This game was either going to be on ESPN or ESPNU. ESPN suits chose BYU v Virginia over North Carolina v East Carolina. Why? Because BYU is a ranked opponent. Being ranked is what gets us more exposure, not our ESPN relationship.
Think about it, if you are flipping through random games, are you going to watch ranked opponents or unranked opponents? Clearly the relationship helps but if BYU were 2-1 and unranked, I think the game would be on ESPNU.