Sun Belt Conference to air games on American Sports Network

NEW ORLEANS - The Sun Belt Conference will air football and basketball games throughout the 2016-17 season on the American Sports Network. The announcement was made Wednesday.

While games on ASN will be broadcasts on “over-the-air” and cable affiliates, they will also be available without blackout restrictions on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

The partnership, made possible through a sublicense agreement with ESPN, allows for a minimum of eight football games and a minimum of 10 basketball games from the Sun Belt to be aired through ASN.

The sublicense agreement reached by ESPN and ASN allows the Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned network to produce and distribute Sun Belt Conference games via Sinclair affiliate television stations and other over the air and cable stations nationwide. Sinclair Broadcast Group is the largest owner of television stations in the United States, currently owning or operating 173 television stations in 81 markets nationwide and having affiliations with all the major networks.

The announcement Monday also comes with the announcement that the following Sun Belt football games will be part of the Sun Belt and ASN venture.

Friday, September 2

Ball State at Georgia State - 6 p.m.

Saturday, September 3

Boise State at UL Lafayette - 11 a.m.

Saturday, September 10

Old Dominion at Appalachian State - 2:30 p.m.

Georgia Southern at South Alabama - 6 p.m.

Saturday, September 17

South Alabama at UL Lafayette - TBA

All times are central and subject to change.

Additional games will be released at later dates by ASN and the Sun Belt.

About the American Sports Network

American Sports Network is a sports programming division of Sinclair Networks Group, LLC, a division of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. ASN produces broadcasts of sporting events, including NCAA Division I multiple sports, NCAA Division II football, local high school sports under the “Thursday Night Lights” and “Friday Night Rivals” brands, Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake City and D.C. United franchises, and the college football Arizona Bowl. The company, which launched in 2014, produced more than 375 events last year and is now a dedicated 24/7 broadcast network in 22 markets. For more information, visit ASN’s website at www.americansportsnet.com.



About the Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference’s “Together We Rise” motto isn’t just hyperbole. It’s proven fact on many different levels, not the least being its place in the hierarchy of collegiate athletics. The league’s embracing of innovations and advancements, its constant efforts to adapt in the ever-changing world of college athletics, and its continuing process of evolving to better serve its membership has been well documented since the day the conference was founded in 1976.

But one thing hasn’t changed: Since that founding, the Sun Belt Conference has always been a league of opportunity. Athletic and academic programs who have shown progressive thinking and the desire to improve have always found a home in the Sun Belt. For student-athletes, Sun Belt institutions are leaders in providing career services and the tools to assist in the pursuit of personal goals. Sun Belt members all employ full-time academic advisors and have on average more than 20 tutors for academic support. During the 2015-16 academic year, Sun Belt member institutions awarded over $50 million in scholarships to more than 3,100 student-athletes, while also providing life experiences such as team building, domestic and foreign travel, community service, mentoring, and recognition through honors and awards.

The Sun Belt Conference’s membership consists of 11 football members – Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy. Little Rock and UT Arlington compete in all-sports as non-football members while Idaho and New Mexico State are football only members. Coastal Carolina joined the Sun Belt Conference in all sports but football in 2016. The CCU football program will begin Sun Belt play in 2017.

For more information on the Sun Belt Conference, visit www.sunbeltsports.org