deciding our regular-season race on national television -- a fitting tribute to the great year we had.”

To read the full press release and see the projected schedule, click here.

More From 97.7 KCRR