Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
The Big South Conference basketball tournament is headed back this season to East Tennessee State University’s Freedom Hall. This will be Year Number 2 in an agreement with the facility, and Johnson City officials say spending associated with last year’s tournament was bigger than the Spring NASCAR race.
Brenda Whitson is the executive director of the Johnson City Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
“It (the Big South tournament) was the largest singular event hosted in our area with 12,000 hotel nights,” she said.
The locale is very proud to host the event, and Whitson feels the partnership developed is very strong.
Her remarks came during last week’s Big South Basketball Media Days at Carnegie Hotel.
Last year, the city of Johnson City placed welcome banners throughout the town, leading up to Freedom Hall. In addition, the visitor’s bureau worked with volunteers to provide “team moms” for each team during their state in the community.
This year’s tournament is scheduled for the first week of March and will include both the men’s and women’s teams.
A third-year option is being considered, and an announcement could be coming soon.
Big South Commissioner Sherika Montgomery said she was pleased with the community’s hospitality this past year and is optimistic in moving forward. While she would not commit to the third year, she felt there were plenty of positives to lean that way.
Montgomery also took time to discuss the “state of the conference.” She cited the stability of the conference.
“The Big South is really strong,” she said.
Montgomery would not rule out conference expansion. Matter of fact, it is being discussed.
The conference locked down some other stability earlier this year with another agreement with ESPN.
The Big South Conference and ESPN have reached a six-year extension to its media rights deal that will see more than 800 conference events carried annually across ESPN networks, including ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer offering, which is inclusive of ESPN+ and launched in August. The agreement runs through 2030-31 – 40 years since the longstanding relationship began in 1991.
The extension provides continued linear coverage of the Big South’s basketball championship games, as the men’s championship game will air on either ESPN or ESPN2, with the women’s championship contest to be carried on ESPNU. In addition, ESPNU will televise six events per season, including a minimum of four men’s basketball “Wildcard” broadcasts on the network, and at least two additional linear opportunities on ESPNU or ESPNEWS are included. Additionally, the agreement allows the Big South to retain the rights to telecast up to 50 linear events per year locally in the Conference footprint, with those telecasts co-existing on ESPN+ as well.
Under the arrangement, ESPN+ will continue as the exclusive digital home of Big South Network productions and features regular season and Big South Championship broadcasts, including football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and lacrosse, baseball, and softball. The Big South was one of the first collegiate conferences showcased on ESPN+ when the service launched in 2018.
“ESPN is proud to extend our long-standing relationship with the Big South Conference,” said Mallory Kenny, ESPN Director of Programming & Acquisitions. “This agreement reflects ESPN’s continued commitment to showcasing the achievements of Big South institutions and sharing their stories with viewers across our networks. We look forward to building upon three decades of history together and further elevating the Big South in the years ahead.”
“I would like to extend immense gratitude to ESPN, particularly Nick Dawson and Mallory Kenny, for their continued support of the Big South Conference,” added Montgomery. “Our extended agreement is a testament to ESPN’s strong commitment to our Conference, the compelling experiences of our student-athletes, and the competitive excellence that defines our sport programs – especially in basketball. This enhanced partnership significantly elevates our brand visibility, recognition, and reputation on a national level. More importantly, it provides our student-athletes with a broader platform to compete, excel, and share their stories with a wider audience.”
