West Coast Conference expands ESPN partnership in new multi-year deal

ESPN+ to become exclusive digital home to 900 conference-owned sporting events each year

Gonzaga basketball fans are going to see a lot more of their team on ESPN's multitude of platforms starting next season.

On Tuesday, the West Coast Conference extended its longstanding relationship with the sports media giant with a new multi-year deal to make ESPN+ the exclusive home for more than 900 conference events each year. ESPN's linear networks will still show more than 25 conference games.

“I am excited to expand our longstanding relationship with ESPN,” WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson said in a news release. “While continuing our strong linear agreement, the ESPN+ platform and its more than 25 million subscribers provide exceptional visibility and access to showcase our regular season and conference championship events. ESPN provides the conference and our fanbase with great exposure to our events and I look forward to the launch of the WCC on ESPN+ this week.” 

Conference regular season events in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's water polo, baseball and softball that aren't televised on ESPN networks or CBS Sports Network will be available on ESPN+ beginning in the 2023-24 season. That includes conference championship events in basketball, baseball, beach volleyball, cross country, water polo and rowing.

Last season, Gonzaga made eight appearances on ESPN during conference play, while BYU, Saint Mary's and San Francisco were featured six times. ESPN televised a total of 25 games with at least one WCC team, 12 of which highlighted the Zags.

“We are thrilled that ESPN+ will be the exclusive digital home of the West Coast Conference through this expanded agreement, which offers a perfect complement to the men’s basketball games and other WCC events that are already available on ESPN networks,” said Dan Margulis, ESPN senior director, programming and acquisitions in a news release. “ESPN has enjoyed a strong, collaborative relationship with the WCC for more than two decades, and we will now have the opportunity to showcase the conference’s student-athletes across even more sports.”

It is unclear how many games ROOT Sports will televise in local markets.

The WCC joins an extensive list of conferences that will have its basketball games streamed on ESPN+, including the Big 12, Atlantic-10, Big Sky, Missouri Valley and more.

Fans can sign up for an ESPN+ account for $9.99 per month or bundle it with Disney+ or Hulu.