Southern Miss athletics to receive media boost, the Sun Belt and ESPN expand agreement

NEW ORLEANS (WLBT) - For the second straight year, the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill announced during the Sun Belt Football Media Day 1 that the conference has expanded its media rights with ESPN.

This announcement comes less than a month after the University of Southern Mississippi officially became a Sun Belt Conference member.

The new agreement, which still runs through the 2030-31 academic year will provide the Sun Belt with more resources, exposure, and opportunities for Sun Belt football and basketball.

The conference says that the deal expands upon the Sun Belt’s extended media rights relationship that was announced last year, which resulted in more than 50% of football games appearing on ESPN’s linear offerings (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU), including 40 percent of those new opportunities televised on a Saturday.

“This new agreement is a recognition of the growth of the Sun Belt Conference and our commitment to excellence in all sports,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. “On behalf of the entire Sun Belt, I want to thank Nick Dawson, ESPN Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions, and the college sports team at ESPN for their support of the Sun Belt Conference. I look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship.”

“We are thrilled to enhance our relationship with the Sun Belt Conference,” said Nick Dawson, ESPN Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions. “This continued growth will not only increase our televised offerings but will add thousands of events to ESPN+, ensuring easy access for the conference’s dedicated fans to consume more sports and more games throughout each season.”

The conference also states that the new agreement will result in more than 6,000 additional live events available on ESPN+ including men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, baseball, and softball.

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