HBCU D2 conferences at media agreement crossroads as landscape shifts

HBCU TV rights are approaching a major reset as the NCAA Division II CIAA and SIAC near the end of their current media agreements with HBCU GO.

The public announcements once framed the deals as long-term partnerships. The CIAA and SIAC both entered arrangements with HBCU GO that were described as 10-year media rights deals. But according to conversations with officials from both conferences, those agreements included renewal options.

Now both current deals are set to expire on June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

That does not mean the relationship is over. It does mean both Division II HBCU conferences are entering a new phase. As of mid-May, neither the CIAA nor the SIAC has a finalized long-term media deal in place.

That makes both conferences, in effect, media rights free agents.

Marcus Clarke, the CIAA's senior associate commissioner for athletic administration and external operations, confirmed the timeline in a conversation with HBCU Gameday.

"Similar to SIAC, our deals will expire on June 30th as well," Clarke said. "Currently, Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment is working with us to look at some options."

Clarke said there is still interest from HBCU GO in a continued relationship. But he also made it clear that nothing is finished.

"There's some general interest, even interest from HBCU GO - what would it look like if we did something a little differently?" Clarke said. "But nothing has been finalized as yet."

CIAA revenue shows HBCU TV impact

The CIAA enters this moment with a stronger financial profile than most Division II conferences.

The conference's most recent public filing showed $9,953,433 in total revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. That total was by far the highest in NCAA Division II and on par on with smaller D1 conferences. That included $4.5 million in program service revenue and $3.3 million listed as sponsorships and rights fees.

That final category is important. It does not isolate pure media money. Sponsorship and rights fees are grouped together. Still, the number shows how much larger the CIAA's commercial operation has become during the HBCU GO era.

The SIAC's filing tells a similar story at a smaller scale. The conference reported $1.65 million in licensing and streaming revenue during the same filing season. That was a major piece of its overall revenue picture.

Together, the numbers point to a larger reality. The CIAA and SIAC are not operating like ordinary Division II conferences. Their HBCU brand value, alumni bases and football inventory have created a media market that outpaces much of the division.

HBCU GO helped accelerate that shift.

Clarke said the HBCU GO money made a real impact for the CIAA, both financially and operationally.

"Things like the HBCU GO dollars did help us significantly," Clarke said.

He said the money did not just sit at the conference office. It also helped member schools address broadcast needs.

"We were able to distribute a significant portion of that back to our institutions, to help with their technology needs," Clarke said.

That mattered because the deal required more than just putting games on a schedule. Schools had to create broadcast inventory. They also had to make sure the product looked good enough for a larger audience. The CIAA has had an OTT network for eight years but it lacked uniformity.

"Part of our agreement with HBCU GO was to make sure we create enough inventory for them to stream," Clarke said, "but the quality of the stream has to be worthy."

HBCU GO still wants CIAA, SIAC relationship

HBCU GO is also facing its own changing landscape.

Founder Curtis Symonds said the company still wants to work with the CIAA and SIAC. He also said HBCU GO is working to keep the larger HBCU conference ecosystem connected.

"We're working with both SIAC and CIAA, to continue to have them in a loop," Symonds told HBCU Gameday. He added that HBCU GO is also working with the MEAC "to try to bring them in the loop."

Symonds said the company is trying to grow carefully.

"We're just taking that crawl before we walk," he said.

He also pushed back against the idea that HBCU GO is walking away from the conferences.

"At no time are we planning on doing anything with the conferences," Symonds said. "We plan to continue to work with them and try to figure a way to position it so both of us is a win-win."

That may be easier said than done in the current advertising market.

Symonds said HBCU GO is navigating a tougher economy. He also pointed to reduced advertising tied to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

"It is very hard because… people shut down DEIs where we were getting some dollars out of those areas," Symonds said. "So it makes you have to kind of transform your business plan a little bit in order to survive."

Still, HBCU GO has something few other platforms can offer at this level: national reach.

Symonds said HBCU GO's syndicated Saturday broadcast side reaches " 96 percent of television households."

That matters for the CIAA and SIAC. It is also why a new deal could still make sense for both sides.

CIAA, SIAC may have more leverage now

The next round of talks will not look like the first one.

When HBCU GO first moved into the D2 HBCU space, the question was whether national TV could create value for these conferences. Now the answer is clear. The value exists.

The new questions are different.

Who controls the best games? Who pays for production? How much inventory should stay with the conferences? How much money should go directly to schools? And how much risk can HBCU GO carry in a tighter advertising market?

The SIAC is already thinking through some of those questions.

SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman recently discussed the growth of the SIAC Network on the HBCU Gameday-produced "SIAC Sit-Down." He said the conference had growing pains during the first full year of its network, especially as 15 institutions worked to get their systems and equipment ready.

"I think we finished on a high note," Holloman said. "We had growing pains because you have 15 institutions trying to get their systems up and running."

By the end of the year, Holloman said, the league had made progress.

"Everyone was covering all of their sports," he said.

That is a big development. It means the SIAC is not just relying on outside partners. It is building its own media muscle, too.

"We've seen growth," Holloman said. "And it's important because now people know where to find the SIAC sports."

Holloman also said the conference is exploring ways to keep some games under its own digital umbrella.

"We're exploring whether we are going to be able to create our own select games and have them on digital platforms," he said.

That does not eliminate HBCU GO from the picture. It may simply change the relationship.

"With our partnership with ESPN, HBCU GO, we'll figure out what games will make the most sense for us to keep as SIAC games of the week," Holloman said.

The same broader question applies to the CIAA. The conference has revenue scale. It has a major basketball tournament with a growing media operation. But it also has expenses that come with operating like a larger commercial property.

The next media rights deal must account for all of that.

For now, the clock is ticking toward June 30. HBCU GO gave the CIAA and SIAC national visibility and real money. The conferences gave HBCU GO valuable HBCU inventory and authentic fan bases.

The first phase confirmed the market exists.

The next phase will determine what that market is worth at the end of the decade.

The post HBCU D2 conferences at media agreement crossroads as landscape shifts appeared first on HBCU Gameday.

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This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 3:27 PM.