30 MVC games to be aired on ESPN networks

[MoValley John]

Does anyone know if any of the Battle 4 Atlantis games will be televised?

Yes, just like they were last year when Illinois St was in the same tourney. I'll never forget watching those games because they literally took place in the hotel ballroom (you could see the chandeliers on the ceiling and walls).

Illinois State was not in this tourney, and I would hardly say that there were "chandeliers hanging down".

I don't remember which Valley team was in the tourney last year, but I remember the ballroom. I googled and found this:

http://blog.ctnews.com/uconnbasketball/ ... -atlantis/

Yes, regardless of how the picture is cropped, you are playing in a converted ballroom. On the other hand, this tourney is one of the most lucrative available.

[DUBulldog]

Yes, just like they were last year when Illinois St was in the same tourney. I'll never forget watching those games because they literally took place in the hotel ballroom (you could see the chandeliers on the ceiling and walls).

Illinois State was not in this tourney, and I would hardly say that there were "chandeliers hanging down".

I don't remember which Valley team was in the tourney last year, but I remember the ballroom. I googled and found this:

http://blog.ctnews.com/uconnbasketball/ ... -atlantis/

Yes, regardless of how the picture is cropped, you are playing in a converted ballroom. On the other hand, this tourney is one of the most lucrative available.

Drake was in a tourney in Cancun a few years ago, and those game were in a ballroom.

[MoValley John]

A lot of these tournaments are in small gyms, ballroom, etc. it really is a non-issue. Battle for Atlantis is held at one of the most expensive resorts in the world and they pay a ton of cash. Who cares if they are playing in a huge arena, ballroom or National Guard armory?

[DoubleJayAlum]

Does anyone know if any of the Battle 4 Atlantis games will be televised?

Yes, just like they were last year when Illinois St was in the same tourney. I'll never forget watching those games because they literally took place in the hotel ballroom (you could see the chandeliers on the ceiling and walls).

Illinois State was not in this tourney, and I would hardly say that there were "chandeliers hanging down"

Oops, my bad, Illinois St played in a tourney in Cancun and it was in a ballroom. I watched it on TV and you could see the chandeliers.

By the way, as you are wont to do, you have once again misquoted me. I never said there were "chandeliers hanging down". I just said you could see chandeliers, which you could.

[DoubleJayAlum]

A lot of these tournaments are in small gyms, ballroom, etc. it really is a non-issue. Battle for Atlantis is held at one of the most expensive resorts in the world and they pay a ton of cash. Who cares if they are playing in a huge arena, ballroom or National Guard armory?

I never meant it as any sort of slam. I just remembered it because it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The most important thing about these tourneys is who you get to play, not where the event is held. For a lot of teams, this is the only chance they get to play top notch competition or BCS schools at all.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Too bad we can't follow the A-10 and have multiple national networks televise our games during the season along with leaving the Bracket Busters.

http://www.atlantic10.com/sports/m-bask ... 12aaa.html

I saw this yesterday, and I wondered how they managed this. Is there something with our deals that preclude us from getting deals from other networks as well? It would be great if we could get something on NBC sports or CBS Sports on top of our ESPN games.

We give ESPN exclusive rights in exchange for them carrying our games and letting us have the MVC championship on CBS. I explained this to you a couple of months ago. It was that same conversation where you told me that the MVC's TV contracts were just as good as the A10's.

[MoValley John]

This tv contract blows. I'm sorry, it does. Little money, less exposure for the Valley. If your team Doesn't have at least 3 games on the deuce, Nobody will see you. And those games on ESPN3 are simply games they pick up from local feeds. Lame, but it looks to me like ESPN, with all their power, said take it or leave it. I would love to see the Valley negotiate with Fox Sports.

[DoubleJayAlum]

The fact of the matter is that the MVC has too many schools in remote areas and can't move the meter for ratings.

The A10 has several teams in major metropolitan areas. They also have several NCAA tourney quality teams each year.

ESPN needs/wants the A10, so is willing to cooperate. The MVC needs ESPN, so we can be bent over by them. The fear is that the MVC, by going elsewhere will get the CAA treatment - no Sportscenter updates or airtime, conference tourney relegated to a cable TV network that few have, no discussion on College Gameday, etc.

The A10 leaders have excellent vision and have done a great job positioning the nonfootball conference in a football conference world. They are helped by geography, but are the model for every midmajor conference right now. It is why some Creighton and WSU fans desperately covet an offer at some point. The MVC in the meantime continues to slip as schools continue to go through money problems and tie the commissioner's hands as to what can be done to improve the conference. (People erroneously blame Elgin all the time, but he can only wield the power ceded to him). Hell, the teams in this conference don't even allow him to pick the sites for conference tourneys for the non-money sports --- we require a team vote every time!

[shocktheheart]

So...people bitch we don't get enough games on TV - so the conference sets a record number of games on TV in a season....


then people bitch that the games aren't on multiple networks....

I'm glad you are satisfied with getting twenty or so games on actual national TV and then the rest on the computer. If we want to be par with a league that we should be on par with, that deal won't cut it. We are so worried that ESPN won't broadcast our games that we let them dictate what networks we can deal with. This league TV wise is not be run by the Valley, it is being run by ESPN.

[Khan4Cats]

Does anyone know if any of the Battle 4 Atlantis games will be televised? I'd assume some of these early season tournaments will be televised for MVC teams

The games will be split between the NBC Sports network and AXS TV. UNI vs Louisville will be on NBC Sports Network at 8:30 on Nov 22. If they win, the rest of tehir games will stay will NBC, if they lose, the consolation games will all be on AXS.