ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference and its 10 member schools will combine to produce nearly 230 live events in the months of August, September, October and November, distributed on The Valley on ESPN -- the league's co-branded digital network.
Originally branded and launched as The Valley on ESPN3 in August 2015, the league's new digital initiative is available through the redesigned ESPN App and features live-event programming on both ESPN3 and ESPN+ -- the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company's Direct-to-Consumer and International Group and ESPN.
The new, redesigned and re-imagined ESPN App gives fans a premier, all-in-one digital access point for everything ESPN offers -- 1) news, scores, highlights and audio, 2) "TV Everywhere" video and 3) ESPN+.
The league's digital endeavor is part of its 10-year contract with ESPN which runs through the 2023-24 academic year.
"With The Valley's presence on the redesigned ESPN App and ESPN+ in the spring, we are in on the ground floor of a major company-wide initiative at ESPN," said Jack R. Watkins, MVC Associate Commissioner.
"Through a mix of ESPN+ and ESPN3 programming, our fans will have the ability to follow our athletic programs more closely than ever as a direct result of our relationship with ESPN."
The Fall 2018 programming lineup features regular-season and post-season tournament action for men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball as well as the cross country championship.
The regular-season live events will be produced and transmitted by production units on each of the league's campuses, while the post-season tournaments will be produced and distributed by Tupelo Raycom of Indianapolis, Indiana -- the Conference's digital production agency.
The Valley on ESPN, which began with a Conference-produced package of regular-season women's and men's basketball games and a slate of post-season championship events in 2014-15, saw schools produce exclusive live events for the co-branded digital network for the first time in 2015-16.
Each school has its own production team -- either centralized in a control room or via a mobile unit -- with exclusive live content distributed on ESPN3 and ESPN+.
The Valley surpassed its 2015-16 production goal, delivering a total of 429 live events. Since then, the league and its membership produced 670 and 683 live events in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.
"With their endorsement at the outset, our Presidents Council had the vision to provide increased exposure for our teams and student-athletes, reach fans and alumni throughout the country, realize across-campus involvement from our student population and generate employment opportunities and real-world experience with ESPN," said Watkins, who oversees the league's linear-digital video endeavors.
The Fall 2018 schedule begins on Thursday, August 16, when Northern Iowa plays host to Viterbo in a women's soccer match in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
In all, 54 regular-season women's soccer matches will be produced, with Valparaiso distributing nine contests.
Men's soccer coverage begins on Friday, August 24, when Valpo entertains IUPUI, Bradley plays host to Gonzaga and Oral Roberts visits Drake.
A total of 39 men's soccer matches will be distributed, with Bradley and Loyola University Chicago producing nine tilts.
In 2017, Missouri State and UNI represented the Conference in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, marking the 10th time in 12 years the league has sent a minimum of two teams. The MVC will hope to showcase that caliber of play with 120 productions.
Coverage begins on Tuesday, August 28, when Evansville plays host to SEMO. Indiana State leads the way with 15 productions, followed by 14 from Drake.
Postseason coverage starts with the MVC Cross Country Championship from Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Illinois, on Saturday, October 27, on ESPN3.
The MVC Women's Soccer Tournament at Loyola Soccer Park in Chicago, Illinois, takes place on ESPN+ on Friday, November 2 (semifinals) and Sunday, November 4 (title match).
ESPN+ coverage of the MVC Men's Soccer Championship at McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Indiana, will be on Wednesday, November 7 (quarterfinals), Friday, November 9 (semis) and Sunday, November 11 (title match).
The MVC Volleyball Championship will be distributed on ESPN+ from Hammons Student Center in Springfield, Missouri, on Thursday, November 22 (quarters), Friday, November 23 (semis) and Saturday, November 24 (title match).
ESPN APP SERVES AS THE DIGITAL HOME FOR MVC ATHLETIC EVENTS
ESPN App curates all of ESPN's incredible content into a personalized experience unique to each fan's tastes. The app includes three core pillars of offering for fans:
News, Scores, Highlights & Audio: The world's leading sports scores, news, features and analysis, video highlights and clips, and the leading library of live and on-demand sports audio content.
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ESPN+: Direct-to-consumer subscription streaming access to thousands of additional live sporting events, original content and shows, and on-demand video library. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.
For questions about the new ESPN App or ESPN+, please contact the ESPN customer care team at support.espn.com or 1-888-549-ESPN.
