The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will play three times as part of the Missouri Valley Conference’s 22-game men’s basketball telecast package on FOX Sports Midwest and NBC Sports Chicago in 2018-19, Commissioner Doug Elgin announced today.

The Valley, with Niles Media Group serving as its production company, has worked in conjunction with FOX Sports Midwest -- along with its sister regional outlets FOX Sports Indiana and FOX Sports Kansas City -- and NBC Sports Chicago to clear the telecasts.  The Valley on ESPN -- the league’s co-branded digital distribution platform with ESPN via the ESPN app -- will also distribute the productions outside the two networks’ combined six-state regional footprint -- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.  Telecasts shown within the FOX Sports Midwest distribution area will also be streamed on the FOX Sports app.

On July 2, The Valley executed a multi-year extension with FOX Sports Midwest through the 2023-24 academic year.  The league is in the second year of a two-year agreement with NBC Sports Chicago.

Valpo will appear on the MVC TV Network three Saturdays in a four-week span, starting on Jan. 12 with its game at Southern Illinois. Valpo’s Jan. 19 home game versus UNI, set for a 3 p.m. tip, and its Feb. 2 road game at Evansville have both also been selected for broadcast on the MVC TV Network.

The 2019 State Farm MVC Men’s Basketball Championship -- the league’s 29th-consecutive tournament in St. Louis -- on March 7-10 will feature nine games with the first six contests being shown on FOX Sports Midwest and NBC Sports Chicago.  Both opening-round games on March 7 and the four quarterfinal games on March 8 will air on FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana, FOX Sports Kansas City, NBC Sports Chicago and The Valley on ESPN outside the six-state RSN footprint.