NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championships to be Broadcast on ESPNU, ESPN App
ESPN has announced plans to broadcast the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championships next month on ESPNU and the ESPN streaming app.
The Division I title game will take place on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. ET at the Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif. ESPNU will put the game on live national broadcast, with availability to stream internationally and watch on replay via the app.
It’s the next step for the relationship between the Worldwide Leader in Sports and water polo after it returned the NCAA Women’s Championship to television in the spring for the first time in a decade. Through the deal announced Thursday, ESPN will continue to air the men’s and women’s NCAA finals through the 2023-24 season.
USA Water Polo’s Greg Mescall will handle the play-by-play announcing, with former Bucknell University and UC Santa Barbara coach John Abdou as the analyst.
“As USA Water Polo did in May, we are proud to again collaborate with ESPN and the NCAA to broadcast the men’s water polo championship live from Berkeley, California,” USA Water Polo CEO Christopher Ramsey said in a press release. “We are also excited to have a veteran play-by-play commentator and expert color commentator combo in Greg and John calling the game this year. With such a broad array of talented teams in the tournament, the championship will be one of the most competitive in years.”
“Following the debut of the Women’s Water Polo Championship on ESPN platforms this spring, we are thrilled to now showcase the world-class men’s student-athletes as the Men’s Water Polo Championship becomes the 31st and latest addition to our portfolio of NCAA Championship events,” said Dan Margulis, ESPN senior director, programming and acquisitions.
The NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship is one of 31 NCAA championships events on ESPN networks this academic year.
The NCAA tournament field will feature seven teams from the five major conferences. It will be unveiled on Nov. 20.
“This is a game-changer to have ESPN take on these exciting championship events,” NCAA Men’s Water Polo Committee Chair George Nelson said. “With the water polo landscape growing and additional conferences committing to the sport this new media spotlight will help transform programs to higher levels. It is exciting to see this collaboration.”