Indiana State University Athletics

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference will distribute a men's and women's basketball telecast package on FOX Sports Midwest and NBC Sports Chicago in 2019-20, Commissioner Doug Elgin announced today.

The Valley, with Niles Media Group serving as its production company, has worked in conjunction with FOX Sports Midwest -- along with its sister regional outlets FOX Sports Indiana and FOX Sports Kansas City -- and NBC Sports Chicago to clear the telecasts.

The Valley on ESPN -- the league's co-branded digital distribution platform with ESPN via the ESPN app -- will also distribute the productions outside the two networks' combined six-state regional footprint -- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Telecasts shown within the FOX Sports distribution area will be streamed on FOX Sports GO app.

The Valley is in a multi-year agreement with FOX Sports Midwest through the 2023-24 academic year and has a one-year contract with NBC Sports Chicago.

"Our regional partnerships with FOX Sports Midwest and NBC Sports Chicago, and the continuing cooperation between those networks and ESPN, have provided our league with linear and digital distribution of our men's basketball games," said Elgin, who is in his 32nd year and the longest-tenured commissioner in the league's 113-year history.  "Thanks to this alliance, Valley fans have numerous ways to consume our men's basketball content."

The 2019-20 league package features five appearances by Missouri State and Northern Iowa and four appearances each by 2019 State Farm MVC Tournament champion Bradley and 2019 MVC regular-season co-champ Drake. 

The remaining six schools -- including 2019 MVC regular-season co-champ and NIT participant Loyola -- all will receive a minimum of two appearances apiece.

Prior to the start of the Conference's telecast package, five non-MVC games -- four men's contest and a women's tilt -- open the FOX Sports Midwest package.   Valparaiso's men visit Saint Louis on Nov. 9, Missouri State's men travel to Xavier on Nov. 15, Southern Illinois' men play at Saint Louis on Dec. 1, Illinois State's men visit TCU on Dec. 3 and Drake's women travel to Oklahoma on Dec. 17. 

The league telecast schedule begins on Monday, Dec. 30, when Indiana State plays host to Southern Illinois and first-year Saluki head coach Bryan Mullins at Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.

January coverage includes Missouri State at Loyola (Jan. 4), Northern Iowa at Missouri State (Jan. 11), Southern Illinois at Loyola (Jan. 16), Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois (Jan. 22), Bradley at Indiana State (Jan. 25), Evansville at Valparaiso (Jan. 26) and Missouri State at Northern Iowa (Jan. 29).

The February schedule features Northern Iowa at Evansville (Feb. 1), Bradley at Drake (Feb. 5), Drake at Northern Iowa (Feb. 8), Indiana State at Bradley (Feb. 12), Valparaiso at Illinois State (Feb. 15), Missouri State at Bradley (Feb. 19), Drake at Illinois State (Feb. 22) and Drake at Loyola (Feb. 25).

The 2020 State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Championship -- the league's 30th-consecutive event in St. Louis -- on March 5-8 will feature nine games with the first six contests being shown on FOX Sports Midwest and NBC Sports Chicago.

In fact, The Valley will join the Big East (New York City) as the only Division I athletics leagues to conduct their men's basketball tournaments in the same city for 30 or more consecutive years.

The 2020 event will mark the 24th-straight year that FOX Sports Midwest-Indiana-Kansas City has distributed Arch Madness content.

Both opening-round games on March 5 and the first two quarterfinal games on March 6 will air on FOX Sports Midwest-Indiana-Kansas City, NBC Sports Chicago and The Valley on ESPN outside the six-state RSN footprint. 

The remaining two quarterfinal games will be seen live on FOX Sports Midwest-Indiana-Kansas City and ESPN+ in the states of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa and on tape-delay on NBC Sports Chicago.

The semis on March 7 will be on CBS Sports Network, and the title contest on March 8 will air at 1 p.m. Central on CBS Sports for a 15th-consecutive season.