I thoroughly enjoyed this past weekends games. I know there are probably not many fans of Dartmouth men's ice hockey but I am compelled to write this. Dartmouth is the only current ECAC team that has not been to the national tournament since 1980. The sad part is Dartmouth didnt have a winning season from 1980-2001. This once proud hockey program build a fabulous arena in 1975 and now almost no one comes to the games. What is the reason for this? Is it the recruiting restrictions? Are they ashamed to win? I was a season ticket holder from 1987-1998 before I moved far North of Hanover. I still used to attend a few games every year especially the New Year's tournament. Now the fans are quite, the horn doesnt go off when Dartmouth scores and the majority of the crowd comes from the opposing team. I still have the January 1991 US College Hockey magazine explaining the hardships of this program. It seems to me the admissions people are not interested in this program and have not been for a long time. All of the excuses are lame at best. Even Union College won a national title in 2014. One time my wife and I went to a Dartmouth vs Harvard game and the crowd was so quiet that my wife asked if we were at a chess tournament. I am interested to hear from everyone.
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Dartmouth Mens Hockey
- Thread starter Go Irish
- Start date
iowabasedtraveler
Well-known member
This won’t answer your questions, but I am a Colgate fan who goes to all their home games and nearly all their away games. I go to the ECAC tournament in Lake Placid, a Regional (Allentown this past weekend) and the Frozen Four every year, regardless of the participants. And I love traveling to Hanover and attending Dartmouth games. I think the world of former coach Bob Gaudet and recently saw him (watching his son coach) at a Hobart game (btw, Hobart just won the D-3 national championship). I am also a fan of former Dartmouth player Cam Strong (and recently took Amtrak to Salt Lake City to see him play in an ECHL game). I truly hope that you are mistaken about Dartmouth’s commitment to college hockey. If true, that would be a travesty.
You need the whole ecosystem to support athletics in general and the hockey program specifically. Alumni, athletics, budgets, board of directors, local NH fans, students, faculty and, of course, outstanding recruiting and coaching. If you win, they will come. Look at Harvard. 10 years ago, visiting teams at Bright always had more fans. The Harvard side was usually empty. This last year all the home games were sold out. Invite the school's board of directors to the home hockey games during a board meeting during the season. 
Last edited:
Lynah Rink
New member
All the home games at Harvard were sold out? Why all the empty seats then?You need the whole ecosystem to support athletics in general and the hockey program specifically. Alumni, athletics, budgets, board of directors, local NH fans, students, faculty and, of course, outstanding recruiting and coaching. If you win, they will come. Look at Harvard. 10 years ago, visiting teams at Bright always had more fans. The Harvard side was usually empty. This last year all the home games were sold out. Invite the school's board of directors to the home hockey games during a board meeting during the season.
You need the whole ecosystem to support athletics in general and the hockey program specifically. Alumni, athletics, budgets, board of directors, local NH fans, students, faculty and, of course, outstanding recruiting and coaching. If you win, they will come. Look at Harvard. 10 years ago, visiting teams at Bright always had more fans. The Harvard side was usually empty. This last year all the home games were sold out. Invite the school's board of directors to the home hockey games during a board meeting during the season.
Hardly- first 5 home games- 4 had 2200 fans one had 1579
Lynah Rink
New member
I just checked the box scores—looks like about one third of the games this season were sellouts (rink capacity slightly over 3,000). The game against Cornell sold out as usual (mostly Cornell fans). A couple of other good matchups sold out as well, like against Quinnipiac and Northeastern.
Sad times for the two Div 1 men’s hockey teams in Cow Hampsha.
Over on the UNH thread, Chuck Murray has been promoting for years a Cow Hampsha version of the Beanpot tournament, with UNH, Dartmouth, SNHU, PSU, or St Anselm’s to generate more statewide fan interest in hockey.
Over on the UNH thread, Chuck Murray has been promoting for years a Cow Hampsha version of the Beanpot tournament, with UNH, Dartmouth, SNHU, PSU, or St Anselm’s to generate more statewide fan interest in hockey.
DavidNardolillo
Member
I went to Bright this year to watch RPI and was hard to get tickets; I had to get standing room seats. Come game time, there were tons of no-shows. Looked half-full to 60% capacity at best. Not sure why that happened.
