GRAND FORKS — For the first time since the National Collegiate Hockey Conference formed in 2013, the league will not have games on CBS Sports Network.
The NCHC confirmed it will not renew a deal with the network ahead of the 2025-26 season.
The network wanted schools to pick up additional production costs. Schools were not interested.
While the league is still exploring options to have games nationally televised, it also confirmed every contest in an NCHC venue during the 2025-26 season will be streamed on NCHC.tv.
That includes the NCHC semifinals and championship games.
In the past, CBS Sports Network games were blacked out on NCHC.tv.
CBS Sports Network carried 18 games during the NCHC’s inaugural season, but that number has dwindled. Last season, CBS only carried eight NCHC games.
The league’s TV deal ended after last season.
The NCHC held discussions with CBS Sports throughout the summer. The NCHC also has held conversations with other networks.
The NCHC’s streaming deal with Sidearm Sports has two years left. It expires at the end of 2026-27.
The CBS Sports broadcasting team of Alex Heinert (play-by-play), Dave Starman (analyst) and Shireen Saski (rinkside) still could potentially be used for NCHC playoff games on NCHC.tv.
Heinert became UND’s lead hockey television play-by-play announcer on Midco Sports in 2016.
His popularity quickly grew among fans. National networks took notice.
CBS Sports hired Heinert to be its lead college hockey voice in 2021. Heinert is now a regular on the network’s Summit League college basketball coverage, too.
His CBS assignments, which range from January to March, have kept him from calling a handful of UND games for Midco during the second half of the season.
While Heinert’s CBS Sports basketball schedule is still pending, the lack of a national hockey deal could free up Heinert to call more UND games in the second half of 2025-26.
Midco Sports will carry all of UND’s home games this season.
Analyst Jim Scanlan will join Heinert in the booth. Taylor Budge will serve as the pregame and intermission host at the desk. Midco will have rotating panelists with Budge, including former UND players Monique Lamoureux-Morando, Erik Fabian, Dean Barsness and Brett Hextall.
Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.