RIT Sports Network

What RIT Sports Network does

RIT Sports Network is the official multimedia and streaming platform of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Athletics, a private university department operating 21 intercollegiate sports from its Henrietta, New York campus. The platform delivers live and on-demand video, audio-only streams, subscription access via RIT All-Access, mobile applications across iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku, plus ticketing through rittickets.com. The technology backbone is provided by SIDEARM Sports, an industry-standard collegiate athletics platform host serving over 1,100 clients; RIT was an early partner in this ecosystem. Programming comprises NCAA Division III competition in the Liberty League across 19 sports and NCAA Division I men's and women's ice hockey in the Atlantic Hockey Association, the latter streamed exclusively on FloHockey.tv under conference agreement.

The business model is non-commercial: RIT Sports Network is a cost center within a university athletics department, not a profit-seeking enterprise. Revenue-generating streams include Division I hockey ticket sales (Division III contests are free), merchandise via sideline.bsnsports.com, freemium All-Access subscriptions, Tiger Open golf tournament registrations (43rd annual in 2026, $225 individual / $800 foursome), the 'Get In The Game' crowdfunding platform, memorabilia auctions, and event sponsorships from regional brands (Rochester Regional Health, Boyd Capital, Chenango, Century Mold, RE Kelley, Legends Global, LaBella, Hamilton Stern, Workplace Interiors, Lattimore). Capital infrastructure includes the Gene Polisseni Center (hockey, opened 2014) and the newly completed $30 million Judson Stadium (1,200-plus capacity) hosting the 2026 NCAA Division II/III Women's Lacrosse National Championship and the 2028 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Regional.

Primary audiences are RIT students, alumni, families of student-athletes, and Rochester-area fans, with secondary commercial relationships to corporate sponsors and visiting teams. The department's brand is reinforced by an active Hall of Fame (256 individuals, 6 teams inducted since 1969), 134 Academic All-America honors earned by 111 athletes since 1986-87, and recent alumni placements in PWHL, PLL, NLL, and the 2026 Winter Olympics. Leadership is provided by Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jackie Nicholson, succeeding long-tenured predecessor Lou Spiotti Jr.

Name

RIT Sports Network

Legal name

Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

Website

https://ritathletics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

RIT Sports Network is the official streaming and multimedia platform of Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics, delivering live and on-demand coverage of 21 NCAA Division III and Division I (ice hockey) programs to alumni, students, families, and Rochester-area fans, powered by SIDEARM Sports.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collegiate Athletics Streaming and Sports Media

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162), Spectator Sports (71121)

SIC

Communications Services, Nec (4899)

akta.pro primary industry

College & University Sports Networks (Conference/School-Owned) (MPABAJAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Streaming Distribution & App Platforms (CTV, Mobile, Web) (MPAKAOAL), Sports Streaming Platforms (MPACAAAE)

Keywords

• Collegiate athletics streaming
• Live sports broadcasts
• NCAA Division III
• University sports media
• Athletic event ticketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from Division I men's and women's hockey single-game and season tickets. Division III intercollegiate athletic contests are free admission (excluding postseason play).
2. Merchandise Sales: Team Store merchandise sales through sideline.bsnsports.com
3. Event Sponsorships and Fundraising: Tiger Open golf tournament (since 1982) and Get In The Game crowdfunding campaigns generate revenue through sponsorships, foursome registrations ($800), individual golfer registrations ($225), and auction items.
4. Subscription Streaming: RIT All-Access subscription service for premium streaming content including free account option with authentication-required content and paid subscription tiers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RIT Sports Network is the official digital streaming and media platform of Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics, providing live and on-demand video broadcasts of RIT Tigers intercollegiate athletic events across 21 varsity sports. The platform is complemented by subscription-based premium content via RIT All-Access, mobile and connected-TV applications, online ticket sales for Division I hockey and championship events, an official merchandise team store, and a memorabilia auction platform, all powered by the SIDEARM Sports multimedia platform.

Product overview

RIT Sports Network is a comprehensive collegiate athletics digital platform operated by Rochester Institute of Technology. The offering consists of the RIT Athletics Website as the central hub, the RIT Sports Network (live/on-demand streaming platform), RIT Athletics Mobile App for iOS/Android, RIT Athletics Streaming App for Apple TV/Amazon Fire TV/Roku TV, RIT All-Access subscription service, and RIT Athletics Auctions e-commerce platform. All digital properties are powered by SIDEARM Sports. Live hockey games stream exclusively on Flohockey.tv per Atlantic Hockey's streaming agreement. The network also operates Judson Stadium, a $30 million athletics facility hosting NCAA championship events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RIT Sports Network Live/On-Demand Streaming The primary digital streaming platform for RIT Athletics, providing live and on-demand video broadcasts of intercollegiate sports events for fans, alumni, families, and general college sports spectators. Powered by SIDEARM Sports.
• RIT Athletics Website The official athletics website (ritathletics.com) serving as the central hub for RIT Tigers, providing sports schedules, results, rosters, news, ticket sales, merchandise links, and access to streaming content.
• RIT Athletics Mobile App Official mobile application for iOS and Android devices featuring schedules, results, rosters, multimedia content, game day information, real-time push notifications, team social media integration, and streaming access.
• RIT Athletics Streaming App (Connected TV) Streaming application available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku TV devices for watching live events and archived game content on television displays.
• RIT All-Access Subscription Service Subscription-based platform powered by SIDEARM Showcase offering free accounts with authentication-required content, recurring or one-time fee options, and access to live events, video archives, and audio-only streams for fans and alumni.
• RIT Athletics Auctions Online auction platform for memorabilia, jerseys, apparel, experiences, and tickets, supporting open auctions, reserve price auctions, buy-it-now options, and fixed price listings with secure bidding for fans and alumni.
• Division I Hockey Ticketing Single-game and season tickets for Division I men's and women's ice hockey, sold through rittickets.com, the Gene Polisseni Center box office, and the Gordon Field House box office on event days. Division III intercollegiate contests are free admission excluding postseason play.
• Official Team Store (Merchandise) Official RIT Athletics merchandise store hosted at sideline.bsnsports.com, offering branded apparel and gear for fans, alumni, families, and students in Rochester, NY.

