South Atlantic Conference (SAC) partners with FloSports for largest-ever Division II broadcast deal

The GIST: The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) just inked the largest-ever NCAA Division II broadcast deal to date. The conference announced a five-year, seven-figure partnership with streamer FloSports on Thursday — a landmark agreement for a non–DI college sports entity.

The company: FloSports is a U.S.–based subscription streaming service specializing in booking global rights to niche sports. The company boasts investors like Discovery and WWE, thanks to a 2019 fundraising round that raised $47 million.

The deal: The SAC is now the first DII conference to team up with the global streamer. FloSports will air at least 1.3K games and all 23 annual championships over the next five years. Air time for all.

• FloSports is no stranger to college sports. The platform partnered with the Big East in 2020 to stream women’s basketball, and expanded its digital agreement to include nearly all conference offerings last July.

The women: Of the SAC’s 11 women’s programs, several are popular within the DII niche. The current highlight-reel squad? South Carolina–based Limestone University’s women’s golf team, which took second at this year’s NCAA DII championship.

Zooming out: The lucrative college sports space means small fish can prosper in its big pond. The increased media attention could translate to improved name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for SAC players, particularly social media–savvy female athletes. TL;DR? Don’t sleep on DII’s superstars.