NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland – The Division II Presidents Council has approved a plan to extend the Division II national television initiative for at least two more years.

The initiative has provided a broad range of coverage for Division II national championships and enhanced regular-season coverage in football and men’s and women’s basketball.

Division II is in the final year of a three-year agreement with CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV) that as of this April will have provided live regular-season football and basketball exposure for more than 70 Division II schools representing all 22 conferences. Discussions are currently taking place with CBS College Sports on extending the current agreement.

“Division II’s strategic-positioning platform relies on a purposeful blend of local and national initiatives to achieve success,” said Presidents Council Chair Stephen Jordan of Metropolitan State. “While our community-engagement and game-environment efforts have galvanized Division II locally, the division also has sought to spread its identity to a national stage through increased television exposure in regular-season and championships competition.

“Our broadcast agreement with CBS College Sports helps us tell the Division II story on a national platform.”

Division II will commit an undisclosed annual amount in 2009-10 and 2010-11 for regular-season and championship television/Webcasting coverage. The first year’s funding comes from 2007-08 Division II fund balances.

The proposal to extend the initiative emerged from the Division II Media Advisory Group, chaired by Hamid Shirvani of Cal State Stanislaus. Shirvani said the group acknowledged concerns about the current economic climate – as well as a preference from a few schools to administer their own rights agreements – but decided the extension was in Division II’s best interests since it was on a national scale and positioned to promote Division II collectively.

Current coverage includes 14 regular-season broadcasts, more than 20 Division II championships telecasts and dozens of championships broadcasts via Webcast during the next two years. Some of the telecasts also will be offered in high definition.

In 2008-09, CBS College Sports broadcast six regular-season football games on Thursday nights. In addition, eight regular-season Saturday basketball games – four men’s games and four women’s games – are being covered this season in the package.

Beyond the obvious benefits of broadcasting the high level of athletics competition of Division II sports nationally, the Division II Presidents Council likes the fact that programming comes with a number of Division II messaging opportunities. With the NCAA controlling production, broadcasts are populated with Division II features and PSAs, halftime interviews with key Division II leaders and game announcers that understand the Division II brand.

“Together, that helps the membership and the public better understand the Division II strategic-positioning platform – what the ‘I Chose Division II’ theme stands for,” Jordan said. “They see what the hexagon means, and that Division II student-athletes have higher graduation rates than their student peers. And they understand what Division II’s connection is to community-service activities like Make-A-Wish, and what the division’s commitment is to community engagement and game environment.”