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ASU Hockey

A

ASUHockey

New member
I am a fan of NCAA D1 Hockey and recently moved to Phoenix. I have to admit that it was a wonderful surprise finding out that ASU was granted D1 status shortly after my move to Arizona. I have attended all the home games this year to date and have very much enjoyed watching this young team compete led by Coach Powers. I have a few questions lingering that have yet to be answered by any of the arena staff or local fans that I have met at the games. I am hopeful that somebody on this forum can help me?

1. Why is ASU not in a conference?

2. Who chooses which conference they will eventually be placed in?

3. When will they be placed in a conference?

4. When will ASU announce their new arena plans?
 
Re: ASU Hockey

ASUHockey said:
I am a fan of NCAA D1 Hockey and recently moved to Phoenix. I have to admit that it was a wonderful surprise finding out that ASU was granted D1 status shortly after my move to Arizona. I have attended all the home games this year to date and have very much enjoyed watching this young team compete led by Coach Powers. I have a few questions lingering that have yet to be answered by any of the arena staff or local fans that I have met at the games. I am hopeful that somebody on this forum can help me?

1. Why is ASU not in a conference?

2. Who chooses which conference they will eventually be placed in?

3. When will they be placed in a conference?

4. When will ASU announce their new arena plans?
Click to expand...

Welcome to the community!

There is an existing thread you might want to check out. It was created as soon as the news of ASU joining D1 was announced. You'll find it here:
http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?111266-Arizona-State-Moving-To-D1

ASU is not in a conference because the Pac-12 does not sponsor hockey and there was probably not enough time for them gain acceptance to another conference before the start of this season. As you might imagine there are a lot of details to be ironed out such as scheduling, potential conference tournament format changes, having ASU meet conference requirements (such as an arena for example), etc. Also their ability to be competitive was likely a concern. So far they have been doing better than I expected with some wins and losses in close games. Playing as an independent while also having a hybrid schedule of club and DI hockey is giving them some additional time to recruit and develop DI talent as they learn to adjust to the higher level of play.

As far as who decides which conference they join, it wouldn't be something mandated by the NCAA, it would be a collaboration between ASU and the representatives of the conference(s) that have interest in accepting them. I would imagine the member schools any conference they join will have some say.

As for your questions #3 & #4, your guess is as good as mine. You'll find a lot speculation in the thread I've linked.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

ASU would also need to apply for membership to a particular conference. NCHC is the most likely, although it would leave two conferences with an odd number of teams. One wonders if Air Force would end up moving with ASU to a western league and reduce the travel footprint on Atlantic, given that's already a cost containment league. I highly doubt they'll become an associate member of the Big Ten for hockey.

The Independent angle is certainly interesting, but the biggest problem is that you have pretty much every team (except one team in a conference with an odd number of teams) playing league games throughout the entirety of February, which was one of the reasons UAH's scheduling very difficult while they were independent.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

FlagDUDE08 said:
The Independent angle is certainly interesting, but the biggest problem is that you have pretty much every team (except one team in a conference with an odd number of teams) playing league games throughout the entirety of February, which was one of the reasons UAH's scheduling very difficult while they were independent.
Click to expand...

while largely true about Feb. scheduling, this year BGSU plays Miami (State) in February. possible to schedule into bye weeks, especially if it's only one more season.

The NCHC poaching Air Force to get to 10 would be the least disruptive to other conferences, but doubtful that the nachos are concerned about preventing disruption. Wouldn't put it past them to try to poach Mankato instead. If that happens, the WCHA won't want to sit at 9 teams, and might go after an Atlantic team (such as RMU). But of course, speculation.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

blackswampboy said:
They might hold off until 2018-19 because scheduling is going so well."
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That well of willing teams is going to dry up pretty quick once the novelty of playing a new team / new location wears off. I'm going to watch Tech play in their tourney this year, but if they went there again in the near future I doubt I would go back. There are plenty of other places yet to be seen. Teams might be willing to host ASU, but it's a long expensive trip they are not going to make more than once unless there are some $$$$ kick backs to do so.

FlagDUDE08 said:
One wonders if Air Force would end up moving with ASU to a western league and reduce the travel footprint on Atlantic, given that's already a cost containment league.
Click to expand...
Zero chance that Air Force goes to the NCHC: 1) Travel costs are not a concern for Air Force. 1A) AF is fairly successful in Atlantic Hockey. Other than beating CC four times a year rather than two, what advantage does joining the NCHC give AF? 2) AF is perceived to be "beneath" the NCHC by the current membership so they're not getting an invite. If the NCHC had any interest in AF, they would have been a founding member given their proximity to CC and DU.

I think AF could compete in the WCHA after a few years of recruiting (having a conference home has greatly helped UAH's talent pool), but again reasons 1 and 1A likely prevent this switch.

Ryan J
 
Re: ASU Hockey

JohnsonsJerseys said:
That well of willing teams is going to dry up pretty quick once the novelty of playing a new team / new location wears off. I'm going to watch Tech play in their tourney this year, but if they went there again in the near future I doubt I would go back. There are plenty of other places yet to be seen. Teams might be willing to host ASU, but it's a long expensive trip they are not going to make more than once unless there are some $$$$ kick backs to do so.
Click to expand...

The Star-Tribune lists the Minnesota teams, and that's just Minnesota.
"As an example, they have multiyear agreements with St. Cloud State and Bemidji State, scheduled Minnesota Duluth in 2017-18 and are working to get Minnesota State Mankato on the schedule."

