WCC ups exposure with long-term partnership with ESPN

As announced today by both the West Coast Conference and ESPN, the WCC and ESPN family of networks have agreed upon an eight-year contract extension that will run through the 2018-19 school year. According to terms of the agreement, the WCC will receive a minimum of 48 annual men's basketball appearances on the ESPN networks. Over the past three seasons, the Conference has appeared on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU an average of 38 times per season.

In addition to continuing coverage of the Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships (with the semifinals on ESPN2 and the championship game broadcast on ESPN), the quarterfinal matchups will now appear on ESPNU, an agreement that will begin this coming season.

"We are elated to reaffirm our long term partnership with ESPN for another eight years," West Coast Conference Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich said in the conference's press release. "ESPN has played a critical role in helping build and extend our brand as a premier national basketball conference, and this agreement will ensure that more West Coast Conference events will be telecast across more national television platforms than ever before."


In the terms of the deal, all nine WCC schools (with the addition of BYU in 22 days) are guaranteed at least one nationally televised appearance.