As the media rights value of powerhouse conferences like the Big Ten continue to climb, so do those in a more modest category: Division II.
In July, the South Atlantic Conference signed the largest media deal in the history of Division II — a five-year, seven-figure deal with sports streamer FloSports.
On Monday, the streamer broke its own record, inking another historic partnership.
FloSports has signed a seven-figure deal over four years with the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Front Office Sports has learned. The partnership will commence on Aug. 25, and include more than 900 games streaming across 21 sports.
The deal is not only the GLIAC’s first ever conference-wide broadcast partnership, but also now the biggest in D-II history. It suggests that there’s an increasingly rabid fan base at the lower-division level, where quality college sports value has perhaps been overlooked.
Like in D-I, not all conferences are created equally. Part of the GLIAC’s draw is likely that it boasts two football teams ranked in the top five for the entire division: Grand Valley State University and Ferris State University.
“D-II has great content,” GLIAC Commissioner Kris Dunbar told FOS. The deal “helps D-II overall to show that we have people that respect and want to be a part of what we have to offer.”
The partnership is also a good marriage given that FloSports is looking to invest in “underserved sports,” according to FloSports Senior Director of Global Rights Acquisition, Chris Keldorf. FloSports has a partnership with the Big East, for example, but most of its college sports clients are those in lower divisions.
“We’ve been thrilled with the success of our D-II properties,” Keldorf said in a statement to FOS.
“Fans really love having access to these games on a robust digital platform like FloSports — and each year, we see growing demand for these sports.”
