An Open Letter to Coach Umile

[Mike Rane]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

Where is the rabbit? I enjoy his grammar and linguistics.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

I never said Scarano WOULD pull any money from hockey, I said the department "could ostensibly" pull money from hockey. I also failed to consider the contributions of the Friends in my musings = I didn't know you guys did so much!!! But as far as documented evidence - to back up speculation... In at least one instance in recent years, the University has taken money from one department to cover a deficit in another. Whether Scarano would do something similar, or if he has already, is only a matter of speculation on the part of this fan. It is always a possibility. I admit that ostensible was perhaps too strong a word.

If you're mostly concerned about the "much-needed" part... I will come out here. I don't know how much it costs to keep a hockey team in jerseys. I don't know what the budget is or how actual hockey spending compares. I DO know that hockey costs money. The power bill for the compressors alone...

I apologize if anyone thought I don't care about football. Or squeakyball, at least in its role as representer and promoter of the University. I do genuinely enjoy football, though.

The University pulls money tricks all the time. Just as a for instance, the annual hockey banquet (sponsored and paid for by the Friends) was held last Saturday at Huddleston. In order to hold the function there, or anywhere else on campus, the Friends (who are part of the athletic department) have to literally rent the hall. The use of the Skybox Lounge after games? Gotta rent that too.

As for the Friends in general, I think you would be very surprised to find out the kind of things we raise money and pay for. But since the state gives NO money for athletics, it is up the athletic department, the teams, and their fans to be very creative if they want to keep sports alive at UNH. This stuff doesn't happen at Wisconsin or Michigan, I can assure you.

 

[UNH_Alum_In_CT]

Re: Some parallels out there ...

Re: Some parallels out there ...

I hope you are not implying that things are tough with football? The only thing the sport is lacking is a proper facility to play in. But even if they do get that, do you really think that football is every going to break even,, let alone make a profit for the University? Only a handful of 1AA (or whatever they call them now) schools turn a profit, and they are all in footballcentric locations (Appalachian State, Montana, Delaware, etc.) with long, long histories of success. I do want UNH football to succeed, it is good for the University for sure, but I highly doubt that applicants to the school have increased because Ricky Santos and Jerry Azumah played here. It probably has more to do with the tough economy, where quality state schools (and UNH is one) become more attractive because they are more affordable.

But I want to get back to one point made in your first paragraph, that other sports have it hard compared to hockey because, after all, it has an active Friends group. I'll give you and the rest reading this a little history lesson as to how this came about. The Friends were formed in 1972, five years after the sport became D1, because hockey fans at UNH felt that the team was not getting a fair shake from the athletic department. The AD back then, Andy Mooradian, was a football guy, the UNH 100 Club, which supposedly was formed to support all UNH athletics, was led by football guys. Yes, Snively Arena had been built, but as a multi-purpose facility, not just for the benefit of the hockey team. The arena had one scoreboard at the far end, chain link in the end zones rather than glass, and a pretty dismal locker room (if you could call it that). When hockey fans first approached Mooradian about a booster group he was luke warm to the idea at best but gave them the go ahead, with plenty of restrictions. The Friends first big purchase was a scoreboard for the other end of the ice (the two were used the first year at the Whit), then the purchase of glass, then renovation of the locker room (a lot of sweat equity there). It didn't make Snively a first class facility (bleacher seats remember), but it allowed the program a little bit of respectability. I guess what I am saying is, first, that football fans didn't need to start a booster group, they had one in the 100 Club. And, second, without the Friends of UNH Hockey, which raises and contributes a significant chunk of change each year, the hockey team would not continue be at the level it is today.

One word about Marty Scarano. I have been following UNH athletics for nearly 40 years and, by far, he is the most responsible and effective athletic director the school has ever had. The aforementioned Andy Mooradian? Without going into details let's just say he was ethically challenged. Gib Chapman, that fabulous basketball coach? His idea was to have hoops usurp hockey as the winter sport. Judy Ray, her solution to smaller budgets, cut programs not try to save them. Marty is doing an awful lot with very little. If he can somehow wangle a corporation to fund improvements in Cowell Stadium, more power to him I say. Those that think because he wants to do that means he will take away from hockey aren't thinking straight. Marty is for all UNH athletics and is doing his best to keep them alive.

