NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The 2020-21 Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball schedule will feature 75 nationally televised games on the league’s three media partners: ESPN, CBS Sports and NBCSN. The A-10 announced the conference schedule and TV selections for the upcoming season Wednesday. Through its robust television package and all-encompassing digital agreement with ESPN+, every home game for all 14 league members will again be available on TV or digitally.
The league also made adjustments to its traditional schedule model to factor in potential interruption from the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be at least nine conference games played in December, and each team will have two bye dates between Jan. 13 and Feb. 24, and the weekend of March 5-7 will be left open. These measures provide windows for make-up dates and spreads the schedule out to accommodate any contest needing to be rescheduled.
“The 2020-21 year will be a unique and challenging season due to the COVID environment,” stated Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. “Utilizing multiple bye dates, creating an open weekend at the end of the season and moving games into December was deliberately done to allow for maximum flexibility to ensure the safety of our student-athletes, teams and campuses.”
The 2020-21 conference schedule tips off on Dec. 9 with Massachusetts at La Salle, the first of a series of December games. Through the course of league play, there will be 58 televised games, in addition to six televised non-conference games as part of the A-10 package. Each of the league’s 14 teams will make at least three appearances on national TV, and every league game will be televised on the weekend of Jan. 8-9, and the weekend of Jan. 23-24.
Additionally, 11 games of the 2020 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship at Barclays Center will be nationally broadcast. NBCSN will carry the second round and the quarterfinals, March 11-12, and CBS Sports Network will air the semifinal games on March 13. CBS Television Network will broadcast the March 14 final at 1:00 pm ET as part of the network’s overall NCAA Selection Sunday coverage.
“The opportunity to have every Atlantic 10 men’s basketball game available on television or digital streaming through ESPN+ is always important for the league, but this year, with limited attendance at our venues due to COVID-19, it is vital,” added McGlade. “Our media partners, ESPN, CBS Sports Network and NBCSN have been outstanding in their commitment to airing A-10 basketball and telling our stories. We are proud to be aligned with three outstanding networks and to be able to showcase high-level competition for our fans and alumni.”
For the sixth straight year, ESPN and the Atlantic 10 will present A-10 Friday Night Showcase, featuring seven Friday primetime conference games. The eight league games begin with Davidson at Rhode Island on Dec. 18, and feature six different Atlantic 10 programs. In total, there will be 14 regular season games across ESPN networks, all of which are conference matchups. All A-10 games across ESPN networks will also be available via the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
CBS Sports Network will carry 27 games, with 23 of those being conference matchups, There will also be two non-conference contests and the two championship semifinals. Additionally, the network’s popular college basketball show, “Inside College Basketball” will have four episodes dedicated exclusively to Atlantic 10 coverage. Branded “Inside College Basketball, A-10 Tip-Off,” the show will air prior to selected conference games. CBS Sports Network will also showcase a pair of January conference doubleheaders on Jan. 9 and Jan. 30. In addition to cable subscribers, CBS Sports Network is available via major OTT streaming services, and a live CBS Sports Network stream is available through CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App by authenticating with select providers.
There will be 33 total games on NBCSN’s A-10 schedule, with 21 conference contests, and four non-conference matchups. NBCSN will carry the second round and quarterfinals of the A-10 Championship, a total of eight games. The network opens its Atlantic 10 slate with a quadruple-header on Saturday, Jan. 2. NBCSN will have another quadruple-header, eight straight hours of A-10 coverage, on Saturday, Jan. 9. All A-10 games on NBCSN will also be streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
Additional regional and local television coverage will be announced at a later date. All games not carried as part of the A-10’s national television package will be streamed through the Atlantic 10’s partnership with ESPN+.
Atlantic 10 institutions reside in states that comprise 33.3 million television households, approximately 30 percent of the total national media market. There are eight A-10 institutions in or adjacent to the top 25 media markets in the country, and all 14 A-10 institutions are located in or adjacent to the top 65 media markets.