Re: College Hockey amps up war on Canadian major junior....
No, they don't. Not even close.
I'm guessing you either overestimate the amount of influence Minnesota has now, underestimate the amount they had decades ago, or both.
Minnesota is no longer a perennial power in a perennially dominant conference. They are now an average team in a strong conference. "But," I hear you say, "this isn't just an issue of how they've done the past few seasons on the ice." You would be correct, as there are other factors. However, Minnesota hockey, as I see it, is quickly following the same path trod by Notre Dame football--have a strong program for decades, and quickly run it into the ground due to fickleness of the school and trying to bank on name recognition. Minnesota can't recruit on its name alone anymore, just like Notre Dame can't in football.
That being said, Minnesota still is a moneymaker when it comes to NCAA hockey, and that is why they still have more influence than most (if not all) other schools. Again, though, the disparity in pull is far less than 30 years ago, in which they had an amazingly disproportionate amount of control. Now, there is plenty of money to be made with other schools, and the NCAA and most other entities are realizing it. Someone opined in another thread that without Minnesota, the WCHA tournament would be financially strapped. That is absolutely incorrect. Having attended the tournament religiously for the decade-plus ending in my senior year of high school, and attending it whenever possible in the 10+ years since then, the diversity in the attendance is striking. In 1987, the WCHA had three schools within four hours of St. Paul (four, if you break the speed limit between the Cities and Grand Forks.) Next year, it will have six. It's not just a maroon-and-gold homecoming anymore.
It's no different than any other industry--college hockey has followed diversification. The pond has gotten a lot bigger in the last thirty years, and the fish that is Minnesota has gotten a lot smaller.
