CCHA v2.9.1 - BGSU BSU FSU LSSU MSU MTU NMU UST & Special Guests - The Augie Vikings

[Eddie Schorr]

I don't think anyone realistically expects the MAC to pick up hockey. This came out of Miami crying about the NCHC talking with ASU and their unhappiness being beaten to powder year in and year out in the NCHC. The flavor I got from the interview was they were a MAC school and the NCHC can't push them around.

That morphed into a general NCHC/CCHA realignment discussion and very wild speculation about what the next round of re-alignment may look like/where the lines would be redrawn. The basic thought was the only full sport D1 conference that could possible sponsor hockey would be the Summit League with a minimal number of affiliated teams. Even that is not likely as the NCHC is powerhouse in hockey where all but Miami seem to be happy.

The MAC was the next highest D1 conference with 3 teams with no known viable path without someone(s) who loves college hockey and MAC schools showering them with money to making hockey work.

It also came out of Miami of Ohio's arrogance that leads them to think they can dictate terms to others that transparently are meant to benefit themselves. The reality is that nobody wants to put up with their crap. It's why Ohio State (and now BG) are freezing them off the schedule. What their arrogance blinded them to was into thinking that their magic decade would last forever and there'd be no slipping back to their historical norm of mediocre or worse. Well, guess what? They slipped the hell back.

[Lost_Husky]

The MAC just dropped men's soccer, which had successful programs, but couldn't find enough members to keep the league afloat. Now we are expecting the conference to pick up a sport which only has three full members? Just don't see it happening. I don't see the other 9 full time members wanting to spend a dime more for a sport that the majority of their Universities do not sponsor.

I don't think anyone realistically expects the MAC to pick up hockey. This came out of Miami crying about the NCHC talking with ASU and their unhappiness being beaten to powder year in and year out in the NCHC. The flavor I got from the interview was they were a MAC school and the NCHC can't push them around.

That morphed into a general NCHC/CCHA realignment discussion and very wild speculation about what the next round of re-alignment may look like/where the lines would be redrawn. The basic thought was the only full sport D1 conference that could possible sponsor hockey would be the Summit League with a minimal number of affiliated teams. Even that is not likely as the NCHC is powerhouse in hockey where all but Miami seem to be happy.

The MAC was the next highest D1 conference with 3 teams with no known viable path without someone(s) who loves college hockey and MAC schools showering them with money to making hockey work.

[Bronco]

The MAC just dropped men's soccer, which had successful programs, but couldn't find enough members to keep the league afloat. Now we are expecting the conference to pick up a sport which only has three full members? Just don't see it happening. I don't see the other 9 full time members wanting to spend a dime more for a sport that the majority of their Universities do not sponsor.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Normally I would agree, but this is college hockey we are talking about. Only 1 D1 conference has hockey, just barely, and they have virtually unlimited funds. The next D1 options would be the Summit and MAC with more than 2 teams that support D1 hockey. I'm not saying I like it or wish it was that way, but that is reality.

It is easy to see that the NCHC could morph into Summit League hockey. They already have 3 members in the NCHC. When St. Thomas get fully up and running, they could bolt to the NCHC. Lindenwood is already affiliated with the Summit League. I'm not saying that is/will happen, but they are at 4, 5 if you count affiliated schools with D1 hockey. Personal opinion, the NCHC is successful and seems to work well for everyone except Miami.

All discussions I've seen so far focus on western leagues, but HE and the ECAC face the same issue (so does AH). The ACC (BC) isn't going to sponsor hockey and neither is the Big East (Providence, UCONN). This whole NCAA business side of the sport is not something I know much about, but wouldn't a solution to the problem include a scenario where all D1 college hockey programs kick in to a centralized compliance clearinghouse and the leagues continue on as is? I get this is likely a dumb question, but I qualified myself by saying I don't know much about how any of this works.

[Lost_Husky]

The "MAC" and "Hockey" should never be combined into the same statement. You'll be playing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 8:45AM with streaming provided by ESPN9, which will not be included in any other ESPN subscription plan. They may put one game a week on the OCHO, but that's only if they need filler between games in Granny's Upstate Shuffleboard League.

Normally I would agree, but this is college hockey we are talking about. Only 1 D1 conference has hockey, just barely, and they have virtually unlimited funds. The next D1 options would be the Summit and MAC with more than 2 teams that support D1 hockey. I'm not saying I like it or wish it was that way, but that is reality.

It is easy to see that the NCHC could morph into Summit League hockey. They already have 3 members in the NCHC. When St. Thomas get fully up and running, they could bolt to the NCHC. Lindenwood is already affiliated with the Summit League. I'm not saying that is/will happen, but they are at 4, 5 if you count affiliated schools with D1 hockey. Personal opinion, the NCHC is successful and seems to work well for everyone except Miami.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

The "MAC" and "Hockey" should never be combined into the same statement. You'll be playing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 8:45AM with streaming provided by ESPN9, which will not be included in any other ESPN subscription plan. They may put one game a week on the OCHO, but that's only if they need filler between games in Granny's Upstate Shuffleboard League.

Oddly enough, this sounds exactly like BigTen hockey coverage.

[moose97]

I'm totally disgusted with the coverage. And the camera work was horrible! often showing some ice but no players. Even NMU is better. and Huntsville at it's worst was better.

While I 1000% agree with your Ferris complaint, a Tech fan degrading NMU's broadcast is hilarious. Go tell your people switching cameras from one side of the rink to the other in the middle of game play is simply *not* done anywhere else, nor should it be. And the white balance is still not right from the SDC.