No Greg, I'm only talking about how pathetic the facilities are for UNH Football and how embarrassing they are for the university. I was mortified when I learned that Villanova wasn't able to take showers after the game this past Homecoming. It turned out that every toilet, sink, shower, drinking fountain, etc. became inoperable sometime during the game. I've heard horror stories about how bad the visiting locker room is. And I have nothing but admiration for how the Friend's of Hockey has raised money.

I go back a couple more years than you do so I remember all the folks you mention. And I couldn't agree more with your assessment of Marty. The Judy Ray-Gib Chapman years were just brutal. I think it is safe to say that their leadership gutted the football support. I certainly don't see a Friends of Football Club that resembles what you've described the 100 Club to be. And I certainly known the Friends of Basketball has never approached either organization.

As for admissions, I heard football was a positive impact, not the only one, but a factor. You've got to remember that UNH today is approaching 50% out of state enrollment. I haven't looked at demographics, but I doubt all those added out of staters are from ME, MA and VT. I'm assuming we get more kids from CT, RI and the Mid-Atlantic states. All I'm saying is that Corey Graham, Jerry Azumah and Dan Kreider introducing themselves on NFL broadcasts and stating they're from the University of New Hampshire puts our name out there to a lot of people. More people follow football than hockey. The freaking NFL Draft got significantly better ratings on ESPN Thursday than the Frozen Four. And better than the FCS or Women's Basketball Championships. With all the financial problems during recent times, it would have been very easy to shut down football. There have got to be significant tangible and intangible benefits that keep the program alive and well.

And no I'm not suggesting that improved facilities are going to result in the program making money. As JB suggested though, it's about getting significantly closer to breaking even which results on less drain on the overall budget. You're correct not many FCS programs make money and App State, Montana and Delaware are somewhat unique. But UNH too has a pretty successful history. We don't have all the D-II National Championships or one I-AA/FCS Championship like Delaware, but I do recall Bill Bowes having 23 winning seasons out of 25. Sean McDonnell's run of six consecutive playoff bids and five Quarterfinal games is unmatched by any other CAA program. UNH does have a pretty successful history as well.

BTW, I recall that chain link fence quite well because I watched many a game from back there!! Never knew Snively was considered all-purpose as I never heard any mention of basketball games there from Gerry Friel. Personally, I think UNH made a mistake converting Snively into its current fitness center usage. That's a great facility, but it could have been created with four walls and a roof anywhere on campus. Keeping the rink at Snively would have provided more ice time for the students, community and intramurals, an 85x200 rink to practice on, a rink for practice if the Whitt was being used for basketball, etc. Just another poor decision from the Ray-Chapman years.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: Some parallels out there ...

Re: Some parallels out there ...

No Greg, I'm only talking about how pathetic the facilities are for UNH Football and how embarrassing they are for the university. I was mortified when I learned that Villanova wasn't able to take showers after the game this past Homecoming. It turned out that every toilet, sink, shower, drinking fountain, etc. became inoperable sometime during the game. I've heard horror stories about how bad the visiting locker room is. And I have nothing but admiration for how the Friend's of Hockey has raised money.

I go back a couple more years than you do so I remember all the folks you mention. And I couldn't agree more with your assessment of Marty. The Judy Ray-Gib Chapman years were just brutal. I think it is safe to say that their leadership gutted the football support. I certainly don't see a Friends of Football Club that resembles what you've described the 100 Club to be. And I certainly known the Friends of Basketball has never approached either organization.

As for admissions, I heard football was a positive impact, not the only one, but a factor. You've got to remember that UNH today is approaching 50% out of state enrollment. I haven't looked at demographics, but I doubt all those added out of staters are from ME, MA and VT. I'm assuming we get more kids from CT, RI and the Mid-Atlantic states. All I'm saying is that Corey Graham, Jerry Azumah and Dan Kreider introducing themselves on NFL broadcasts and stating they're from the University of New Hampshire puts our name out there to a lot of people. More people follow football than hockey. The freaking NFL Draft got significantly better ratings on ESPN Thursday than the Frozen Four. And better than the FCS or Women's Basketball Championships. With all the financial problems during recent times, it would have been very easy to shut down football. There have got to be significant tangible and intangible benefits that keep the program alive and well.

And no I'm not suggesting that improved facilities are going to result in the program making money. As JB suggested though, it's about getting significantly closer to breaking even which results on less drain on the overall budget. You're correct not many FCS programs make money and App State, Montana and Delaware are somewhat unique. But UNH too has a pretty successful history. We don't have all the D-II National Championships or one I-AA/FCS Championship like Delaware, but I do recall Bill Bowes having 23 winning seasons out of 25. Sean McDonnell's run of six consecutive playoff bids and five Quarterfinal games is unmatched by any other CAA program. UNH does have a pretty successful history as well.

