ESPN said Friday that all 47 NCAA Division 1 volleyball matches will be live on one of its platforms and will include commentators.
Earlier, the company had planned to broadcast the first two rounds of the event on its digital platforms, without announcers or play-by-play analysts, a configuration that several coaches at the event criticized on Thursday, saying it could continue to shine a light. unfavorable on the treatment of female sportswomen by the governing body of university sports.
“I really hope they look more closely at this. I have a feeling that could explode as much as what things have done at the weight room in women’s basketball,” said Kelly Sheffield of Wisconsin, referring to the NCAA criticisms for not initially providing a full weight training area for women’s teams. “It’s amazing that they don’t (have) a broadcast team. To me it’s lazy … that you’ll just be looking for silence while watching NCAA games.”
ESPN adjusted its plans Friday, saying in a statement: “ESPN is committed to presenting the entire NCAA Volleyball Championship for the first time this year, including first- and second-round matches. Despite the variety of pandemic challenges, all 47 matches will be live on an ESPN platform and will include commentators. “
The NCAA, as with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, moved the volleyball tournament to a single location as protection against COVID-19. Playing in Omaha, Nebraska, begins Wednesday.
The tournament has been moved since the fall due to the pandemic and will take place at CHI Health Center with 48 teams instead of the usual 64. The first three rounds will be played on the grounds arranged in a convention hall. The rest will be played in the adjacent arena.
The national matches in the semifinals and the championship match will be televised on ESPN2.
Sheffield, whose Badgers are No. 1 seed after finishing second to Stanford in 2019, said the lack of announcers for the first two rounds diminished the tournament.
“It will come as a high school business,” he said. “It should feel special. For a lot of people this won’t be the case.”
The NCAA previously stated in a statement that ESPN is not required to produce any coverage in the first and second rounds and that COVID-19 restrictions create technical challenges.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.