SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference has reached a multi-year agreement with CBS Sports Network to televise five men’s basketball league games per year.
 
“We are excited about finalizing a long-term partnership with CBS Sports Network for regular-season men’s basketball, beginning for the 2021-22 season,” SoCon Commissioner Jim Schaus said. “The addition of this national television package with CBS Sports Network, combined with our current agreement with ESPN, will provide the Southern Conference with double-digit national linear men’s basketball telecasts every year and will signify the largest national television package in conference history.
 
“This increased national exposure is indicative of the significant growth in SoCon men’s basketball success and enhanced national conference rankings in recent years. It gives fans of our schools another opportunity to follow their teams and for the nation to further see the quality of SoCon basketball. We look forward to working with CBS Sports Network in the future.”
 
The increase in the SoCon’s national exposure is thanks in no small part to the continued strength of the league in recent years. Prior to the recently completed pandemic-shortened season, the league had produced four 20-game winners in each of the previous four seasons. In 2020-21, six teams – more than half the league – appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 at some point in the season.
 
In the SoCon’s 100-year history, only four teams have reached 30 wins in a season, and two of those instances have come in the last three seasons. Wofford went 30-5 in 2018-19, followed by ETSU going 30-4 the next year. The only other 30-win seasons in league history were produced by North Carolina in 1945-46 (30-5) and NC State in 1950-51 (30-7).
 
In 2018-19, Furman and Wofford both earned the first Associated Press national rankings in school history. That season was the first since 1959-60 that two different SoCon teams had been nationally ranked in the same season.
 
Collegiate Sports Management Group assisted the SoCon in evaluating the broadcast landscape and potential partners as it worked toward the broadcast contract.
 
 
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
The Southern Conference, which is celebrating 100 years of intercollegiate competition in 2021, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and helping build lifelong leaders and role models. The conference has been on the forefront of innovation and originality in developing creative solutions to address issues facing intercollegiate athletics. From establishing the first conference basketball tournament (1921), to tackling the issues of freshman eligibility (1922), to developing women’s championships (1984) to becoming the first conference to install the 3-point goal in basketball (1980), the Southern Conference has been a pioneer. The Southern Conference is the nation’s fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association.
 
ABOUT CBS SPORTS NETWORK
CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports, is available through all major cable, satellite and telco distributors as well as via OTT streaming service providers YouTube TV, fuboTV, DirecTV and Hulu. Additionally, a live CBS Sports Network stream is available through CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App with select providers.
 
ABOUT COLLEGIATE SPORTS MANAGEMENT GROUP
Founded in 2014, CSMG is a College Sports Properties Group that drives the business performance of college athletic conferences and schools, providing them with a successful growth strategy, and generating revenue to support their athletic department and initiatives. CSMG specializes in Marketing Rights/Revenue Generation, Content Creation & Distribution, Media Rights Strategy & Negotiation, Sponsorship Sales, Name Image and Likeness Solutions, Licensing, Event Production & Management, Ticketing and Esports. Visit www.collegiatesmg.com for more information.