The new-look Valparaiso University men’s basketball team will receive immediate national television exposure when the Missouri Valley Conference slate gets underway on Thursday, Dec. 2.

Valpo will tip off the MVC portion of the season against Drake at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa in a game that will air nationally on ESPNU. The contest is slated for an 8 p.m. CT start.

The Bulldogs are coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance that featured an opening-round victory over Wichita State. Drake finished the 2020-2021 season at 26-5 and 15-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Valpo and Drake engaged in a pair of compelling games at the Athletics-Recreation Center last season, with the Bulldogs winning 80-77 on Feb. 6 and Valpo prevailing 74-57 on Feb. 7. The Valpo victory ended Drake’s undefeated run at 18-0 and represented Valpo’s fourth triumph over a nationally-ranked opponent in program history.

The Beacons feature five transfers, five freshmen and five returning scholarship players (plus three returning nonscholarship players) on the roster this season.

Valpo is no stranger to national television exposure, as the game at Drake will mark the program’s 65^th national television appearance since 2010-11. In addition, this marks the 106^th time in that span that Valpo Basketball has appeared on either national or regional television. 

In addition to announcing the ESPNU selection of the Valpo at Drake contest, The Valley also revealed four Valpo appearances on the conference-selected Valley on ESPN package. These games will air on ESPN3 or ESPN+ with MVC on-air talent:

Jan. 15 vs. Missouri State, 6 p.m.

Jan. 19 vs. UNI, 6 p.m.

Feb. 19 at Evansville, 5 p.m.

Feb. 23 vs. Drake, 6 p.m.

The MVC will announce its CBS Sports Network package on Thursday and its MVC TV Network package (Bally Sports Network / NBC Sports Chicago) on Friday.

In addition, the Jan. 7 Valpo women's basketball game vs. UNI will be a part of the conference-selected Valley on ESPN package with conference-supplied on-air talent.