WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

[slowe]

Rumor has it that Liberty (Lynchburg) has already made the deposit to AHA. If they join, would that help UAH?

That’s been “rumored” for a long time. Any new credible reason to discuss it or is this more just “what I’ve heard?”

[UAHStatman]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

Gonna promote this more tomorrow, but I talked with our interim AD (before he tested positive for COVID-19 -- he's recovering and will be OK).
https://uahhockey.com/blog/2020/03/2...cal-offseason/

Essentially:
* CCHA is the primary target, but won't get an audience with the CCHA until a commissioner is hired.
* Atlantic Hockey will listen to us, but their preference is Navy (if and when, of course).
* It's likely that if we fail, we fold.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

You know what would really help college hockey is if scheduling games against ANY independent program would earn an extra game exemption, not just the AK schools. Now granted you need to have room in your schedule to use those games and a fan base large enough to make them worthwhile to cover those extra travel costs (assuming you can schedule someone at home). However I think that would really help UAH stay afloat for a couple years if they can't find a conference home right away.

I also think some fixed scheduling agreements would go a long way as well. Let's say the CCHA, AH and the ECAC all agreed to play at UAH once every four years. That's six home series a year for UAH which is what you would have in a conference. Then you fill in the rest with your usually assortment of NC games, which might be largely on the road. Maybe the CCHA and NCHC could do the same thing in AK but make all of them two-team/single game weekends. Make one trip and play UAF one night and UAA the next night. Two conferences doing that with each team visiting once every three years is not a huge ask in my opinion.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

* CCHA is the primary target, but won't get an audience with the CCHA until a commissioner is hired.

With all the virus news, I totally forgot about the commissioner application deadline this past Monday. Did anyone check our conference's email account to see if any Yahoos applied? I hope at least on applicant used WordPerfect just to buck the system and show they can think outside the box.

[MTUHuskies]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

With all the virus news, I totally forgot about the commissioner application deadline this past Monday. Did anyone check our conference's email account to see if any Yahoos applied? I hope at least on applicant used WordPerfect just to buck the system and show they can think outside the box.

I sent mine in on a 5.25" floppy. I sure hope it didn't get bent in the mail.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[slowe]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

I understand UAH has no appetite to try the independent route again as it seemed pretty painful last time. It’s hard to get games when everyone is playing conference games. However there are more independents this time around they can work with. They’ll have the two Alaskas, Arizona, and several leagues have an odd number of teams resulting in possible openings. It would still be painful, but not as bad as the last go around I’d think.

Not to put all the hopes on it, but if they can show decent fundraising for an on campus arena, that has to go a long way. And not that I’m very familiar, but apparently also fire the head coach. 2 wins? Ouch. Even for UAH.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

I sent mine in on a 5.25" floppy. I sure hope it didn't get bent in the mail.

Did you notch out the diskette housing with a hole punch so you could put content on both sides? That's a big money saver and would allow you to put your resume on one side of the disc and your references on the other side.

[MTUHuskies]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

Did you notch out the diskette housing with a hole punch so you could put content on both sides? That's a big money saver and would allow you to put your resume on one side of the disc and your references on the other side.

Of course, but not much longer. With my commissioner salary, I'll be able to afford to buy the expensive double sided ones.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[UAHStatman]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

And not that I’m very familiar, but apparently also fire the head coach. 2 wins? Ouch. Even for UAH.

It's possible that they might, but the sense I'm getting is that right now making sure the program has a future is the primary concern. The program has to be sold to a new coach, and that's problematic if UAH can't guarantee the it will be playing beyond 2021. A coaching change could show that we're taking this seriously, but the CCHA isn't going to base their decision primarily on that.

If this realignment wasn't going on, and if we weren't also about to possibly change ADs, I believe a decision about Corbett would have happened already.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

With all the virus news, I totally forgot about the commissioner application deadline this past Monday. Did anyone check our conference's email account to see if any Yahoos applied? I hope at least on applicant used WordPerfect just to buck the system and show they can think outside the box.

AppleWorks.

[gfmorris]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

I understand UAH has no appetite to try the independent route again as it seemed pretty painful last time. It’s hard to get games when everyone is playing conference games. However there are more independents this time around they can work with. They’ll have the two Alaskas, Arizona, and several leagues have an odd number of teams resulting in possible openings. It would still be painful, but not as bad as the last go around I’d think.

What's your justification for this (incorrect) line of argument? PSU and ASU were successful because they're name schools that schools want to play. ASU has the added benefit of being in a major US metro area (State College ... not so much). PSU had the obvious ties of knowing what would be their conference home as soon as they were eligible to join under NCAA and B1G guidelines.

UAH, UAA, and UAF have none of that. Go and look at the number of schools going to any of the three for non-conference games in, say, the last decade. Even when those schools were in conferences, it was rare to get home dates OOC.

