JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and ESPN announced today a one-year extension to their media rights agreement. ESPN will continue as the ASUN’s media partner through the 2025-26 academic year with expanded linear network coverage that now includes the Women's Basketball Championship Final airing on ESPNU in March.
“Thank you to our tremendous teammates at ESPN for their continued commitment to Atlantic Sun Conference student-athletes, and for their interest in ensuring that ASUN Women’s Basketball is presented to a national audience as it deserves,” ASUN Commissioner Jeff Bacon said. “I look forward to the coming year and am grateful to Nick Dawson, Mallory Kenny and the entire team at ESPN as we head towards a new era under our Alliance with the Western Athletic Conference."
The ASUN's relationship with ESPN first began in 1989 with the airing of the league's Men's Basketball Final and grew exponentially through the conference's ESPN3 On-Campus Initiative, which began in the fall of 2012. In April of 2018, the ASUN and ESPN announced 55 events to be streamed via ESPN's then-new direct-to-consumer platform, ESPN+. That spring, six ASUN Championships were showcased on ESPN+ including the entirety of the Baseball, Beach Volleyball, Lacrosse, Softball and Tennis Championships. Since its inception, ESPN has collaborated with the ASUN to adopt the conference-wide on-campus production model.
In the 2024–25 academic year, ASUN and its 12 members produced 1,184 ESPN broadcasts. This number encompassed 14 conference championships including the Men's Basketball Championship Final between Lipscomb and North Alabama which aired on ESPN2 and saw nearly 30,000 unique viewers watch the Bisons hoist the tournament trophy. The 2024-25 production total marked the third year in a row that the league has pushed out more than 1,000 broadcasts with 1,296 in 2023-24 and 1,155 in 2022-23.
About the Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN), founded in 1978, is an NCAA Division I conference sponsoring twenty-two (22) sports and championships. Composed of twelve (12) destination-based institutions spread throughout the southeastern United States, ASUN members include Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tenn.), Bellarmine University (Louisville, Ky.), the University of Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond, Ky.), Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jacksonville University (Fla.), Lipscomb University (Nashville, Tenn.), the University of North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), the University of North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Queens University of Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.), Stetson University (DeLand, Fla.), and the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.).
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the No. 1 sports streaming platform, serving fans in the U.S. with exclusive access to more than 32,000 live sports events each year, an unmatched library of on-demand replays and acclaimed original content, and premium written articles by the top reporters and analysts from ESPN.com. Fans sign up for ESPN+ at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or in the ESPN App on mobile and connected devices.
For more visit the ESPN+ Press Kit.
All of ESPN. All in One Place. Coming this Fall.
This fall, for the first time ever, ESPN will offer its full suite of networks and services directly to fans, along with an enhanced ESPN App that integrates game stats, betting information, fantasy sports, commerce, multiview options and a personalized SportsCenter For You. Designed to give fans more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, these new features and functionality will be available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a traditional pay TV package.
For more visit the ESPN DTC Press Kit.