As for Dartmouth, not sure they are the only ECAC team with poor home attendance. See lots of empty seats at several rinks. Lots of factors to that, especially recently given COVID Would be interesting to compare figures for all ECAC teams from 10-15 years ago.
People closer to Dartmouth can comment in more detail about the athletic department, but from the outside I wonder what the current environment is like in terms of the relationship with the administration. There was a bit of turmoil a few years ago when Dartmouth tried to cut some sports at the direction of the administration, which led to a lawsuit. The decision was eventually reversed and the athletic director departed soon after.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Isn't this fitting ... someone posts a Dartmouth thread, and it breaks into a debate over attendance at Harvard games ...
Thanks for the boost, Snives! Anyway ... it's not exactly an original idea, it's just one that I've stubbornly held to thinking could (should?) be an engine to drive more interest in college hockey (and hockey in general) across our fair state. UNH should be leading the parade, and I think the ambitious folks at SNHU (who already have their name on the State's largest arena) could be easily coaxed into doing anything to improve their profile. If there was any momentum and some work-around solutions to the fact that most of the State's hockey schools are not at D-1 level, I think the idea would catch on, and fill at least a couple of the many empty dates at a more than serviceable arena in a pretty vibrant area of the State's largest city - a neighborhood that continues to see signs of further growth, even without a full-time tenant since the goon league version of the Monarchs left town a few years ago.
But even with that concept, the role of Dartmouth in such a venture - which should be a lay-up - becomes more complicated instead. They have their own holiday season tournament, which would eat up both a potential slot for a "NH Beanpot" event plus some of the OOC games Dartmouth could commit to, especially with its shortened Ivy League schedule. And as an outsider from the opposite side of the State, the biggest obstacle the concept arguably faces is Dartmouth's institutionally aloof approach to the State where they reside, to collegiate sports in general, and D-1 hockey in particular. I like to kid around with friends about how Dartmouth is the Ivy League's witness protection program. They're off at the edge of our state, in the middle of nowhere, bordering on another state where the population is even thinner. The only NH city within an hour of Dartmouth that has a population north of 25,000 is Concord, and otherwise excepting the Hanover/Lebanon "home base" of Dartmouth, there aren't any towns north of even 10,000 within an hour of campus, on EITHER side of the border (Rutland VT is the closest call). Of the 8 Ivies, only Cornell can compare with their isolation, yet the Big Red hockey program has lively Upstate rivalries, and has an annual trip down to NYC. Dartmouth is just ... there ... all by their lonesome ... and they seem to prefer it that way ... and losing their ECAC travel partner (UVM) to Hockey East almost a generation ago has only exacerbated things.
It just so happened that my first live in-person UNH Hockey experience was the '79 ECAC Finals with Dartmouth in the Old Boston Garden, and that place was rocking. Fast forward almost 45 years now, and no one could ever believe that such a thing would've been possible. Thompson Arena's ground-down bowl construction was the model UNH used almost 20 years later when they built the Whittemore Center. There is a connection there, somewhere, if anyone at either school - but especially those in Hanover - could be bothered to invest in it.
Dartmouth Men's Hockey, a riddle wrapped up in an enigma, and shrouded by gross indifference. Why? No idea ...
Thanks for the boost, Snives! Anyway ... it's not exactly an original idea, it's just one that I've stubbornly held to thinking could (should?) be an engine to drive more interest in college hockey (and hockey in general) across our fair state. UNH should be leading the parade, and I think the ambitious folks at SNHU (who already have their name on the State's largest arena) could be easily coaxed into doing anything to improve their profile. If there was any momentum and some work-around solutions to the fact that most of the State's hockey schools are not at D-1 level, I think the idea would catch on, and fill at least a couple of the many empty dates at a more than serviceable arena in a pretty vibrant area of the State's largest city - a neighborhood that continues to see signs of further growth, even without a full-time tenant since the goon league version of the Monarchs left town a few years ago.
