Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

[CHFAN222]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

With a limited number of NC games that can be played since Hockey East added Vermont (and the 3 extra conference games league members have been saddled with now), you're not going to see Yukon in Hockey East on the men's side even if they dropped a lot of money into the program unless a school was dropped from the league or the NCAA allows a longer season.

I can't imagine most schools in Hockey East are going to be in favor of a putrid program joining the conference so they can replace trips to/visits from Michigan, North Dakota, Miami, etc. with 3 trips to/visits from Yukon, a program that may NEVER lift off the ground.

Yukon is Hockey East on the men's side is NEVER going to happen for many reasons.

Actually having UCONN and another school join would help. The addition of two teams could have HE schools face off against each other just twice a year one home and one away. Currently each HE school plays each other 3 times which leads to a total of 27 Conf games for each team. With two extra teams and two games against each team that would be a total of 22 Conf games which would open up the non conference schedule.

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

Now who else is going to join?

Let's add a team from the North Pole. Those elves can really skate and will give BC's midgets a run for their money. Plus they already have ice there year-round so they will get better by practicing every day and they can build really good bleachers around a good patch of ice since they're so good at building things. Santa is the brains behind the bench, almost as good as Parker and York.

Of course, this won't be a problem once BC is forced to join the ACC hockey conference in a few years (because we all know Yukon isn't going to get that Big Ten invite)!!!

[satyking]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

And the URI has a good team and the AD was saying he would look into a better program but nothing ever came of it.....I think Title IX has something to do with the decision.....but adding UConn and URI to HE would be great

[Slasher7]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

And the URI has a good team and the AD was saying he would look into a better program but nothing ever came of it.....I think Title 11 has something to do with the decision.....but adding UConn and URI to HE would be great

No it wouldn't. We are limited to very few NC games right now. Adding 2 would pretty much mean there are very limited opportunities to play another conference team.

[kingdobbs]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

Now who else is going to join?

Let's add a team from the North Pole. Those elves can really skate and will give BC's midgets a run for their money. Plus they already have ice there year-round so they will get better by practicing every day and they can build really good bleachers around a good patch of ice since they're so good at building things. Santa is the brains behind the bench, almost as good as Parker and York.

Of course, this won't be a problem once BC is forced to join the ACC hockey conference in a few years (because we all know Yukon isn't going to get that Big Ten invite)!!!

Given that we're talking about a situation so far in the hypothetical that the dinosaur hasn't even stepped on the butterfly yet, it could be literally anyone, as long as they meet the standard of "better than Merrimack".

[LynahFan]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

And the URI has a good team and the AD was saying he would look into a better program but nothing ever came of it.....I think Title 11 has something to do with the decision.....but adding UConn and URI to HE would be great

URI is bankrupt?

[CHFAN222]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

Did you read what I posted before? Adding 2 teams to HE would actually decrease the number of conference games if you did it so that each team plays another twice a year. That way they each do a home and home. The only exception would be Maine and UVM but then you would just alternate who hosts who every year. With 22 conference games that would open give each HE team 5 extra non conference games where they can either
A) Get an easy ECAC or Atlantic Hockey foe at home and get a win and extra ticket revenue
B) Have an easier time to schedule in season tournaments
C) More flexibilty in getting a series with a WCHA or CCHA team.

[Rover]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

Funny all the bitterness that gets generated when somebody suggests a new addition to a conference. Almost turns into one of those idiotic political threads.

IF UConn supported in program via scholarships and an improved facility (I don't see any chance of an outlay for a new facility) they'd make a fine addition to Hockey East. In the interests of allowing the sport to grow if it wants to, you need extra room in some of these conferences. That happens by moving a team or teams into Hockey East. All of this is once again predicated on the school supporting the team, but you can bet those BC games outta be a lot of fun. UMass, PC, etc - there's some potential there. Add in a few non-conferences with Yale and The Q and see if that helps enough at the gate to fund the program.

Move an improved UConn team in and you open up a space in AHA, which should at this point be considered a feeder conference for new programs to join or for improving programs to jump up from. So what if you play a few less out of conference games? At BU I'm getting a little sick of playing the EZAC anyway. If you need to add one more team to balance out the schedule go either go after Holy Cross under the "no worse than Merrimac" standard or kick Merrimac out and send them to the AHA, where they can renew their fierce rivalry with Bentley.

[satyking]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

Throw the Mac out of HE......what would we use as a reference point to just how bad a team really is.......

[Rover]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

Throw the Mac out of HE......what would we use as a reference point to just how bad a team really is.......

Northeastern.

Or, more realistically, Providence.

[Onion Man]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

Northeastern.

Or, more realistically, Providence.

Throw out BC, add Brown. Everybody wins. What I mean is everyone will get wins vs. Brown.

[mcfarljd]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

UConn with a football program? Come on... They couldn't even win the MAC, and that's saying somethin.

[SteveF]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

who does uconn need to sue to get into hockey east? i'm disgusted by all this talk of uconn betraying the atlantic hockey association. where is the loyalty???

as for why uconn hockey blows, it probably has a lot to do with north dakota having the lock on recruiting all the criminals.

[FireKnight]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

It all comes down to money. If I'm the athletic director at UConn and I had money to spend thanks to an extremely successful roundball program, where would I choose to spend that money:

A) On a program that has little history of success but already plays in a big money conference that is a little ripe for the picking?

or

B) On a program that has little history of success, plays in a small conference that produces little to no revenue?

I think I'd follow the Rutgers plan in an effort to make millions rather than the RIT plan that might make a few thousand.

[Rover]

Re: Why hasn't U.Conn made the jump?

It all comes down to money. If I'm the athletic director at UConn and I had money to spend thanks to an extremely successful roundball program, where would I choose to spend that money:

A) On a program that has little history of success but already plays in a big money conference that is a little ripe for the picking?

or

B) On a program that has little history of success, plays in a small conference that produces little to no revenue?

I think I'd follow the Rutgers plan in an effort to make millions rather than the RIT plan that might make a few thousand.

I'm not sure they're mutually exclusive. Furthermore, I'd be real careful about a mid level football school upgrading right now in an era of Super Conferences. Once the SEC get through taking FSU, Miami, Clemson and Georgia Tech, that's going to leave only 4 conferences (SEC, former Big 10, former Big 12, and maybe Pac-10 if USC recovers) that anybody gives a rat's arse about in football. I can easily see a major realignment in TV dollars and major bowl eligibility going along with that, essentually leaving the ACC, Big East, etc with the short end of the stick.

Having said that, clearly dedicating the school to the sport of hockey won't be done for the promise of a big payday down the road. However, with some improvements they could get to the point where the team is profitable, and if so that's a worthwhile investment. I'll use both UMass and BC as examples of schools that clearly favor their hoops teams, but have most likely realized that money spent by fans to see a hockey game has the same monetary value as money spent by hoops fans to visit the arena and eat the same food, so why not do both?