The National Collegiate Hockey Conference is still a season and a half away, but it has a national television deal.

CBS Sports Network has agreed to a multiyear contract with The National, starting in 2013-14, the first year of the eight-team conference.

CBS Sports Network will televise 18 conference games involving The National's teams, including the NCHC tournament's semifinals and championship game.

"With top teams and passionate fan bases, The National is poised to be an elite college hockey conference," said Dan Weinberg, senior vice president of programming for CBS Sports Network, in a new release, "and we're pleased to be the national television partner."

Said Jim Scherr, the new commissioner of The National, "It is our goal to be the premier single-sport conference in intercollegiate athletics and the unmatched exposure and production quality that will provided by CBS Sports Network will contribute significantly to realizing that vision."

The CBS Sports Network currently carries games from all five of the Division I hockey conferences; Atlantic Hockey, CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and WCHA.

The teams in the NCHC will be Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota Duluth, Nebraska Omaha, North Dakota and St. Cloud State from the WCHA, and Miami and Western Michigan from the CCHA.