Houston and Oregon State were in the middle of a one-score game on Saturday afternoon, but ESPN apparently had somewhere else it wanted to be.
With Houston leading Oregon State 26-20 and roughly nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, ESPN left the game and moved the remainder of the action to ESPNews in order to show the kickoff of Texas vs. Texas State.
The decision immediately drew criticism, including from college sports columnist John Canzano.
It’s certainly not the kind of decision that will sit well with Big 12 fans. And if you missed it, here’s what it looked like.
Houston is in its fourth season as a member of the Big 12 Conference, while ESPN is one of the league’s primary media partners. The Big 12’s current media rights agreement with ESPN and FOX runs through the 2030-31 academic year.
Meanwhile, Texas departed the Big 12 for the SEC following the 2023-24 academic year.
It’s understandable that ESPN wanted to get to the start of a Texas game, given the Longhorns’ national profile and audience. But leaving a competitive Houston-Oregon State game with nearly an entire quarter still remaining is going to raise eyebrows around the Big 12.
For Big 12 fans watching Houston on Saturday, ESPN’s programming decision certainly won’t do anything to quiet the conversation that ESPN is not the ideal TV partner for the Big 12 Conference.
