The live telecasts of the Calvin/Hope men's basketball games on public broadcasting station WGVU in Grand Rapids will continue through the 2008-09 season, officials of the station and colleges have announced.

The popular NCAA Division III rivalry has been televised by WGVU since the 1997-98 season and the 2006-2007 broadcasts will mark 10 years of Calvin/Hope basketball on WGVU television.

This new three-year pact is the fourth extension of the agreement.

"We are very proud to be able to continue to bring the biggest rivalry in Division III basketball to the fans of West Michigan," says Michael Walenta, general manager of WGVU.

Calvin and Hope officials also expressed their pleasure with the partnership between the station and colleges, noting that WGVU's commitment to a quality telecast has been noticed by many viewers.

"The telecasts have broadened the interest in our two colleges and this basketball rivalry," says Phil deHaan, director of media relations at Calvin. "We look forward to many more years of great basketball telecasts."

The rivalry in men's basketball between Calvin and Hope colleges started officially in the 1920-21 season. The first live telecast of a game between the colleges was on January 11, 1960 from the Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium. It was first beamed from Holland on February 15, 1961.

The 2006-07 season games will be Saturday, January 13 from Calvin (a 2 pm start) and Wednesday, February 7 from Hope (an 8 pm start).

Since 2000, one of the annual games has also been beamed via satellite to sites throughout North America. Last year nearly 3,000 Calvin and Hope alumni and friends gathered at more than 50 locations from coast-to-coast to watch the game.

The WGVU telecast of the Calvin at Hope game last January also was carried nationally by CSTV and the two schools have announced that this year's January 13 game will also be carried live by the sports network.