But past one additional season, yeah...Independent doesn't work so well.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

Thank you all for your replies!! The editor of article http://www.startribune.com/arizona-s...ure/362118721/ that came out today must have read my post yesterday :D Now if I can just get them to provide an update on their new arena :)

Moving forward to next year, the Sun Devils appear to have a very strong contingent of Red Shirts that will drastically change the depth of this team which should help them climb the rankings considerably.

Coach Powers is most definitely a man on a mission with extremely high goals for this team and program, very impressive!!
 
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Re: ASU Hockey

ASUHockey said:
Thank you all for your replies!! The editor of article http://www.startribune.com/arizona-s...ure/362118721/ that came out today must have read my post yesterday :D Now if I can just get them to provide an update on their new arena :)

Moving forward to next year, the Sun Devils appear to have a very strong contingent of Red Shirts that will drastically change the depth of this team which should help them climb the rankings considerably.

Coach Powers is most definitely a man on a mission with extremely high goals for this team and program, very impressive!!
Click to expand...

Looks like ASU hired a firm to help figure the arena plan, among other facility plans in that area
 
FlagDUDE08 said:
I highly doubt they'll become an associate member of the Big Ten for hockey.
Click to expand...

Disagree completely. They're not going to land in the WCHA for all the obvious reasons. They're most likely not going to land in the NCHC for most of the same reasons as they won't land in the WCHA, although the NCHC schools would never admit it. ASU is a major D1 program with one of the largest student bodies in the country. Playing St. Cloud or Lake Superior State regularly won't resonate with their fans. Playing Michigan and Ohio State will.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

FlagDUDE08 said:
One wonders if Air Force would end up moving with ASU to a western league and reduce the travel footprint on Atlantic, given that's already a cost containment league. I highly doubt they'll become an associate member of the Big Ten for hockey.
Click to expand...

I find the notion of Air Force ever leaving the AHC laughable. It's been an easy ride for them competition wise, and any other conference long-term woudl be harder for them to compete in. Add in the outside chance of Navy going D1 and joing the AHC and I'd wager Air Force isn't going anywhere.
 
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Re: ASU Hockey

As do I.
Click to expand...

I'm originally from Toledo(Bowling Green Fan), but have lived in AZ for a number of years(my son played travel hockey out of Oceanisde Arena).......anyway, I have connections on both sides of this...old CCHA connections and ASU/Oceanisde connections.

Everything I have heard points most definitely to ASU being an affiliate member of the B1G in hockey. The only question on what year they join is because the B1G needs another school to join with them(to keep it even) and they are waiting on Iowa or Nebraska to hopefully make a decision.....as adding a true B1G school is the preferred path over poaching another affiliate or playing with 7 teams.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

bravohankins said:
I'm originally from Toledo(Bowling Green Fan), but have lived in AZ for a number of years(my son played travel hockey out of Oceanisde Arena).......anyway, I have connections on both sides of this...old CCHA connections and ASU/Oceanisde connections.

Everything I have heard points most definitely to ASU being an affiliate member of the B1G in hockey. The only question on what year they join is because the B1G needs another school to join with them(to keep it even) and they are waiting on Iowa or Nebraska to hopefully make a decision.....as adding a true B1G school is the preferred path over poaching another affiliate or playing with 7 teams.
Click to expand...

What's the problem with having 7 teams until then? They could rotate 1 team that plays non-conference (or sometimes has a bye) each weekend. Seems silly to wait around years extra and miss out on all that great conference play not knowing if/when another will join.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

lmg6841 said:
I find the notion of Air Force ever leaving the AHC laughable.
Click to expand...

As does anyone who knows really anything about college hockey. Feel free to ignore the Dud, most of us do as a matter of course. What he doesn't know about things he thinks he knows about could fill the Grand Canyon.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

nappyvalley said:
What's the problem with having 7 teams until then? They could rotate 1 team that plays non-conference (or sometimes has a bye) each weekend. Seems silly to wait around years extra and miss out on all that great conference play not knowing if/when another will join.
Click to expand...

Agree - & this actually makes for a nice schedule # of games-wise (6x4 = 24 conference, 10 non-conf). I have never understood the fixation with the "even" number of teams in a conference. Am I missing something/is having a travel partner really that big of a deal?
 
Re: ASU Hockey

LordofBrewtown said:
Agree - & this actually makes for a nice schedule # of games-wise (6x4 = 24 conference, 10 non-conf). I have never understood the fixation with the "even" number of teams in a conference. Am I missing something/is having a travel partner really that big of a deal?
Click to expand...

It's not a matter of travel partners, similar to the ECAC, but rather being able to have games on given weekends, and bye weeks can create a bit of a league imbalance. If we're going to grow the sport one school at a time, it may be advantageous to have those imbalances because independent teams can get games in February while everyone else is deep into their league schedule.
 
Re: ASU Hockey

I have a question about ASU Hockey.

Why does the team's own hometown newspaper have almost zero coverage of this team? As I write this there is not a synopsis for or even a score to be found on their web site for either game they played here in Omaha this weekend.

Really?

All the coverage I can find about their program is in newspapers in other places. Not where they are. You'd barely know the program even exists looking at their own SBNation fan blog:

http://www.houseofsparky.com/

And, we're supposed to take this program that doesn't even know where it's playing next year, still, seriously? Nobody where they are even seems to care about them.
 
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