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Every day, local students are doing amazing things in the classroom and out, on the field and off, to create a positive impact in the community. Today, a local sports leader and a local high school conference announced a partnership to create a megaphone to share the good news for everything academic and athletic. 

BCSN and the Northern Lakes League (NLL) are teaming up to launch the NLL Network Powered by BCSN. It will be a first of a kind channel for a league at the high school level. 

The network will hit airwaves next year on August 1, 2023, in time for the start of the 2023-2024 school year. This launch will also coincide with the NLL’s expansion to include four more schools – Clay, Findlay, Fremont Ross, and Whitmer – for Fall 2023. 

The NLL creates environments and offers opportunities for students to grow, succeed, and excel. The NLL Network Powered by BCSN, which will replace the BCSN2 channel, will shine a spotlight on these 11 schools, with a combined 10,700 students, and showcase all that each school has to offer. 

“Since the beginning of BCSN, the NLL has had a great relationship with the network and its staff. We, as a league, have been about encouraging and promoting activities and competition among the schools in the region. For us, it was an easy decision to enhance our partnership with BCSN to create this new network,” said NLL Commissioner Richard Browne. “We know BCSN’s commitment to covering local sports, and this new network is just another platform for sharing the great stories of our students, athletes, teams, and communities.” 

Network content will include game broadcasts and interviews, special feature segments, school concerts, plays and musicals, graduation ceremonies, band competitions and more. The network will also offer a platform for school administrators to share positive initiatives, and an outlet for student-produced content.

“BCSN has been covering student athletes for more than 18 years, capturing exciting victories and devastating defeats. More than that, though, we’ve captured the essence of communities, and know that sports bring people together,” said Jason Lockhart, Buckeye Broadband Station Director. “That’s what we’re doing with this new network – more schools, more students, more coverage. More opportunity to showcase the amazing local talent right here in our region.” 

“We’re excited about this new, unique partnership,” said Geoff Shook, President and General Manager of Buckeye Broadband. “By combining forces, we can utilize the technical abilities of BCSN and provide increased awareness for the NLL throughout the area, state, and country.”

Buckeye Broadband’s flagship channel, BCSN, will continue to showcase students and athletes within the Catholic high school, the Toledo City League, the Northern Buckeye Conference, the Toledo Area Athletic Conference, and Bedford HS and Whiteford HS in Michigan.

BCSN will also continue to be the exclusive home to Toledo Mud Hens and Toledo Walleye games. The network also partners with local colleges and universities, including University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Lourdes University, Siena Heights University, and Adrian College.