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D-1 Independant

H

hopefulldad

New member
Hi, I was looking at the conferences and noticed Sacred Heart was the only one in the D-1 Independant.....and looked at there schedule and looks like they play D1 and D3 teams..can they also play in the D1 or D3 Tourney?? Just curious how that works.

thanks
 
Re: D-1 Independant

They are a woefully under funded program, D1 in name only. They play a few D1 schools, rarely winning at that level, or at D3 for that matter. Because they are D1 they are not eligible for post season play in D3, though they do play in an end of season tourney with the other ineligibles, St. A's, St. Mike's, and Holy Cross.
 
Re: D-1 Independant

You need to play a certain number of games (20 I think) to even qualify for the National Collegiate Tournament (informally the D-I tournament), and as Hux said, Sacred Heart is not eligible for D-III being a D-I school.

Earlier this year I linked to an NCAA memo which implied that the CHA had repeatedly approached Sacred Heart to get them to upgrade their commitment and become a member (obviously this is in the interest of the CHA to get the 6 teams for an autobid), but Sacred Heart has not been interested.
 
Re: D-1 Independant

The information I heard a couple of years ago - unconfirmed at the time so take it as such - was that SHU was waiting on a realignment of Women's D1. The talk was of an addition of an women's D1 Atlantic conference. HC, SHU, Conn, Mercyhurst, would join that conference as their men's teams are there, RIT move up and do the same, and so on. I think that's been discarded or at least on the backburner now.

I don't intend to upset any SHU folks, and I haven't seen SHU women play since early last year so this might be dated. But it was obvious at that time that they had a huge gap between 5 or 6 players that could compete at D1 level and the rest of the players who were at best playing at a mediocre D3 level.

May not be the case now but SHU reminded me of when Quinnipiac first went D1 independent - some very good players but not enough school support and the money not there to attract a full competitive squad.

I've seen Union play this year and they're in the same situation. They are also underfunded. They have a few more D1 level players, which makes them competitive enough to grab a game or two at D1, but the drop off is still apparent.
 
Re: D-1 Independant

OTH said:
The information I heard a couple of years ago - unconfirmed at the time so take it as such - was that SHU was waiting on a realignment of Women's D1. The talk was of an addition of an women's D1 Atlantic conference. HC, SHU, Conn, Mercyhurst, would join that conference as their men's teams are there, RIT move up and do the same, and so on. I think that's been discarded or at least on the backburner now.

I don't intend to upset any SHU folks, and I haven't seen SHU women play since early last year so this might be dated. But it was obvious at that time that they had a huge gap between 5 or 6 players that could compete at D1 level and the rest of the players who were at best playing at a mediocre D3 level.

May not be the case now but SHU reminded me of when Quinnipiac first went D1 independent - some very good players but not enough school support and the money not there to attract a full competitive squad.

I've seen Union play this year and they're in the same situation. They are also underfunded. They have a few more D1 level players, which makes them competitive enough to grab a game or two at D1, but the drop off is still apparent.
Click to expand...

That is interesting information because I know of one local prep-school coach who keeps trying to send his girls to play for their program.

Thank you for your information - and the question, I was wondering the same thing also.
 
Re: D-1 Independant

That is interesting information because I know of one local prep-school coach who keeps trying to send his girls to play for their program.
Click to expand...

Might not be a bad idea actually. Using Quinnipiac as an example still, I recall in there first few years as a D1 independent they were lucky to take D3 games. Seldom if ever a D1 game. Quinnipiac basically bootstrapped itself up. As a few better players opted in each year, the program got stronger, the schools interest went up, and with increased support the program got stronger still, a great new facility went on the plans, the interest went up, etc.

It's a lot easier to be a 20K plus student Syracuse or BU with a huge and effective sports support infrastructure already in place and money available to seed a women's D1 program from the start. It took a good 6 or 8 years to do it the Quinnipiac way, but look where Quinnipiac is now.

So perhaps Sacred Heart is a good choice for the type of good D1 level player interested in joining a program and get immediate 1st or second line opportunities over joining a deep program where they play 3rd or 4th line for a year or two, get discouraged, and quit. Which happens to good players opting to join crowded teams all the time.
 
Re: D-1 Independant

OTH said:
The information I heard a couple of years ago - unconfirmed at the time so take it as such - was that SHU was waiting on a realignment of Women's D1. The talk was of an addition of an women's D1 Atlantic conference. HC, SHU, Conn, Mercyhurst, would join that conference as their men's teams are there, RIT move up and do the same, and so on. I think that's been discarded or at least on the backburner now.

.
Click to expand...

I was told the same thing three years ago.

Bentley was going to build a rink on campus, funded by the same gentleman that built the rink at St. A's (he's a Bentley grad) and start play in 2009. Holy Cross was to move to a D1 heavy schedule in '08 and a full schedule this year. Most of the other schools in Atlantic Hockey (with the exception of UConn) would field women's teams, and when the moratorium lifted, teams like RIT would join the conference.

Unfortunately, given the beating the economy has laid on endowments, and the portfolios of potential benefactors, I doubt we will see increased funding towards existing programs, or the addition of new teams any time soon.
 
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