In any sport, if the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation were facing off, you’d imagine networks and broadcasters would be lining up to put it on their airwaves.
That didn’t seem to be the case with the game between No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Richmond, scheduled for Saturday, April 4, in Evanston, Illinois, as part of Lacrosse Day in Chicago at Northwestern’s Martin Stadium.
Notre Dame (6-0) is currently No. 1 in the KANE Men’s Division I Media Poll, but only by the slimmest of margins ahead of Richmond (8-0). While the Fighting Irish received 11 first-place votes, the Spiders snagged 10. No. 3 Harvard received the only other first-place vote.
The issue appeared to stem from the fact that the Big Ten Network had the rights to events in the venue, but since neither Notre Dame nor Richmond is a Big Ten program, BTN has no reason to carry the game.
On Wednesday, ESPN came to the rescue, announcing that the game between the top two teams in the nation would be broadcast on ACCNX and the ESPN App. You could still argue the game deserves to be on linear television, but hey, at this point, beggars can’t be choosers.
Programming Update: Top #NCAAMLAX matchup between No. 2 @SpiderMLAX & No. 1 @NDlacrosse will be available on ACCNX & the ESPN App
🥍 Saturday, April 4 | 12:30p ET pic.twitter.com/COsIrkThvV
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 25, 2026
It’s been an odd time for men’s college lacrosse broadcasting, but the sport avoided a potentially embarrassing situation with this outcome.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.