The Valparaiso University Department of Athletics has announced the start times and broadcast information for the 2026-2027 basketball season, providing clarity on how local residents can follow both the men's and women's teams.
All six regular-season nonconference home games for the men's basketball team are scheduled to air on ESPN+. Key nonconference road games also have broadcast details confirmed. The November 6 game at Purdue will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network, with a start time of 5:30 p.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. ET. The November 11 game at South Dakota State is slated to air on Midco Sports Plus. On December 5, the game at UNCW will stream on FloCollege. Additionally, games participating in the Pensacola Invitational multi-team event are expected to stream on YouTube.
For conference play, five Valpo men's games have been selected for regional television distribution through the MVC-TV Network, managed by Gray Media. These include the December 22 home game against Evansville at 8 p.m., the December 29 road game at Bradley at 8 p.m., the January 5 road game at UNI at 6 p.m., the February 13 road game at Indiana State at noon, and the February 24 road game at Belmont at 6 p.m. Eight other men's conference games remain under consideration for national or regional television distribution. The Missouri Valley Conference and its television partners will utilize a wildcard selection process for these dates, with specific television designations and start times being announced two weeks prior to each contest.
For the first time, the Valparaiso University women's basketball team has also been selected for a regional television broadcast on the MVC-TV Network. This historic game will take place on Tuesday, January 19, against Drake, with a scheduled tip-off at 6 p.m. This season, the conference has implemented a change, shifting to using school-assigned broadcast talent for the MVC-TV Network package. This means that for Valpo home men’s and women’s games airing on the MVC-TV Network, fans will hear the usual Valpo-assigned television talent.
Beyond the regionally televised matchups, all men’s and women’s conference games, whether played at home or on the road, that do not air on linear television will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
Radio coverage for the season will feature dedicated teams. WVUR student radio broadcasters, led by Eli Conklin and Grayson Merchant, are set to handle the play-by-play for all women’s games and men’s home games. For men’s road games, the hometown radio call will again be provided by Todd Ickow and Brandon Vickrey. On the television side for home games, Todd Ickow and Jamie Stangel will call all men’s games that air on ESPN+ or the MVC-TV Network. For home women’s games on ESPN+ or the MVC-TV Network, Brian Jennings and Renee’ Turpa will return to provide commentary. The production team responsible for home basketball games aired on ESPN+ is led by Corwin Leverich. It has also been noted that while home exhibition games for both the men’s and women’s teams will not be streamed, radio broadcasts will be available for these contests.
