ESPNU College Football ESPNU College Football is a promotion of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football on ESPNU . " ESPNU College Football " debuted on August 25 , 2005 with a HBCU match - up between Benedict and Morehouse . In addition to their live game coverage , ESPNU also has three weekly programs devoted to college football , which include " ESPNU Inside the Polls " on Monday at 6pm ET , " ESPNU Coaches Spotlight " on Tuesdays at 12pm ET and " ESPNU Recruiting Insider " on Fridays at 7 : 30pm ET . History . ESPNU launched its college football coverage on August 25 , 2005 with a SIAC matchup between Benedict and Morehouse . " ESPNU College Football " ' s debut season showcased 75 games from Division I - A conferences such as the ACC , Big East , Big Ten , Conference USA , the MAC , Mountain West , SEC , Sun Belt and the WAC . Also included were Division I FCS and Division II conferences such as the Big Sky , MEAC , Ohio Valley , SIAC , Southern and the SWAC . They also debuted their first college football studio show , " ESPNU Inside the Polls " . ESPNU also aired coverage of special events such as the " Steel City Classic " and the " Turkey Day Classic " . ESPNU launched its second season of college football coverage on August 26 , 2006 with a matchup between Tuskegee at Stillman . " ESPNU College Football " featured over 70 games from new conferences such as the Gateway and the Ivy League . ESPNU also lost the rights , in 2006 , to broadcast teams from Conference USA , the Mountain West and the WAC . Notable personalties joined " ESPNU College Football " , such as Clay Matvick , Brian Kinchen and Chris Martin . In 2006 , ESPNU began utilizing the " 1st and Ten " technology for select games . They also debuted two new studio shows to go along with " ESPNU Inside the Polls " , in " ESPNU Coaches Spotlight " and " ESPNU Recruiting Insider " . Along with the " Steel City Classic " , ESPNU also showcased new special events in the " Detroit Football Classic " , " Battle of the Bay " and the " Walt Disney World Florida Classic " . Controveries . Ohio State - Indiana . There was some controversy and criticism directed towards ESPN during the 2006 football season when the October 21 , 2006 game between Indiana and Ohio State was broadcast exclusively on ESPNU , and was not available to be broadcast on local TV , even in the Columbus , Ohio and Bloomington , Indiana markets . Ohio State was undefeated and ranked # 1 at the time Most fans considered Indiana to be a weak opponent within the Big Ten Conference based on recent performance . However , on October 14 , just one week before this game , the Indiana Hoosiers defeated Iowa ( then # 15 - ranked ) 31 - 28 , in what many considered an impressive upset . Considering the fact that Ohio State was a national championship contender and Indiana was competitive against a major team , fans of both schools were upset that ESPN would not be allowing ABC regional coverage of the game . Many cable providers did not carry ESPNU at the time . Accordingly , there was the perception that the move was a marketing tactic by ESPN , attempting to get more people and cable providers to carry and subscribe to ESPNU . Brian Kinchen . On October 31 , 2006 , ESPNU college football commentator Brian Kinchen was suspended from calling games for one week , because of a comment he made during an October 28 game broadcast of the Northern Illinois - Iowa game . Kinchen was explaining the need for receivers to make catches with their hands , because they are " tender " and can " caress " the ball . He then paused and said , " that ' s kind of gay , but hey . " " The comments were inappropriate , and we apologize for them , " said ESPN ' s vice president of public relations Josh Krulewitz . " They were completely inappropriate and not at all a reflection of who I am or the way I perform my work , " Kinchen said in a statement issued by ESPN . " I have learned from my mistake and look forward to continuing my broadcasting career . " Broadcast rights . On February 14 , 2005 , ESPNU reached an extensive agreement with the Mid - Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference , two conferences that are predominantly part of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities . The seven - year agreement , which goes through 2012 , gives ESPNU the exclusive cable rights to the MEAC and the SWAC football . The agreement allows ESPNU to televise a minimum of seven football games a season , primarily on Thursday nights . In addition , ESPNU will also have the rights to televise the SWAC Conference Championship through the remainder of the contract . On March 15 , 2005 , ESPNU got the rights to televise three quarterfinal matches in the NCAA Division I Football Championship . As the rest of the games following that will air on ether ESPN or ESPN2 . On June 21 , 2006 , ESPN Inc . also reached a wide ranging agreement with the Big Ten Conference . The ten - year deal , which goes through 2016 , allows ESPN Family of networks to broadcast up to 41 games a year , which a portion will be part of ESPNU ' s coverage of college football . On August 29 , 2006 , ESPN Inc . reached a wide ranging agreement with the Big East Conference . The six - year deal , which goes through the 2012 college football season , gives ESPNU the rights to broadcast at least five games per year , until the deal runs out . It also gives ESPNU the rights to produce a weekly program devoted to Big East sports .