Quantifiable outcome

• 111 student-athletes earned 134 Academic All-America honors since 1986-87
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SIDEARM SportscoreTechnology or IntegrationRIT was one of the first athletic departments to partner with SIDEARM Sports for website and multimedia platform hosting. SIDEARM Sports has become the industry standard with over 1,100 clients across NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA, and junior colleges. SIDEARM provides the RIT Sports Network streaming platform, All-Access subscription service, and auction platform.
• Atlantic Hockey AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRIT Division I men's and women's ice hockey programs compete in the Atlantic Hockey Association conference. Atlantic Hockey has a streaming agreement requiring hockey games to be broadcast exclusively on FloHockey.tv.
• Liberty League ConferencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRIT's Division III athletic programs (excluding hockey) compete in the Liberty League Conference, including women's lacrosse which won conference honors in 2025-26.
• NCAAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRIT Athletics is governed by NCAA Division III (primary) with Division I hockey. RIT hosts NCAA championship events including the 2026 NCAA Division II and III Women's Lacrosse National Championships and 2028 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament Regional.
• FloHockeycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPer Atlantic Hockey's streaming agreement, live RIT men's and women's hockey games exclusively appear on FloHockey.tv. This is the only platform for streaming RIT hockey content.
• Rochester Institute of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRIT Athletics is a department of Rochester Institute of Technology, a private university in Henrietta, NY. The department operates facilities including Gene Polisseni Center (hockey), Judson Stadium (lacrosse), and George Clark Gymnasium.
• Rochester Regional HealthminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• Boyd CapitalminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• ChenangominorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• Century MoldminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• RE KelleyminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• Legends GlobalminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• LaBellaminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• Hamilton SternminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• Workplace InteriorsminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event
• LattimoreminorOthers2026 Tiger Open golf tournament sponsor with logo displayed at the event

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Atlantic Hockey Association: Atlantic Hockey Association is the Division I conference in which RIT's men's and women's hockey programs compete; it controls the conference-wide streaming rights agreement that routes RIT's marquee hockey content to FloHockey, defining RIT Sports Network's most material content constraint.

Emerging players

• Jumbo Hirsch Solutions: Comparable D-III athletic programs with D-I hockey that face the same SIDEARM+conference-FloHockey structural pattern as RIT Sports Network, representing peer-level demand signals for the same technology and streaming vendors.
• Stadium: Stadium is a digital-first sports network streaming a broad slate including college sports, positioning it as a mid-tier competitor to school-level networks and conference channels for the same digitally native sports audience.

Broad incumbents

• ESPN+: ESPN+ is the dominant subscription streaming service for U.S. college sports, carrying thousands of NCAA events across divisions and competing with school-operated networks like RIT Sports Network for share of attention and subscription dollars.
• NBC Sports Next: NBC Sports Next operates college sports streaming and digital platforms (e.g., GolfPass, sports tech) and represents a major network-owned competitor in the broader college sports streaming and distribution market.
• Big Ten Network: Big Ten Network is a conference-owned linear and digital sports network carrying live college events; it operates at much larger scale but represents the same school-conference ownership model for sports broadcasting that RIT Sports Network applies at the single-school level.

Direct peers

• FloSports: FloSports operates FloHockey.tv, the platform that holds exclusive streaming rights to RIT men's and women's hockey games per the Atlantic Hockey Association's streaming agreement, making it the direct distribution peer for RIT Sports Network's most monetizable content.

Others

• SIDEARM Sports: SIDEARM Sports is the multimedia platform vendor powering RIT Sports Network's website, streaming, subscription, and auction products; while a vendor rather than competitor, it defines the underlying technology stack and product economics for RIT Sports Network and 1,100+ peer college athletic properties.
• Learfield: Learfield is the leading U.S. college athletic multimedia rights company, operating sponsorship, ticketing, and content services across hundreds of university partners and shaping the commercial environment in which RIT Sports Network competes for sponsors and streaming audiences.
• PrestoSports: PrestoSports is the principal direct competitor to SIDEARM Sports in college athletic website and multimedia hosting, serving schools that chose a different platform stack to power networks comparable to RIT Sports Network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/RITAthletics
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4Z3m0zD8M8xN2QK
• Facebookfacebook.com/RITAthletics
• Instagraminstagram.com/ritathletics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rit-sportszone-live

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RIT Sports Network