Re: New WCHA is dead
TRAVEL COSTS/TIME IS A COP OUT! I really don't believe that the travel is the main issue here for leaving UAH, Alaska and Alaska-Fairbanks out. Those three schools subsidize travel costs and they have to make the long trips for EVERY road series.
The issue is the uncertainty with the life of these three programs. When the seven teams announced their intent back last summer, the Alaska Legislature was in the process of cutting the UA System budget in half. Athletics was going to see a majority of those cuts. Top that off with Anchorage moving from the city run Sullivan Center to the on campus Wells Fargo Student Center. Fairbanks has put in notice that they may have to leave the Carlson Center for their on-campus arena, the Patty Center, due to the ice plant failing at the Carlson Center and the City of Fairbanks not having the funds to replace it. Currently, the WCHA bylaws state that your arena must have 2500 seats and has stipulations as to what must be included in the visiting locker room areas. If I recall correctly, when Fairbanks traveled to Anchorage earlier this year, they could not get into the visiting locker room the required time before the game (I want to say they got in 60-90 minutes before game time) due to a swim meet going on in the Student Center.
As for UAH, there always seems to be an air of uncertainty with their program, and this year is no different. Even though the Alabama Board of Regents have given the green light to work on getting an on campus arena owned by the school, they have allocated $0 for the project or study. But yet they can do $100 million upgrades to the Crimson Tide football stadium, locker rooms and practice facility.
Even though I am a fan of a school that has a home in this new league, I just don't feel right about how all of this went down and do feel for the fans of the schools left out in the cold, as of right now.
TRAVEL COSTS/TIME IS A COP OUT! I really don't believe that the travel is the main issue here for leaving UAH, Alaska and Alaska-Fairbanks out. Those three schools subsidize travel costs and they have to make the long trips for EVERY road series.
The issue is the uncertainty with the life of these three programs. When the seven teams announced their intent back last summer, the Alaska Legislature was in the process of cutting the UA System budget in half. Athletics was going to see a majority of those cuts. Top that off with Anchorage moving from the city run Sullivan Center to the on campus Wells Fargo Student Center. Fairbanks has put in notice that they may have to leave the Carlson Center for their on-campus arena, the Patty Center, due to the ice plant failing at the Carlson Center and the City of Fairbanks not having the funds to replace it. Currently, the WCHA bylaws state that your arena must have 2500 seats and has stipulations as to what must be included in the visiting locker room areas. If I recall correctly, when Fairbanks traveled to Anchorage earlier this year, they could not get into the visiting locker room the required time before the game (I want to say they got in 60-90 minutes before game time) due to a swim meet going on in the Student Center.
As for UAH, there always seems to be an air of uncertainty with their program, and this year is no different. Even though the Alabama Board of Regents have given the green light to work on getting an on campus arena owned by the school, they have allocated $0 for the project or study. But yet they can do $100 million upgrades to the Crimson Tide football stadium, locker rooms and practice facility.
Even though I am a fan of a school that has a home in this new league, I just don't feel right about how all of this went down and do feel for the fans of the schools left out in the cold, as of right now.
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