But even with that concept, the role of Dartmouth in such a venture - which should be a lay-up - becomes more complicated instead. They have their own holiday season tournament, which would eat up both a potential slot for a "NH Beanpot" event plus some of the OOC games Dartmouth could commit to, especially with its shortened Ivy League schedule. And as an outsider from the opposite side of the State, the biggest obstacle the concept arguably faces is Dartmouth's institutionally aloof approach to the State where they reside, to collegiate sports in general, and D-1 hockey in particular. I like to kid around with friends about how Dartmouth is the Ivy League's witness protection program. They're off at the edge of our state, in the middle of nowhere, bordering on another state where the population is even thinner. The only NH city within an hour of Dartmouth that has a population north of 25,000 is Concord, and otherwise excepting the Hanover/Lebanon "home base" of Dartmouth, there aren't any towns north of even 10,000 within an hour of campus, on EITHER side of the border (Rutland VT is the closest call). Of the 8 Ivies, only Cornell can compare with their isolation, yet the Big Red hockey program has lively Upstate rivalries, and has an annual trip down to NYC. Dartmouth is just ... there ... all by their lonesome ... and they seem to prefer it that way ... and losing their ECAC travel partner (UVM) to Hockey East almost a generation ago has only exacerbated things.
It just so happened that my first live in-person UNH Hockey experience was the '79 ECAC Finals with Dartmouth in the Old Boston Garden, and that place was rocking. Fast forward almost 45 years now, and no one could ever believe that such a thing would've been possible. Thompson Arena's ground-down bowl construction was the model UNH used almost 20 years later when they built the Whittemore Center. There is a connection there, somewhere, if anyone at either school - but especially those in Hanover - could be bothered to invest in it.
Dartmouth Men's Hockey, a riddle wrapped up in an enigma, and shrouded by gross indifference. Why? No idea ...
Sean Pickett
2009 NCAA Champions
Easy enough to do, if you really wanted to as USCHO has historical attendance back to the the 2001-02 season. With caveat that the attendance figures might not be 100% accurate I've complied the average attendance for the 12 current ECAC teams:
[TABLE="width: 1233"]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2001-02[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2002-03[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2003-04[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2004-05[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2005-06[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2006-07[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2007-08[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2008-09[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2009-10[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2010-11[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2011-12[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2012-13[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2013-14[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2014-15[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2015-16[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2016-17[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2017-18[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2018-19[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2019-20[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2021-22[/TD]
[TD="class: xl65"]2022-23[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Brown[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,488[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,499[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,602[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,256[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,262[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,485[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,224[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,127[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,294[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,474[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,374[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,262[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,448[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,011[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,097[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]950[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]861[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]780[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]643[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]392[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]797[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Clarkson[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,975[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,777[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,496[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,328[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,327[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,514[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,734[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,851[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,647[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,261[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,449[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,397[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,500[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,460[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,583[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,709[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,807[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,766[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,820[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,457[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,510[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Colgate[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,727[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,830[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,886[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,773[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,805[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,774[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,577[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,141[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,161[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,010[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,294[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,312[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,567[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,515[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,599[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,814[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,352[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,216[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,188[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]797[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]976[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cornell[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,802[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,836[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,836[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,836[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,836[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,229[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,191[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,153[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,264[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,187[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,238[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,247[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,088[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,125[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,022[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,908[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,592[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,594[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,979[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,685[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,730[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dartmouth[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,253[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,738[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,038[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,766[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]4,016[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,809[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,489[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,480[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,935[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,824[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,112[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,304[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,927[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,651[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,372[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,562[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,040[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,084[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,951[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]801[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,706[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Harvard[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,354[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,040[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,116[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,287[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,275[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,362[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,381[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,086[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,387[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,380[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,224[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,306[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,291[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,138[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,385[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,466[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,155[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,981[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,805[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,194[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,415