This post started out with some order, but it degenerated as I wrote:
 
My understanding of the Prime Network situation was this: PASS
was bought out by a TV station in Detroit which thought it was
more prudent to run Major Indoor Lacrosse and South American
futbol than to regularly produce "local" college hockey. The CCHA
 Game of the Week was absorbed by Prime Network, which accounts for
 the CCHA "bias."
 
A possible reason for the CCHA slant: One of the big goals here seems
to be to "sell" college hockey to the South and West. Of the four big
conferences, the CCHA seems best-equipped to do this, since Michigan
and Notre Dame are both members. Regardless of the current calibre
of these two teams, the *schools* have more name-recognition and
non-alumni loyalty than a Clarkson, BC or even a Harvard or Minnesota.
 
(I'm gonna get flamed by our Southern members, but) Think about it:
You're sitting in your living room in Toad Suck, Arkansas, and you
hear there's a hockey game on TV. If you knew absolutely nothing
about the sport, would you rather watch Notre Dame-Ohio State or
BU-RPI? You'd probably watch the game involving the schools you'd
heard of.
 
Mike Machnik writes:
>However, I also believe (correct me if I am wrong) that the contract
>may have been negotiated by CCHA commish Bill Beagan, and if so, he
>appears to have been looking out for the interests of the CCHA first
>and college hockey second.  Any future negotiation needs to be handled
>on the hockey side by someone with their priorities in order.
 
I agree, I'd rather see something a little more meaningful than
UIC-OSU, but IF this scenario is true (and I don't know if it is),
then it seems that of the four major conference commissioners,
 Beagan is the only one with this particular priority in order.
(Not that Beagan and the CCHA don't have shortcomings; CCHA's
 shoddy treatment of UAF is one that sticks out). I'd love to see
 a Harvard-RPI game on Sports Channel Chicago, but don't point
the accusatory finger at a guy who's an aggressive marketer.
Why doesn't the gang in Centerville try harder to showcase its
 premier product?
 
In order to get a *national* TV contract, someone needs to step
forward and unify the four conferences. That's all there is to it.