UAH home NC dates since going D-I the second time:
2019-20: None
2018-19: Arizona State 2x
2017-18: None
2016-17: None
2015-16: Connecticut 2x, Colorado College 2x
2014-15: None
2013-14: St. Cloud State 2x (welcome home Nic Dowd) [start of WCHA membership]
2012-13: Minnesota State 2x
2011-12: Lake Superior, Bowling Green, Air Force, Ohio State, Mercyhurst, all 2x. This is largely the result of the work of Danton Cole, Chris Luongo, and Gavin Morgan working their contacts.
2010-11: Ferris State, Providence, Robert Morris, RPI, Bemidji, all 2x. [First year of independence. Also, best NYE ever with RPI fans.]
2009-10: Western Michigan, Mass-Lowell, both 2x [last year of WCHA, second NCAA berth]
2008-09: None
2007-08: Minnesota State and Yale, both 2x [the cool black third jersey of Cam Talbot's that I have comes from that Yale series]
2006-07: Princeton 2x
2005-06: RIT 2x [last good UAH record]
2004-05: Holy Cross 2x
2003-04: Connecticut 2x, Northern Michigan 2x
2002-03: Fairfield 2x [the Stags announced the folding of the program the next week ... not gonna say we caused it, but still]
2001-02: Bentley, Sacred Heart, Minnesota State
2000-01: Bowling Green, Iona, and Canisius/Mass-Lowell in the last Alabama Face-off holiday tournament
1999-00: Mercyhurst

So in 21 seasons, UAH has had no NC home dates 5x and one NC home weekend 8x - that's 62% of the time where teams just don't want to come here. It's the travel. It's the fact that we've had some dreadful teams and programs don't want to endure the travel here and catch a home team looking to pick off a ranked team with bus legs.

Also, don't try me on the last few years of the CHA. League schools had 24 and then just 20 home games to fill. The dates were there — but only if we traveled.

The only two really-good non-conference seasons are when a name coach (Cole) worked his contacts to get dates. Once he left, the dates got thinner as the program's future looked ever dimmer. Do you really think that a program that's so bad that their league's good members took their pucks and ran away to a different league banner is gonna get that 2011-12 schedule or that 2012-13 schedule?

Wishcasting like what's quoted above is the evidence of the same thinking that fans of nCCHA schools have in projecting belief in the fairy tale that Atlantic Hockey is going to take UAH in when their bus league spurns them. Whatever salves your soul, man. "Huntsville, man ... we just couldn't make it work, but why couldn't Atlantic Hockey?"

I responded as respectfully as I possibly can for a non-facts-based argument. HTH. HAND.

GFM

[slowe]

What's your justification for this (incorrect) line of argument? PSU and ASU were successful because they're name schools that schools want to play. ASU has the added benefit of being in a major US metro area (State College ... not so much). PSU had the obvious ties of knowing what would be their conference home as soon as they were eligible to join under NCAA and B1G guidelines.

....

Wishcasting like what's quoted above is the evidence of the same thinking that fans of nCCHA schools have in projecting belief in the fairy tale that Atlantic Hockey is going to take UAH in when their bus league spurns them. Whatever salves your soul, man. "Huntsville, man ... we just couldn't make it work, but why couldn't Atlantic Hockey?"

I responded as respectfully as I possibly can for a non-facts-based argument. HTH. HAND.

GFM

Oof, I feel your frustration and appreciate your restraint. I don’t mean to pretend getting shut out isn’t a big deal. If all conferences shoot UAH down then yeah, I understand them folding. That would be way too tough to run for the long term.

Let me add something I had in my head but didn’t write. What my, yes possibly over optimistic, line of thinking was they could survive independent for a year or two while this conference silliness settled down. Not forever. Maybe nothing changes and the nCCHA is it. Maybe Atlantic schools break off. Maybe Bemidji and Mankato swap with Western Michigan and Miami. Maybe UAH needs a year to drum up funding for an arena and they try again. This all might take a little time to settle.

I hope UAH can hang on long enough to either be accepted or be shot down. If they need a bridge year to make it work, do it. Having a few other schools means limping along during that bridge year is more feasible. But yeah if they get shot down for the foreseeable future, it is pretty much death.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

So in 21 seasons, UAH has had no NC home dates 5x and one NC home weekend 8x - that's 62% of the time where teams just don't want to come here. It's the travel. It's the fact that we've had some dreadful teams and programs don't want to endure the travel here and catch a home team looking to pick off a ranked team with bus legs.
GFM

I honestly think it has more to do with the fact that teams receive no perk for playing at UAH. No one could say that UAA is a better match-up or an easier trip. Yet they get teams to go up there and I have to believe a large part of it is the extra game exemption. The team that travels can hopefully take that extra game, get someone at home and generate some additional revenue to cover the cost of going to AK. Since UAH isn't able to provide that, I believe that is why they have a harder time getting NC home games.

I also don't believe anyone is scheduling ASU because they are a big name school. There is only one reason ASU gets scheduled - the weather and something for the alumni in the SW part of the country to do.

[Sol Diablo]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

I honestly think it has more to do with the fact that teams receive no perk for playing at UAH. No one could say that UAA is a better match-up or an easier trip. Yet they get teams to go up there and I have to believe a large part of it is the extra game exemption. The team that travels can hopefully take that extra game, get someone at home and generate some additional revenue to cover the cost of going to AK. Since UAH isn't able to provide that, I believe that is why they have a harder time getting NC home games.

I also don't believe anyone is scheduling ASU because they are a big name school. There is only one reason ASU gets scheduled - the weather and something for the alumni in the SW part of the country to do.

I agree with both of your "only one reason"s! But I would add a partial only one reason.......big city, easy flights. 3 hours on non-stop plane travel plus hassle time vs 5 hours bus travel plus hassle time, maybe not a big travel difference.

[Sol Diablo]

Re: WCHA 2020-21: We Can Do Better than Two Bids and Eight Teams Exiting

I've been wondering. Now is the time where all those over-recruits from the big ten and ASU find out that they are not actually going to be showing up at school in the fall if they stay with the program they are in. How many do you think will switch to a different school that actually wants them?

I'm not following your thought here. Are you stating that because the big 10 & ASU are highly ranked in recruiting that many of those recruits will leave because they won't get play time? So with UND & WMU being even higher ranked for recruiting your logic suggests that they will lose an even higher percentage of recruits?