The Drake Bulldogs went 31-4 and won both the MVC regular season and tournament championships last season. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

ST. LOUIS, MO — The Missouri Valley Conference announced this week, its broadcast schedule for men’s basketball during the upcoming season.

The MVC will have an exclusive 28-game men’s basketball schedule on ESPN platforms during the 2025-26 academic year, and for the 11th-straight year, CBS Sports will televise a package of league games, including the State Farm MVC Tournament semifinals and eight regular-season contests.

The CBS Television Network, which has aired every title game of the MVC Tournament since 2006, will televise the 2026 championship on March 8, and the game is also available to on Paramount+.

The 2026 tournament — the 36th consecutive MVC event in St. Louis — will mark the 21st-straight year that CBS Sports has televised the title game. The semifinals will be shown on CBS Sports Network for the 11th-consecutive year.

THE MVC is one of four leagues — along with the Atlantic 10, Big Ten, and Mountain West — to have its men’s basketball tournament final shown on CBS. The 2026 event will be the 50th overall men’s basketball tournament in Conference history with the first 14 championships occurred on campus sites prior to moving to St. Louis in 1991.

The Drake Bulldogs won the MVC Tournament championship for the third straight season, last March. (Photo: Cedric Williams)

The MVC will clear productions on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN+, the leading sports streaming service. There will be four games on ESPN2, a total of six contests on ESPNU and a league-selected package of 18 digital exclusive games distributed on ESPN+.

For nine of the 10 linear telecasts, ESPN and the MVC will utilize a Wildcard Selection process to determine which game will be aired on a specific date. As part of the Wildcard Selection process, ESPN, working in tandem with league staff, will announce its telecast selection 14 days from competition.

Additional regular-season men’s basketball games produced by MVC institutions will be delivered exclusively through the MVC on ESPN — the league’s co-branded digital network with ESPN available through the ESPN App.

The 2025-26 NCAA men’s basketball season will begin officially on Monday, November 3. Seven MVC teams have games that day or evening.

MVC MEN’S BASKETBALL TV SCHEDULE

Sunday, January 4
Indiana State at Drake — 4 pm — (ESPN2)
Bradley at Murray State — 4 pm — (ESPN2)
Northern Iowa at Evansville — 4 pm — (ESPN2)
Southern Illinois at Belmont — 4 pm (ESPN2)
Illinois-Chicago at Valparaiso — 4 pm (ESPN2)

Saturday, January 10
Belmont at Drake — 5 pm (ESPNU)
Northern Iowa at Bradley — 5 pm (ESPNU)
Illinois-Chicago at Illinois State — 5 pm (ESPNU)
Evansville at Indiana State — 5 pm (ESPNU)
Valparaiso at Murray State — 5 pm (ESPNU)

Saturday, January 17
Drake at Illinois-Chicago — 1 pm (ESPN2/ESPNU)
Bradley at Illinois State — 1 pm (ESPN2/ESPNU)
Indiana State at Murray State — 1 pm (ESPN2/ESPNU)
Belmont at Southern Illinois — 1 pm (ESPN2/ESPNU)
Northern Iowa at Valparaiso — 1 pm (ESPN2/ESPNU)

Wednesday, January 21
Indiana State at Bradley — 8 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Murray State at Drake — 8 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Northern Iowa at Illinois State — 8 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Southern Illinois at Valparaiso — 8 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)

Saturday, January 24
Murray State at Northern Iowa — 3 pm (CBSSN)

Saturday, January 31
Bradley at Drake — 5 pm (CBSSN)
Murray State at Belmont — 7 pm (CBSSN)

Friday, February 6
Bradley at Northern Iowa — 7 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Belmont at Illinois-Chicago — 7 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Drake at Illinois State — 7 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Murray State at Southern Illinois — 7 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Evansville at Valparaiso — 7 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)

Monday, February 9
Northern Iowa at Murray State — 9 pm (CBSSN)

Sunday, February 15
Illinois State at Illinois-Chicago — 2 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Belmont at Murray State — 2 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Drake at Northern Iowa — 2 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Bradley at Southern Illinois — 2 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Indiana State at Valparaiso — 2 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)

Wednesday, February 18
Illinois-Chicago at Evansville — 8 pm (ESPNU)
Murray State at Illinois State — 8 pm (ESPNU)
Northern Iowa at Indiana State — 8 pm (ESPNU)
Southern Illinois at Drake — 8 pm (ESPNU)
Bradley at Valparaiso — 8 pm (ESPNU)

Saturday, February 21
Evansville at Murray State — 7 pm (ESPN2)
Illinois State at Bradley — 7 pm (ESPN2)
Indiana State at Belmont — 7 pm (ESPN2)
Southern Illinois at Northern Iowa — 7 pm (ESPN2)
Valparaiso at Illinois-Chicago — 7 pm (ESPN2)

Wednesday, February 25
Illinois State at Northern Iowa — 6 pm (ESPNU)
Indiana State at Southern Illinois — 8 pm (ESPNU)

Sunday, March 1
Murray State at Bradley — 4 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Belmont at Illinois State — 4 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Illinois-Chicago at Indiana State — 4 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)
Northern Iowa at Drake — 4 pm (CBSSN/ESPNU)

Thursday, March 5
MVC Tournament Preview Show — 3 pm (ESPN+)
MVC Tournament Round 1 — 3:30 pm (ESPN+)
MVC Tournament Round 2 — 6 pm (ESPN+)
MVC Tournament Round 3 — 8:30 pm (ESPN+)

Friday, March 6
MVC Tournament Quarterfinal #1 — 12 pm (ESPN+)
MVC Tournament Quarterfinal #2 — 2:30 pm (ESPN+)
MVC Tournament Quarterfinal #3 — 6 pm (ESPN+)
MVC Tournament Quarterfinal #4 — 8:30 pm (ESPN+)

Saturday, March 7
MVC Tournament Semifinal #1 — 2:30 pm (CBSSN)
MVC Tournament Semifinal #2 — 5 pm (CBSSN)

Sunday, March 8
MVC Tournament Championship Game — 11 am (CBS)