Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

By the way, most folks around here understand why Trev Alberts did away with wrestling and football. If he hadn't, there wouldn't have been ANY athletic department at UNO for very much longer. I, for one, certainly don't have any problem with what he did or why.

The "How" and "When" certainly left much to be desired, at least as far as the wrestling team went.

I get how the football program needed to go, but how was the wrestling team so dangerous to the health of UNO's AD?

[umhockey91]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

I think that as ADs at schools like Rutgers and Pitt will look at programs like Penn State and UConn.........and think why not us? It can be a money maker at many of these schools......especially where they get an automatic invite into the Big Ten.

[Red Cows]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

bigmrg just gets his panties in a bunch over it because he thinks D2 football is the greatest thing since latex condoms.

Football at UNO was a drain on the athletic department. TOTAL attendance during UNO's last season playing football? 24,436 for 7 home games. This wasn't an anomaly. That was a fairly normal number.

Throw in the financially untenable situation the hockey program faces at the CenturyLink Center, where UNO derives NO revenue whatsoever other than from ticket sales and doesn't even control all the seats in the building (which are the best seats in the house, too) and Trev had little choice.

[Ralph Baer]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

Will Rogers is doing hockey? I thought that he was dead.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

Yup, I have even had UNO supporters postulate this line of thinking to me as well. However, with the building of UNO's new arena (construction is underway--it's dual rink facility with with an $87.9 million dollar price tag) it pretty much shoots this one down in flames.

That would be an awfully nice venue (and pricey) for UNO to use if reverting back to club status.

By the way, most folks around here understand why Trev Alberts did away with wrestling and football. If he hadn't, there wouldn't have been ANY athletic department at UNO for very much longer. I, for one, certainly don't have any problem with what he did or why.

bigmrg just gets his panties in a bunch over it because he thinks D2 football is the greatest thing since latex condoms.

[Red Cows]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

Yeah, I wouldn't trust Trev Alberts to do anything good for Omaha if its in direct competition with Lincoln. Not with the way he called his Wrestling Coach the day his squad just went back to back to back to be 3 time NCAA D2 National Champions, to tell him that they're cutting the program. Hell, I was you, I would be **** scared of Lincoln announcing that they're adding hockey, because I would think that there would be some underhanded deal worked out where Omaha would soon announce after that they're dropping Hockey, where Lincoln would soon turn around and announce that they've hired Dean Blais and will have most of those poor student athletes from UNO getting a new home at UNL.


Fear the Corn good sir, Fear the Corn!

Yup, I have even had UNO supporters postulate this line of thinking to me as well. However, with the building of UNO's new arena (construction is underway--it's dual rink facility with with an $87.9 million dollar price tag) it pretty much shoots this one down in flames.

That would be an awfully nice venue (and pricey) for UNO to use if reverting back to club status.

By the way, most folks around here understand why Trev Alberts did away with wrestling and football. If he hadn't, there wouldn't have been ANY athletic department at UNO for very much longer. I, for one, certainly don't have any problem with what he did or why.

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

Can't wait for PAC10 hockey!!!

[e.cat]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

"good" player

does that exclude "great" players like him?

[claver2010]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

Jim Dowd

facepalm

[mookie1995]

James Van Riemsdyk earlier.

"good" player

[e.cat]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

Yea Gaudreau is the first good player to ever come out of NJ. Now that this has happened Rutgers will definitely add hockey.

Now that Demko has come out of southern cal we can expect the Trojans to get hockey going to keep all that talent in California too.

James Van Riemsdyk earlier.

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Can I get a summary?

No.

Nebraska, Iowa, Northwestern, and Illinois all more likely due to BTHC.

[Jimjamesak]

I've posted on the whole "who will have D-1 hockey next?" question in a number of threads.

In short, though, I believe that two schools in the Big 10 are almost going to have to join the Big 10 hockey conference at some point because I just don't think the league works with 6 teams. I have to believe that this is a topic that will get some discussion at the next Big 10 meetings, too.

I also think the most likely to be added is Nebraska, despite public pronouncements by NU Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst to the contrary about this over the past year or so.

Nebraska already has the facility (brand spanking new with all the necessary piping in the arena floor) to put it in. The money is not an issue, either. The biggest issue at NU is Title 9, and, if and when this happens, it's my belief that Nebraska will add both men's and women's hockey to solve that problem.

Despite Shawn Eichort's protestations otherwise, it isn't going to be his decision to make about hockey at NU. This will be entirely supporter driven (like everything else down there) and if supporters want it, it's gonna happen, period. Whether Shawn Eichorst likes it or not. NU athletics is one situation where the tail DOES wag the dog. The NU Foundation and a variety of very well-to-do supporters wield enormous influence down there. And I mean enormous.