[moose97]

I’m not making any excuses, but it turns out that at the start of every semester a new crew of students takes over. So, as soon as they figure it out and produce a decent product, it’s time for someone new to start over.

Harrison Watt covered this on last nights broadcast.

That's great, But Harrison literally started tonight's broadcast bragging about how they have rewired the entire rink & added cameras. It's still terrible. They still can't sync the clock or track shots on the scorebug. The CCHA started off saying all schools had a commitment to improving broadcast standards. Ferris has gone backwards. Forget about the students. Spend the money. It's an absolute embarrassment.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Tonight I tried to watch a miserable excuse for a broadcast out of FSU. And miserable is being kind!. It was out of focus more than 50% of the time all weekend. The brightness was so screwed up that often you lost the Puck, especially in shots or in front. The broadcasters were ok, but the screen would go black repeatedly for about a second all weekend long. And Tech's second goal tonight was not on screen because they were showing a replay? My second grader could direct better than that.
I'm totally disgusted with the coverage. And the camera work was horrible! often showing some ice but no players. Even NMU is better. and Huntsville at it's worst was better.

I’m not making any excuses, but it turns out that at the start of every semester a new crew of students takes over. So, as soon as they figure it out and produce a decent product, it’s time for someone new to start over.

Harrison Watt covered this on last nights broadcast.

[manurespreader]

Tonight I tried to watch a miserable excuse for a broadcast out of FSU. And miserable is being kind!. It was out of focus more than 50% of the time all weekend. The brightness was so screwed up that often you lost the Puck, especially in shots or in front. The broadcasters were ok, but the screen would go black repeatedly for about a second all weekend long. And Tech's second goal tonight was not on screen because they were showing a replay? My second grader could direct better than that.
I'm totally disgusted with the coverage. And the camera work was horrible! often showing some ice but no players. Even NMU is better. and Huntsville at it's worst was better.

[pdt1081]

The MAC on the other hand, would either have to find at least 3 schools to elevate/create a D1 hockey program or add affiliates. There are lot of headwinds/challenges to a mostly MAC school lead conference. One way it could work, The Summit League forms hockey with St Thomas joining. The CCHA (now minus St Thomas) picks up Western and Miami. The MAC schools propose dissolving the CCHA and forming a new MAC hockey league with the addition of the remaining CCHA members as affiliates.

The "MAC" and "Hockey" should never be combined into the same statement. You'll be playing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 8:45AM with streaming provided by ESPN9, which will not be included in any other ESPN subscription plan. They may put one game a week on the OCHO, but that's only if they need filler between games in Granny's Upstate Shuffleboard League.

[manurespreader]

Let's say you are UND. Are you going to do anything if the Summitt league suddenly announces hockey. I think not. it's 1 mil to leave the NCHC. nobody is going to pony up. Miami would be mid pack most likely in the CCHA. I think it would be good for the league if they came in and I think it's possible the NCHC allows them out for free if ASU is added. I don't see either league picking up Lindenwood. I am not a fan of Augie but it's not up to me obviously.

[njmav1]

What surprised me was talk of MAC and/or Summit League sponsored hockey. I get why that would make sense from an cost/efficiency/infrastructure standpoint.

The Summit makes the most sense as they have 4 schools (including St Thomas) with D1 hockey, 5 if Summit League affiliate Lindenwood is counted. It wouldn't be impossible to add CC, Augustana, and/or both NCHC MN schools to make it 6-9 team very viable league.

The MAC on the other hand, would either have to find at least 3 schools to elevate/create a D1 hockey program or add affiliates. There are lot of headwinds/challenges to a mostly MAC school lead conference. One way it could work, The Summit League forms hockey with St Thomas joining. The CCHA (now minus St Thomas) picks up Western and Miami. The MAC schools propose dissolving the CCHA and forming a new MAC hockey league with the addition of the remaining CCHA members as affiliates.

I was thinking that they could have some kind of affiliation, where the Summit and MAC provide the administrative functions the NCHC/CCHA don't have, but maintain autonomy in hockey matters. Sort of like the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference.

I don't know if there has to be a name change, obviously the NCHC and CCHA are better hockey brands. Summit Hockey League? Mid-American Hockey Conference? MAC Hockey?

[Lost_Husky]

Seems some NCHC teams aren't happy with the direction the league is headed (gee, where have I heard that before...)

https://letsgodu.com/2023/01/18/miam...te-membership/

What surprised me was talk of MAC and/or Summit League sponsored hockey. I get why that would make sense from an cost/efficiency/infrastructure standpoint.

The Summit makes the most sense as they have 4 schools (including St Thomas) with D1 hockey, 5 if Summit League affiliate Lindenwood is counted. It wouldn't be impossible to add CC, Augustana, and/or both NCHC MN schools to make it 6-9 team very viable league.

The MAC on the other hand, would either have to find at least 3 schools to elevate/create a D1 hockey program or add affiliates. There are lot of headwinds/challenges to a mostly MAC school lead conference. One way it could work, The Summit League forms hockey with St Thomas joining. The CCHA (now minus St Thomas) picks up Western and Miami. The MAC schools propose dissolving the CCHA and forming a new MAC hockey league with the addition of the remaining CCHA members as affiliates.

[aparch]

Seems some NCHC teams aren't happy with the direction the league is headed (gee, where have I heard that before...)

https://letsgodu.com/2023/01/18/miam...te-membership/