Division II and Sinclair Networks Group have reached a three-year agreement to televise national athletic events across the country on the American Sports Network. The package includes at least 11 regular-season football games and at least 18 women’s and men’s basketball games spread throughout Division II’s 320 schools and 24 conferences.
ASN will distribute games to Sinclair-owned-and-operated television stations nationwide, as well as NCAA syndication partners across the country. All games included in ASN’s Division II Showcase package will also stream live on NCAA.com and the NCAA Sports mobile app.
“We're proud to enter into this relationship with the National Collegiate Athletic Association,” said Doron Gorshein, chief operating officer of Sinclair Networks Group. “This initiative extends our sports brand, deepens our connection to our communities and enhances localism. We’re pleased to enter into this relationship. This agreement makes our offering more robust and helps take ASN to the next level.”
ASN is composed of 172 Sinclair-owned-and-operated television stations, with 432 channels in 81 markets, which combine to reach approximately 43 million households nationwide. ASN has also developed an affiliate network of regional sports networks to increase the per-game potential distribution to more than 60 million households on average. The company, which launched during the 2014-15 academic year, produced 250 college events in nine sports and plans to air more than 375 events during the 2015-16 academic year.
“We are extremely appreciative to the team of Division II presidents, commissioners and athletics administrators who helped make these new media partnerships a reality,” said Terri Steeb Gronau, vice president of Division II. “In particular, we are especially thankful for the dedicated leadership of Will Prewitt, commissioner of the Great American Conference, who chaired the division’s media advisory group and had helped launch a new era for showcasing Division II athletics at the national level, which will make the games even more special for the student-athletes competing in them.”
2016 NCAA Division II Basketball Showcase on ASN
All games (Eastern time)
| Date | Visitor | Home | Conference | Game #1 ET | Game #2 ET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat. Jan. 9 WBB/MBB |
Drury Springfield, MO |
Wisconsin- Parkside Somers, WI |
Great Lakes Valley | 6 p.m. | 8 p.m. |
| Sat. Jan. 16 WBB/MBB |
Lubbock Christian Lubbock, TX |
Arkansas- Fort Smith Fort Smith, AR |
Heartland | 6 p.m. | 8 p.m. |
| Sat. Jan. 23 WBB/MBB |
West Florida Pensacola, FL |
Alabama-Huntsville Huntsville, AL |
Gulf South | 2 p.m. | 4 p.m. |
| Sat. Jan. 30 WBB/MBB |
Limestone Gaffney, SC |
Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC |
Carolinas | 4 p.m. | 6 p.m. |
| Sat. Feb. 6 WBB/MBB |
Cedarville Cedarville, OH |
Trevecca Nazarene Nashville, TN |
Great Midwest | 2 p.m. | 4 p.m. |
| Sat. Feb. 13 WBB/MBB |
Southern Connecticut State New Haven, CT |
Saint Rose Albany, NY |
Northeast 10 | 2 p.m. | 4 p.m. |
| Sun. Feb. 21 WBB/MBB |
St. Thomas Aquinas Sparkill, NY |
District of Columbia Washington, DC |
East Coast | 3 p.m. | 5 p.m. |
| Sat. Feb. 27 WBB/MBB |
Wheeling Jesuit Wheeling, WV |
West Liberty West Liberty, WV |
Mountain East | 2 p.m. | 4 p.m. |
| Sat. March 5 WBB/MBB |
Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships, Lacey, WA Teams TBD |
Great Northwest | 8:30 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
