INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced Tuesday its inclusive streaming and branding initiative for the GLVC Sports Network (GLVCSN), which is designed to have all 16 member institutions operating under the GLVCSN banner beginning with the 2015-16 season.

The GLVCSN is an exclusive partnership between the GLVC and SIDEARM Sports, using BlueFrame Technology's proprietary streaming software, Production Truck.  The GLVC was the first Division II conference to partner with SIDEARM Sports on a league-wide streaming network.

"Launching the GLVC Sports Network during the 2014-15 season was a significant milestone in the 36-year history of the league," said GLVC Commissioner Jim Naumovich.  "Acting upon a charge from the GLVC Council of Presidents to enhance the visibility and exposure for the league through the use of technology and social media, last year's streaming efforts were a major step in the right direction.  We are particularly delighted to welcome all of our 16 member institutions under the GLVCSN banner beginning with the 2015-16 season, which will enhance our ability to showcase our talented student-athletes, our schools, and NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics to the public."

After officially launching on Nov. 5, 2014, the GLVCSN dedicated its first-year efforts to streaming all 19 GLVC Championships, while encouraging its 16 member institutions to begin streaming events on campus, with no sport coverage requirements put forth. 

For the 2014-15 championship season, the GLVC Sports Network streamed 210 hours of live coverage over 96 events, garnering 51,344 total views.  In addition to its event coverage, the GLVCSN showcased all 16 schools with institutional public service announcements (PSAs), while also running GLVC-produced PSAs focused on sportsmanship and sexual assault awareness.  The GLVC also sought out the services of former Saint Joseph's College student-athlete Patrick Massoels to write, direct and star in a two-minute monologue entitled Passion, designed to showcase what it means to compete in a conference championship from the perspective of the student-athlete.  The GLVCSN also served as a platform for the league's Extra Credit initiative at the GLVC Basketball Tournaments, which allowed students from Conference schools with interest in broadcasting, production, design, and print and social media to oversee all aspects of coverage on the Network.

On campus, 14 of the 16 league members chose to stream using the SIDEARM/Production Truck model last season.  A total of 1,063 events were seen by more than 272,000 viewers across 15 sports, including men's basketball (216 events), women's basketball (183), baseball (164), women's volleyball (132), softball (104), women's soccer (75), men's soccer (64), football (25), swimming and diving (4), and track and field (1).  Sports sponsored on campus but not by the GLVC were also covered, including men's volleyball (46), men's lacrosse (14), women's lacrosse (13), men's wrestling (10), and women's wrestling (4), while eight additional events were ancillary programs.

During the summer of 2014, four GLVCSN subcommittees made up of Conference and school administrators were charged with discussing several objectives and providing recommendations in the following areas:  operations, programming, branding, and marketing/advertising.  The GLVCSN Programming Subcommittee recommended a four-year tiered coverage plan that would allow member schools adequate time to budget for necessary equipment and facility upgrades.
 

• 2014-15:  GLVC streams all Conference Championships
• 2015-16:  All 16 schools join GLVCSN and stream Conference basketball games
• 2016-17:  Required coverage to include football and volleyball
• 2017-18:  Required coverage to include soccer, baseball and softball

The 2015-16 season will require coverage of each Conference contest in the sports of men's and women's basketball, but the "best efforts" put forth by the 14 schools not tied to an existing streaming contract should make that goal easy to accomplish for every school this year.  When focusing on the 14 schools actively streaming last season, just 16 of the 216 Conference basketball games were not streamed, meaning 93 percent of the available games were aired.  

All streamed events in 2015-16, regardless of sport, will have a consistent look with GLVCSN branding and once again be free to the viewer.  The GLVC has provided each member institution with a number of GLVCSN resources that have been tailored specifically to each school, including:
 

• School-Specific GLVCSN primary hexagon, secondary horizontal, and alternate shorthand logos
• School-Specific GLVCSN 30-second intro loops
• School-Specific GLVCSN replay transitions
• School-Specific "Welcome/Good Luck" messages from GLVC Presidents/Chancellors/Athletic Directors
• School-Specific GLVCSN mic flags
• School-Specific GLVCSN "Watch Me" signs for social media use
• School-Specific GLVCSN infographic templates for social media use
• School-Specific/GLVC promo reads for broadcast
• Co-Branded School/GLVCSN media backdrops
• GLVCSN Brand Standards Guide

While basketball will be the only required sport for streaming in 2015-16, the Conference has taken steps to require live stats coverage through SIDEARM for football and all core sports (baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball).

"We are excited to enhance our partnership with the GLVC to now include live stats," said Dave Meluni, Vice President of Sales and Business Development at SIDEARM Sports.  "The GLVCSN was a great success last season and we look forward to implementing our additional products into their platform."

The GLVCSN will also strive to enhance the profile of each member institution on the academic side in a new feature called On Campus, while expanding its Extra Credit initiative to explore additional opportunities for students on campus to get involved with the league's digital platform.  Schools will also be encouraged to provide a wide range of campus programming, including but not limited to commencement ceremonies, faculty interviews, and school profiles. 

The 2015-16 season officially begins this Thursday, Sept. 3, and at least 23 events involving football, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball are scheduled to stream from seven GLVC campuses.  All the action can be viewed on the GLVCSN's official watch page, GLVCsports.com/watch.  Fans can also continue to follow their favorite teams by simply adding "/watch" to the end of their school's athletics website URL.

The Great Lakes Valley Conference is one of the premier NCAA Division II conferences, made of 16 member institutions from five Midwest states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin) and comprised of more than 5,500 student-athletes, 50,000 students, and 500,000 alumni nationwide.  Founded in 1978, the GLVC has grown to sponsor 20 conference championships and is among the nation's elite in academic and athletic success.  GLVC schools have captured 16 NCAA Division II national championships, including 11 on the men's side.  Seven of those titles were earned in the sport of men's basketball, including Drury University's national championship in 2013 and Bellarmine University's title in 2011.  Following a single-season record three NCAA Championships in 2013-14, the GLVC earned another this past season with the University of Indianapolis women's golf team winning the school's first-ever national title.  The GLVC has been at the forefront of sexual assault awareness becoming the first Division II conference to partner with the national It's On Us campaign, while the GLVC Sports Network is the first inclusive, conference-wide digital streaming platform in Division II.  Among the 24 NCAA Division II conferences analyzed in the 2014-15 report published by the national office, the GLVC ranked second in Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) at 64 percent and third in Academic Success Rate (ASR) at 82 percent for all student-athletes.