ESPNU ESPNU ( often referred to as The U ) is a cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc . It is a sister network to ESPN dedicated to coverage of college athletics . ESPNU is based alongside ESPN Plus at its headquarters in Charlotte , North Carolina . History . The network was launched on March 4 , 2005 from the site of Gallagher - Iba Arena on the Oklahoma State University Campus in Stillwater , Oklahoma . The network ' s first live event was a semi - final game of the Ohio Valley Conference men ' s basketball tournament that saw Southeast Missouri State University fall to Eastern Kentucky University . The network was launched as a response to upstart rival CSTV ( now CBS Sports Network ) . ESPN was also being investigated by the U . S . Justice Department due to " warehousing " of college games from certain conferences , or signing a deal with a conference for all their games , but only televising a small number and not allowing the conference to make other arrangements for TV broadcasts . ESPN and XOS Technologies signed a partnership for college athletics websites to compete directly with CSTV ' s growing internet presence . On August 28 , 2006 , ESPNU launched a new " SportsCenter " spin - off dealing entirely with college sports . That show , called " SportsCenterU " , was originally scheduled to be broadcast from ESPN headquarters in Bristol , Connecticut , but ESPN changed its plans and the show originates from Charlotte . Mike Hall was the show ' s lead anchor until August 2007 , when he left for the new Big Ten Network . The new anchors are Mike Gleason and Lowell Galindo . They are joined on - set by color commentator s that vary with the sports season . Also , on August 28 , 2006 , ESPNU premiered ESPNU . com . The website included live streaming college sports events , multi - media player dedicated to college sports , podcasts and ESPN Motion clips of studio programming from the ESPNU television network . ESPNU expanded its live programming to water polo by broadcasting its first - ever water polo match between the women of Princeton University and Bucknell University on March 28 , 2009 from DeNunzio Pool , Princeton , NJ . Carriage . On May 19 , 2009 , ESPN announced a deal had been reached with Comcast to add the channel to their lineup . The deal allows them to carry ESPNU on a widely - distributed digital cable tier , instead of a less popular sports tier . ESPNU should be on most Comcast systems in time for the start of the 2009 – 2010 college football season . This ended multiple years of negotiations and somewhat of a feud between Comcast and ESPN over carriage of ESPNU . Also on May 19 , 2009 , a new carriage agreement with DirecTV was reached . The channel was moved from the satellite TV provider ' s add on " Sports Pack " to its basic " Choice " package on July 1 , 2009 , swapping channels and packages with ESPN Classic . Cablevision added ESPNU for the first time on March 23 , 2010 . Dish Network lawsuit . On August 4 , 2009 Dish Network sued ESPN for $ 1 million in a federal lawsuit , alleging that ESPN breached its contract by not extending the same carriage terms the programmer provided to Comcast and DirecTV for ESPNU and ESPN Classic . The lawsuit claims ESPN violated the " Most Favored Nations " clause . The next day , ESPN announced they will fight the lawsuit and said in a press release : " We have repeatedly advised Dish that we are in full compliance with our agreement and have offered them a distribution opportunity with respect to ESPNU and ESPN Classic consistent with the rest of the industry . We will not renegotiate settled contracts and will vigorously defend this legal action , the apparent sole purpose of which is to get a better deal . " Dish Network moved the channel from its " Classic Gold 250 " package to its " Classic Bronze 100 " package on September 30 , 2009 . However they claim it has nothing to do with the lawsuit . High definition . The 720p high definition simulcast of ESPNU launched on August 28 , 2008 to coincide with the start of the College Football season . The service debuted with the football game between Vanderbilt and Miami University . Time Warner Cable , Verizon FiOS , Blue Ridge Communications , Atlantic Broadband and Broadstripe carried the HD channel at the launch date . In late 2008 , AT & T U - Verse added it . Bright House Networks began adding the HD channel on a regional basis on November 7 , 2009 . Cablevision added it on March 23 , 2010 . DirecTV added the HD channel on May 19 , 2010 . Coverage rights . ESPNU has rights to games of the following conferences : ESPN and BYU recently announced a deal where at least 1 BYU football game per year will be broadcast on ESPNU . " See also ESPN significant programming rights " .