Duke-Michigan basketball game up in the air over broadcast rights

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — One of the most highly anticipated men’s college basketball games for the 2026-27 season is up in the air, with broadcasting rights casting doubt.

Reigning national champion Michigan and Duke had previously announced they would play on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Advertisement

Vibes changed around the game when Duke announced a multi-year partnership with Amazon Prime, giving the platform exclusive streaming rights to multiple Duke basketball games each season. The game against Michigan is part of the deal.

While the ACC and ESPN were supportive of the deal, the same can’t be said for the Big Ten and its broadcast partner, Fox, putting the game’s status in question.

Opinion: College sports isn’t broken. Duke just proved it’s for sale. What if Ohio State is next?

The main issue is the Big Ten believes Michigan should get a cut of the revenue from the game, and New York is a Big Ten market, making it an issue for Fox.

Advertisement

“What’s the structure of how we got this game made in the first place, and what are we going to do about it?” Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti told the media at the Big Ten spring meetings on Tuesday, May 19.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said his staff knew Amazon Prime would broadcast the game, and made sure it was understood the game needed to go through the Big Ten. Now, he and Duke athletic director Nina King are “working through” ensuring the game takes place.

“Hopefully it’ll be resolved. It’s a great college basketball game, given who we are, who they are in college basketball,” Manuel told reporters. “I love the opportunity to play them, but we just have to make sure everything was right.”

1 / 37

See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

1 / 37

See best of…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/duke-michigan-basketball-game-air-022649664.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-05-20 02:26:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.