EDISON, N.J. – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and ESPN has announced a six-year rights agreement extension for enhanced coverage of MAAC men’s and women’s basketball across multiple national platforms. Niagara hoops will be on ESPN at least four times this season.

In total, the deal features a record 80 national appearances over 40 scheduled contests, an increase of 25% from last year’s schedule and the most ever for the MAAC. All 10 member institutions will receive a minimum of three men’s basketball and one women’s basketball appearances this year.

The agreement continues to include the men’s championship game on ESPN or ESPN2 and the women’s championship game on ESPNU, two men’s basketball appearances on ESPN or ESPN2, and continuation of a weekly game on ESPNU. The agreement features a new National MAAC Game of the Week on ESPN3, ESPN’s multi-screen network available through an affiliated Internet or video provider online via WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and on ESPN on Xbox LIVE.

ESPN3 will be the home of the conference’s new National MAAC Game of the Week and will carry at least 10 MAAC Game of the Week games over seven days. A total of 21 regular season games will be carried exclusively on ESPN3 – 14 men’s and 7 women’s games.

The agreement also features extensive coverage of the MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships with 10 games set for air on one of the ESPN platforms during the annual joint championships to be hosted for the first time at the neutral site MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. from March 1-5, 2012.

The Niagara men’s team will open the MAAC’s ESPNU schedule when it travels to play the Iona Gaels on Jan. 6 at 9 p.m. On Jan. 19, Niagara basketball will be a part of a men’s and women’s doubleheader with archrival Canisius starting at 6 p.m. with the women’s game from the Koessler Center on ESPN3.

The men’s team will welcome the Manhattan Jaspers to the Gallagher Center on Jan. 29 for a 4 p.m. contest to be aired on ESPN3.

There are two more chances for the Purple Eagles to appear on an ESPN platform. NU is a wildcard option for two games: home versus Canisius (Feb. 15, 7 p.m.) and at Saint Peter’s (Feb. 24, 7 p.m.).

The Niagara basketball season starts when the women’s team host Big 4 rivals Buffalo on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., followed by the men’s season opener against Central Connecticut on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. from the Gallagher Center. Season tickets are on sale now and single-game tickets and 4-pack plans will go on sale today. For more information, contact the Niagara Athletic Ticket Office at 716-286-8499 or tickets@purpleeagles.com.

About ESPN3
ESPN3 is ESPN's live multi-screen sports network, a 24/7 destination that delivers thousands of global sports events annually and accessible online via WatchESPN.com. It is currently available to approximately 70 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks.  It is also accessible through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold level members and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app through an affiliated provider.

About ESPNU
ESPNU launched March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network televises more than 650 live events annually. Action includes a variety of top football and men’s and women’s basketball games, as well as Olympic sports from 26 Division I conferences. ESPNU is the destination for premier high school programming, including elite football and basketball events. The network also has a wide-ranging agreement with the NCAA for extensive coverage of NCAA Championships.

ESPNU offers over 600 original studio shows, including SportsCenterU, ESPNU Recruiting Insider, The Experts, The WhipAround, College Basketball Live and BCS Countdown. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNU HD, now in over 20 million homes. In addition, ESPNU Campus Connection is a multiplatform, student-generated content initiative to enhance the network’s link to college campuses nationwide.

ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception and is now in approximately 73 million households across the country. The network has long-term carriage agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers – Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.