ESPN is extending its marquee women’s sports summer franchise, Women’s Sports Sundays, into Fall 2026. Building on the inaugural franchise of matchups across the WNBA, NWSL and AUSL, the fall season will add 10 college volleyball and five NWSL matches, in addition to women’s college basketball, WTGL and MVPW boxing, further elevating premium women’s sports matchup across the ESPN portfolio.
Beginning Sunday, Sep. 13, 11 consecutive weeks of women’s sports programming will air live on ESPN and the ESPN App with an applicable ESPN subscription. Social coverage will be led by espnW, the leading women’s sports and culture brand on social media, generating more total engagements and reaching more followers than any other brand in the space.
“Following this summer’s inaugural run of Women’s Sports Sundays, we are excited to continue building this franchise through a tremendous amount of collaboration and intentionality,” said Susie Piotrkowski, ESPN Vice President, Women’s Sports Programming & espnW. “Women’s Sports Sundays is a unique, growing franchise that showcases the full power of our women’s sports portfolio. With this expansion we are continuing to do what we do best – serving both established and new women’s sports fans anytime, anywhere.”
College volleyball will anchor upcoming Women’s Sports Sundays programming, beginning with the championship round of the 2026 Paradise Invitational on Sep. 13, live on ESPN. Later that evening, UCLA will take on Utah. Throughout the season, several top 10 matchups between NCAA powerhouses make up the Women’s Sports Sundays slate, including #3 Kentucky at #10 Florida on Oct. 4, Florida vs. #9 Texas on Oct. 18, and #5 Louisville at #2 Pittsburgh on Nov. 15.
The franchise will also spotlight the NWSL’s most pivotal stretch of the regular season matchups, beginning Sep. 13 as the Chicago Stars host the Trinity Rodman led Washington Spirit on Sep. 20, and continuing with two Bay FC primetime matchups at PayPal Park – vs. Orlando Pride on Sep. 27 and again vs. Portland Thorns FC on Oct. 18. Washington Spirit will return to the prime television stage on October 25 as they travel to face the Kansas City Current, before ESPN’s highly anticipated NWSL Decision Day coverage, set for Nov. 1, delivering eight matches for the first time in league history, as playoff berths, postseason seeding, and championship hopes are decided in real time.
Highlighting this season’s jam-packed Women’s Sports Sundays calendar, Oct. 11 will feature a special edition full day of competition with expanded digital coverage. Setting up the day, ESPN will have a college volleyball doubleheader, with #4 Stanford vs. Louisville at 1 p.m. ET and Pittsburgh vs. #8 SMU at 3 p.m. Adding to the action, game four of the WNBA Playoff semifinals will take place at 2 or 4 p.m., if necessary.
Additionally, Women’s Sports Sundays will bring championship stakes to the boxing ring on Sunday, Nov. 8 with Most Valuable Promotions’ MVPW-07 championship supercard headlined by Elif Turhan vs. Alycia Baumgardner. The franchise will also spotlight coverage of Women’s College Basketball and WTGL, with details to be announced.
Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions said: “Women’s Sports Sundays is another example of ESPN making a meaningful, long-term investment in women’s sports, and we’re proud to have MVPW be part of that commitment. We launched MVPW to give the best women fighters in the world the consistent platform, promotion and investment they deserve, and on Sunday, November 8, fans will see that vision on full display with four world championship fights in one night, headlined by Alycia Baumgardner challenging Elif Nur Turhan to become a two-division world champion. Women’s boxing continues to prove that when you put the best athletes on the biggest stages, fans show up. We’re grateful to ESPN for continuing to invest alongside us and excited for MVPW-07 to be part of a Sunday dedicated to showcasing the very best in women’s sports.”
Since its launch this summer, Women’s Sports Sundays has featured some of the most compelling competition in women’s sports, generating strong audiences across the WNBA, NWSL and AUSL. Several telecasts delivered substantial audience growth compared to prior season averages, underscoring the continued momentum surrounding women’s sports and fan interest across ESPN platforms. This fall, Women’s Sports Sundays’ expansion will aim to create an even broader destination for fans every Sunday.