What other Big 10 team would be the other "most likely"? Hard to say. You'd have to have a facility, be able to endow the scholarships, and address the Title 9 concerns. The other names I have heard bandied about are, in no particular order, Iowa, Northwestern (who held the first ever Big 10 hockey tournament there last year), and Illinois. I know they all 3 have strong club programs. Somebody besides me could certainly speak to the possibilities at these or, other Big 10 schools better than I, though.

Where Maryland or Rutgers, as new members of the Big 10, might fit into any of this, I don't know.

As an aside to all this, there has also been some off-the-radar discussion here about the Big 10 admitting UNO as an affiliate, just in hockey. I've had people tell me the Big 10 would never do this, but, the horse was let out of that barn when the Big 10 admitted Johns Hopkins to the Big 10 as an affiliate in men's lacrosse. If it can be done in lacrosse, it wouldn't seem to be much of a reach to add a hockey team that way. I know UNO fans that hope this might happen because, in theory, it probably scuttles the notion of hockey at NU, despite my belief that if NU had a team, it would help UNO, not hurt them. Plus, UNO is part of the same university system here in Nebraska as NU is so UNO isn't the same sort of "reach" for the Big 10 as John's Hopkins is.

Since the Big 10 is all about the money, I could even envision the conference potentially assisting an interested school(s), monetarily to make two more teams happen, even. This, of course, would have to have some overall greater good benefit for that to happen. That would seem to have to be TV related, somehow, I would think.

It's going to be fun to see how this all plays out over the next 5 years or so since I do think something is going to happen in that time frame.

Can I get a summary?

[bigmrg74]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

I've posted on the whole "who will have D-1 hockey next?" question in a number of threads.

In short, though, I believe that two schools in the Big 10 are almost going to have to join the Big 10 hockey conference at some point because I just don't think the league works with 6 teams. I have to believe that this is a topic that will get some discussion at the next Big 10 meetings, too.

I also think the most likely to be added is Nebraska, despite public pronouncements by NU Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst to the contrary about this over the past year or so.

Nebraska already has the facility (brand spanking new with all the necessary piping in the arena floor) to put it in. The money is not an issue, either. The biggest issue at NU is Title 9, and, if and when this happens, it's my belief that Nebraska will add both men's and women's hockey to solve that problem.

Despite Shawn Eichort's protestations otherwise, it isn't going to be his decision to make about hockey at NU. This will be entirely supporter driven (like everything else down there) and if supporters want it, it's gonna happen, period. Whether Shawn Eichorst likes it or not. NU athletics is one situation where the tail DOES wag the dog. The NU Foundation and a variety of very well-to-do supporters wield enormous influence down there. And I mean enormous.

What other Big 10 team would be the other "most likely"? Hard to say. You'd have to have a facility, be able to endow the scholarships, and address the Title 9 concerns. The other names I have heard bandied about are, in no particular order, Iowa, Northwestern (who held the first ever Big 10 hockey tournament there last year), and Illinois. I know they all 3 have strong club programs. Somebody besides me could certainly speak to the possibilities at these or, other Big 10 schools better than I, though.

Where Maryland or Rutgers, as new members of the Big 10, might fit into any of this, I don't know.

As an aside to all this, there has also been some off-the-radar discussion here about the Big 10 admitting UNO as an affiliate, just in hockey. I've had people tell me the Big 10 would never do this, but, the horse was let out of that barn when the Big 10 admitted Johns Hopkins to the Big 10 as an affiliate in men's lacrosse. If it can be done in lacrosse, it wouldn't seem to be much of a reach to add a hockey team that way. I know UNO fans that hope this might happen because, in theory, it probably scuttles the notion of hockey at NU, despite my belief that if NU had a team, it would help UNO, not hurt them. Plus, UNO is part of the same university system here in Nebraska as NU is so UNO isn't the same sort of "reach" for the Big 10 as John's Hopkins is.

Since the Big 10 is all about the money, I could even envision the conference potentially assisting an interested school(s), monetarily to make two more teams happen, even. This, of course, would have to have some overall greater good benefit for that to happen. That would seem to have to be TV related, somehow, I would think.

It's going to be fun to see how this all plays out over the next 5 years or so since I do think something is going to happen in that time frame.

Yeah, I wouldn't trust Trev Alberts to do anything good for Omaha if its in direct competition with Lincoln. Not with the way he called his Wrestling Coach the day his squad just went back to back to back to be 3 time NCAA D2 National Champions, to tell him that they're cutting the program. Hell, I was you, I would be **** scared of Lincoln announcing that they're adding hockey, because I would think that there would be some underhanded deal worked out where Omaha would soon announce after that they're dropping Hockey, where Lincoln would soon turn around and announce that they've hired Dean Blais and will have most of those poor student athletes from UNO getting a new home at UNL.

Fear the Corn good sir, Fear the Corn!

[UncleRay]

Re: Will Rutgers and/or Pitt ever do hockey?

With Goudreau at BC being from NJ, would Rutgers ever consider a hockey program?

I think by the time the program is up and running, Johnny Hockey will have used up his eligibility. So, no.