Composer Chanell Crichlow transformed a learning opportunity into the soundtrack for ESPN’s men’s and women’s college basketball coverage.
ESPN’s college basketball coverage returned this week, and viewers heard more than a new theme. They heard the culmination of a journey years in the making.
Composer Chanell Crichlow created ESPN’s latest college basketball theme package, which now stretches across men’s and women’s college basketball coverage, including regular season and postseason presentations, studio programming and tournament coverage. What began as music developed for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament has evolved into the sonic identity for ESPN’s entire college basketball portfolio.
Crichlow’s path to the project traces back to 2022, when they participated in a six-month educational program through Women’s Audio Mission (WAM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing women and non-binary individuals in music production and audio careers. ESPN Music partnered with WAM in support of Title IX, helping create opportunities for emerging composers to learn the craft of creating music specifically for television. The founder of WAM, Terri Winson added, “ESPN has been such an amazing partner, providing the training and access to their music supervisors so that more women and gender-expansive composers have the opportunity to create music for ESPN programming.”
Just a few years later, Crichlow moved from student to creator, helping develop ESPN’s college basketball sound beginning with the women’s tournament in 2024. The theme has continued to evolve each season, with the newest version serving as a unifying audio brand across ESPN’s expansive men’s and women’s college basketball coverage.
“Writing the theme for ESPN for college basketball has been the best experience of my career so far,” shared Crichlow. “It has been something that was able to give me an opportunity, since back with ESPN Music Creative Supervisor Caitlin (DelVillano) (and WAM), I knew I was capable of, and I knew I just needed that guidance. When I hear the theme on TV and get the energy, I see all the hard work that has gone in, both with the teams and also on our end, that we’re able to make something spectacular come together and match so well.”
Senior Vice President of Sports Production Meg Aronowitz added, “We are so excited for this revamped theme to debut. It brings the energy of the new season to life!”
As for the team working on the project, it has been a culmination of efforts from the past few years. “It feels like it wasn’t that long ago that we worked with Chanell to create the Women’s Tournament Theme,” shared Music Coordinator Ian Shooshan-Stoller. “To see how much she’s grown as a composer, and how her music has evolved to now represent the entirety of college basketball, has been incredibly rewarding.”
The new college basketball theme debuted this past Monday and will continue through the regular season and postseason.