BTW, I recall that chain link fence quite well because I watched many a game from back there!! Never knew Snively was considered all-purpose as I never heard any mention of basketball games there from Gerry Friel. Personally, I think UNH made a mistake converting Snively into its current fitness center usage. That's a great facility, but it could have been created with four walls and a roof anywhere on campus. Keeping the rink at Snively would have provided more ice time for the students, community and intramurals, an 85x200 rink to practice on, a rink for practice if the Whitt was being used for basketball, etc. Just another poor decision from the Ray-Chapman years.

The 100 Club, at least in my memory, was run by a bunch of old warhorses who loved to swap stories with Bowes and, before him, Chief Boston. They didn't give a squat about hockey, not surprising since there was not a natural base of support for hockey in the area. Until UNH hired Rube Bjorkman in the mid-60's, the hockey coach had always been part time. The legendary Whoop Snively was a jack of all trades, "not a hockey man" in the words of one guy I know who played for him. Mooradian viewed hockey in that light. In Charlie Holt's first years he shared his one assistant (Bob Norton) with the football team. Norton wasn't full time with hockey until the football season ended. That didn't change until the early '70's.

Your description of UNH's football successes reminds me of the language we hockey devotees use. A lot of pluses for sure, but never able to win the big one. And as much as I love your ability to transfer the names of Corey Graham, Dan Kreider, and Jerry Azumah to increased out of state enrollment at UNH, I just don't buy it. Although UNH had plenty of kids from outside New England when I went there, it has increased substantially over the past decade for two or three reasons. First, with astronomical private school costs (four schools in Boston now top $50,000 per year), schools like UNH, UVM, UConn look to be attractive alternatives for a lot of families. Second, the pool of in-state students who would attend UNH is shrinking. A lot of them look to go out of state to begin with and, like many state schools (UMass among them), UNH's admissions standards have tightened, making it more difficult for kids to get in. Add in the fact that UNH is pretty much level funded or cut every year by the state leads the University to the inevitable conclusion that they have to get more of those out-of-state students and their higher tuitions to balance the budget. This past year I believe it cost $38,000 for an out-of-stater to go to UNH.

Re: the Snively renovation. The first plan for the old barn was to tear it down for parking. Beginning in the early '90's, state of the art fitness centers at colleges began to be a very important feature in attracting students. UNH didn't have anything to speak of so the renovation became the sensible choice. BTW, when I spoke of Snively as multi-purpose, I meant for the general student body, not to host basketball games.

 

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

Re: Some parallels out there ...

Re: Some parallels out there ...

And as much as I love your ability to transfer the names of Corey Graham, Dan Kreider, and Jerry Azumah to increased out of state enrollment at UNH, I just don't buy it.

No no no no no. Let him keep saying it. If he types it up 4 more times it actually will become true!!!!!

And to be honest, seeing it typed up every day in a new post saves me the trouble of going back to an old post for a good laugh. It's quite enjoyable to read.

Did you know the NFL draft got more eyes than college hockey? Did ya did ya did ya? Durrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr......................

 

[GoUNH]

Re: Some parallels out there ...

Re: Some parallels out there ...

I like bagels.

 

[WildKitty]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

The team does (sometimes, or at least, did) practice on Old Snively, down at Churchill Rink @ Jackson's Landing. They don't do it often, and I think it's usually a last resort, preferring Exeter or Dover when the Whitt isn't available. Churchill under-ice and boards are from Snively, donated by the University. At least, this is the story I get from UNHPuckFan2001, who skated almost every day this winter on that ice and manages to pick up old stories like long-haired dogs pick up ticks.

During the season, students can take a Wildcat Transit bus (any 4, or the 3A) and get off a short walk to the rink. I'm not positive, but I think with a piece of Durham-addressed mail with their name on it, students can skate for free, and open skate/stick&puck times are much more frequent there than at the Whitt!

Speaking of past footballers from UNH... We've got a few guys gone pro, now, and I know Azumah is responsible for the faculty work-out center, but what have the other guys done to improve the program at their alma mater? I know they aren't making much, but compared to my meager teacher's salary, I think they're maybe in a better position to make a substantial alum donation?