"ESPN and the NCAA have enjoyed a strong and collaborative relationship for more than four decades, and we are thrilled that it will continue under this new, long-term agreement," said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. "ESPN networks and platforms will exclusively present a record number of championships, including all rounds of several marquee events that we have grown together with the NCAA, we have grown over time." 

The agreement continues the exclusive coverage of sports included in the previous ESPN agreement - including all rounds of marquee NCAA championship events (women's basketball, softball, volleyball, gymnastics, baseball, FCS football, and more) - and adds coverage of the Division I men's and women's tennis team championships and the men's collegiate gymnastics national championship. 

It also includes full rights to the Men's National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT), as well as international rights to the Division I Men's Basketball Championship. The Division II and Division III championships in men's and women's basketball championships and the women's volleyball championships will also be added to ESPN's platforms. 

"The NCAA has worked diligently over the past year to ensure that this new broadcast agreement provides the best possible outcome for all NCAA championships, especially the women's championships. Over the past several years, ESPN has increased its investment in NCAA championship coverage, and the Association is pleased to continue to provide a platform for student-athletes to shine," said NCAA President Charlie Baker. 

"The completion of this agreement marks another milestone for the NCAA in putting student-athletes first," said Linda Livingstone, chair of the NCAA Board of Governors and president of Baylor University. "Concurrent with the terms of the new media rights, several enhancements to student-athlete benefits will go into effect in all three NCAA divisions, and this agreement will help fund these important programmes. And the national, integrated platform provided by the ESPN family of networks will help increase the visibility of many NCAA sports, particularly for our women student-athletes."

Endeavor's IMG and WME Sports served as the media consultants to the NCAA in the media rights negotiations. Hillary Mandel, EVP and Head of Americas for Media at IMG, and Karen Brodkin, EVP and Co-Head of WME Sports, commented: "This new deal with ESPN guarantees the NCAA significant increases in rights fees, investments in production and promotion, original content and multi-platform viewing options with a partner that has proven to be integral to the growth of its championships and women's sports." 

"Critically, it provides greater exposure for student-athletes across a record number of championships and capitalises on the growing interest and fandom for women's sports, which was a key focus of our in-depth evaluation and consulting work with the NCAA," she added.

The 40 NCAA events in ESPN's new eight-year agreement include:

-Men's championships - soccer, football (FCS, DII & DIII), cross country, water polo, indoor track and field, swimming and diving, wrestling, ice hockey, gymnastics, fencing, volleyball, lacrosse, outdoor track and field, tennis, baseball and basketball (including DII semifinals and DIII semifinals and championship).

-Women's Championships – soccer, field hockey, volleyball (including DII & DIII), cross country, indoor track and field, swimming and diving, basketball (including DII and DIII), ice hockey, bowling, gymnastics, fencing, beach volleyball, lacrosse, outdoor track and field, tennis, softball and water polo.

-Also: Men's National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT); NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Championship (international rights). 

The new agreement expands ESPN's already successful annual offering of NCAA events - a relationship that began 45 years ago in 1979, the year ESPN launched its original network. The NCAA championships will continue to benefit from ESPN's broad portfolio of platforms, which includes broadcast and cable networks - ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS - as well as ESPN+, the industry's leading sports streaming service. 

The agreement calls for the NCAA and ESPN to work together to maximize exposure opportunities on ABC and ESPN throughout the term. The national championship game in Division I women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s gymnastics, and the Football Championship Subdivision are guaranteed to air on ABC each year, with additional ABC exposure guaranteed within the overall softball and baseball championships as well. The agreement also includes a guarantee that at least 10 of the championships will have selection shows distributed on linear ESPN networks. 

Select rounds of NCAA championships will be exclusively available on ESPN+, which includes 24,000 college games each year spanning more than 20 conferences, effectively linking regular season and championship viewing for fans. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown quickly to more than 25 million subscribers, offering fans thousands of live events, original programming, and premium editorial content. 

In total, more than 2,300 hours of championships will be presented on ESPN’s linear and digital platforms annually, with more than 800 hours of NCAA championships on ESPN linear networks each year.The agreement also includes enhanced broadcast sponsorship and footage rights for ESPN across its full portfolio of championships and platforms.