So, you’re looking for the Huskies on your TV guide, scrolling past the local news and the infomercials, and... nothing. It’s the ultimate "where did they go?" moment for fans who have spent the last decade-plus conditioned to find Geno Auriemma’s squad on SportsNet New York. If you feel like the rug just got pulled out from under your viewing habits, you aren't alone. Honestly, the shift in SNY UConn women's basketball coverage is the biggest story in Connecticut sports media right now, and it’s not just a simple channel change.
For years, SNY was the "Official TV Home" of the program. It was a comfortable arrangement. You knew where to go for the blowouts, the post-game insights from Kara Wolters, and those deep-dive interviews that made the players feel like family. But the 2025-2026 season has flipped the script entirely.
The End of an Era: Why SNY Isn't the Home Anymore
Basically, the old Big East media deal expired, and the new one that kicked in for the 2025-2026 season moved the goalposts. In the past, SNY held what they call "Tier 3" rights. That’s a fancy industry term for the games that national giants like FOX or ESPN didn't pick up. Because UConn is the gold standard of the sport, those "leftover" games were still a gold mine for a regional network like SNY.
But the new six-year agreement involving FOX Sports, NBC Sports, and TNT Sports changed the math. The conference decided to centralize everything. Instead of letting individual schools sell their local rights to regional networks, the Big East bundled them all together for the big national players.
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The result? SNY is no longer the primary broadcaster for live games. It’s a bitter pill for fans in the Tri-State area who liked the hyper-local focus. You can't just flip to the same channel 18 times a season anymore and see the Huskies.
Where the Games Actually Moved
If you're hunting for the 2025-2026 schedule, you've gotta be ready to hop around. It’s kinda like a scavenger hunt.
- FOX and FS1: They’ve taken a massive chunk of the schedule. High-profile matchups like the Notre Dame game on January 19 or the Tennessee clash on February 1 are now FOX staples.
- TNT and truTV: This is the weird one for some. Seeing the Huskies on truTV—the channel usually reserved for Impractical Jokers reruns—takes some getting used to. They handled games like the St. John’s matchup on January 7.
- Peacock: Get used to the streaming life. Several conference games, like the January 25 trip to Seton Hall and the entire Big East Tournament, moved behind the Peacock paywall.
- ESPN: They still get the big non-conference openers and select rivalry games, but their footprint isn't as dominant as it was in the 90s.
Is SNY Completely Gone from UConn Coverage?
Not exactly, but its role has changed into something more like a "wrap-around" service. While they lost the live game rights for the 2025-26 season, SNY still leans heavily into the UConn brand because, well, that's what their audience wants.
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You’ll still see the UConn Women’s Basketball Post Game Show appearing on the network after many of the bigger contests. The familiar faces like Gary Apple, Kara Wolters, and Maria Marino haven't vanished into thin air. They just aren't calling the live "bucket-by-bucket" action as often. SNY has pivoted to being the place for the "after-party"—the analysis, the locker room clips, and the historical retrospectives like Geno's Legacy.
The Streaming Struggle and UConn+
If you're a cord-cutter, the death of the SNY UConn women's basketball era is actually a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, you don't need a specific cable package that includes a New York regional sports network. On the other hand, you now need about four different subscriptions to see every single minute of the season.
The University launched UConn+ to try and bridge the gap. It's their own streaming platform. While it doesn't usually carry the big conference games (because FOX and NBC own those rights), it’s become the home for exhibition games, like the one against Southern Connecticut, and a ton of behind-the-scenes content. It's free on Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV, which is a nice win for the fans' wallets.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Transition
People often assume SNY "gave up" on UConn. That couldn't be further from the truth. SNY fought to keep those rights because the Huskies were often the highest-rated programming on the entire network during the winter months. They were outbid and outmaneuvered by the scale of national networks that can offer the Big East hundreds of millions of dollars.
Another misconception is that the quality of the broadcast will always be higher on the national channels. While FOX and TNT have huge budgets, they don't always have the "homer" knowledge that the SNY crew developed over twenty years. There was a certain intimacy to an SNY broadcast—knowing the players' backstories from their freshman year—that sometimes gets lost when a national crew flies in for a one-off game.
How to Stay Current Without SNY
Since you can't rely on the "set it and forget it" nature of the SNY schedule anymore, you have to be proactive.
- Sync your calendar: Go to the official UConn Huskies website and download the digital schedule to your phone. It updates the TV listings in real-time.
- The "Big Three" Apps: Make sure you have the FOX Sports app, the NBC Sports/Peacock app, and the Max (formerly HBO Max) app. Most TNT/truTV games are simulcast on Max.
- Local Radio: If the TV situation gets too frustrating or expensive, the UConn Sports Network on the radio (97.9 ESPN in Hartford) is still the most consistent way to follow along. Bob Joyce and Debbie Fiske are legends for a reason.
The landscape is different, and yeah, it’s a bit more complicated than the old days. But the program is still the program. Whether they are on a regional network or a national streaming giant, the Huskies are still the biggest draw in the state.
Next Steps for Fans:
Check your current cable or streaming lineup for truTV and FS1 specifically. These are the two channels people most often realize they are missing right before tip-off. If you're missing them, a trial of a service like YouTube TV or FuboTV can usually get you through a heavy stretch of the mid-season schedule. Also, download the UConn+ app today; it’s the only place where you’ll find the exclusive coach's shows and player features that used to be the bread and butter of SNY’s daily coverage.