ESPN plans expanded coverage of Big 12 tourney, but one key change has fans torn
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- ESPN expands Big 12 tournament coverage by bringing College GameDay to Kansas City.
- Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas will call the title game with reporter Kris Budden.
- LED video court at T‑Mobile Center; Sciambi and Fraschilla won’t call this year’s final.
For television viewers, there will be different sights and sounds at next month’s Big 12 men’s tournament.
The Big 12 previously announced it will have an LED video court at the T-Mobile Center. And ESPN said Thursday it is expanding coverage of the tournament by bringing its “College GameDay” program to Kansas City.
It will be the first time “College GameDay” will be at the Big 12 Tournament since 2006.
ESPN said its studio programming will start Friday, March 13, from Kansas City with Rece Davis, Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams. “College GameDay” will start at 11 a.m. on March 14 at the T-Mobile Center, well ahead of the 6 p.m. tip-off for the championship.
The change for Big 12 viewers will come in the title game. It will be called Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas with reporter Kris Budden.
Jon Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla had been calling the Big 12 men’s tournament final for years, except for 2023 when Dick Vitale was the analyst.
Fans had mixed emotions about the change of broadcasters. Lots of people were upset that Fraschilla won’t be on the broadcast, but many KU supporters applauded the move. Here is a bit of what they were saying on X and Reddit.
“Bummer to not have Sciambi,” one fan wrote on Reddit, “but good God it’ll be nice not to have to listen to Fran. Bilas will be a nice change of pace.”
“I really like Fran. To me, he is Big 12 hoops in the same way Verne and Gary were SEC football,” another wrote. “Shulman and Bilas are big time though for sure.”
“Hope KU can make it that far. I’m tired of listening to Fran,” a fan wrote on Reddit. “I like Boog just fine, but Franchilla seems like he’s getting paid by the word these last few years.”
Another shared this: “I don’t get the Fran hate. He’s enthusiastic, has a good broadcast voice, and is very good at breaking down complex concepts in a way basketball novices can understand. Always enjoy listening to him.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 9:03 AM.