[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Princeton[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,816[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,935[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,637[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,717[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,635[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,368[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,702[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,575[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,545[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,581[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,858[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,064[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,942[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,933[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,851[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,635[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,601[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,859[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,806[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,134[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,720[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Quinnipiac[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]821[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]921[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]955[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]831[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,875[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,374[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,922[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,906[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,671[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,708[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,524[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,122[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,434[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,123[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,247[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,132[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,095[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,123[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,024[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,508[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,968[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]RPI[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,023[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,186[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,966[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,169[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,128[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,715[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,534[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,268[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,859[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,158[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,435[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,132[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,255[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,373[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,143[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,087[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,013[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,880[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,671[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]367[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,251[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]St. Lawrence[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,527[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,180[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,348[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,262[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,292[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,501[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,377[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,418[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,213[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,646[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,399[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,545[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,688[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,658[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,782[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,686[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,505[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,206[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]851[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,005[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,567[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Union[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,756[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,853[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,595[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,630[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,713[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,794[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,737[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,815[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,878[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,886[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,009[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,981[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,908[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,106[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,997[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,101[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,055[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,854[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,841[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,490[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,844[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Yale[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,804[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,407[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,255[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,150[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,095[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,034[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,927[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,910[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,124[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,275[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,169[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,138[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,343[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,312[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,385[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,090[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,210[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]3,046[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]2,036[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]788[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66"]1,864[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
To make it easier to see visually I created 2 charts: one for Ivy teams and one for non-Ivy teams:
Except for three* seasons Cornell had the best average attendance, toping 4,000 for a decade, 2006-16. Attendance dropped off for 2 seasons, 2017-19, but rebounded nicely in 2019-20. After a post-COVID season with reduced attendance it was back up this season, although it was down from the 2019-20 average.
Perhaps surprisingly, Dartmouth was the attendance leader for 2 of the seasons Cornell wasn't, was second for 5 seasons, third for 3 seasons and 4th for 2 seasons from 2001-13. This despite, as the OP stated, not making the NCAA Tournament since 1980. Since 2013 attendance as trended downward.
Another Ivy with strong attendance from 2001-19 was Yale, which only had 2 seasons averaging below 3,000, before a sharp drop off in 2019-20 and which continued downward this past season.
Harvard has middling attendance from 2001-18, fluctuating between 2,500 and 2,000, before dropping below 2,000 in 2018-19 and then lower in 2019-20. This season it rebounded nicely, back up over 2,400.
The best attendance among the non-Ivy schools has been RPI and Quinnipiac. RPI was above 3,000 for 15 of 17 seasons from 2001-18. After 2 seasons of declining attendance it dropped again this past season as much has it had from 2018-20.
Quinnipiac's attendance has been among the tops since their current arena opened in 2007, but it increased during their almost championship season and stayed above 3,000 until the 2021-22 post-COVID season, while it was just short of 3,000 this season.
The three teams with the worst attendance since 2001 have been Brown, Colgate and St. Lawrence. Brown had low, but relatively stable attendance until 2014. Since then it was been gradually dropping and has been the worst in the league the past six seasons.
Colgate also had low, but stable attendance from 2001-08, before dropping to barely over 1,000 from 2008-11, before slowing improving over the next six seasons, reaching where it was 2001-07. However, attendance dropped again through 2020 and collapsed below 1,000 in the post-COVID season, from which attendance only improved slightly this past season.
St. Lawrence likewise had stable attendance from 2001-10, before it dropped in 2010-11 and then stabilized at a new lower, level until Appleton was closed for renovations. This past season attendance returned to that level.
Sean
*In 2001-02 Yale edged out Cornell, 3804 to 3802
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unofan
Well-known member
Dartmouth should've made the tourney at least once in the 2001-2008 or so window when they had about a half dozen or so future NHLers on the roster, but somehow managed to be the first team out about 3 or 4 times in that span, including 05-06 when they won the ECAC regular season title. (Insert complaints about the PWR here). The Stempniak-Ouellette-Jessiman line Jessiman's freshman year (before the Rangers drafted him and got in his ear about what he needed to do become a pro and threw off his game) was a thing of beauty to watch.
Not surprisingly that was when attendance peaked and Thompson Arena enjoyed raucous crowds for the first time in forever. They had some fun teams, won lots of conference playoff games, made it to Albany regularly, just couldn't get the one extra win or the other games to break their way to get into the NCAAs. I think it was my freshman or sophomore year they seemed to always trail by 1 late in the third at home but would get two goals in the last 5 minutes minutes to pull out wins every single time.
Not sure why they couldn't maintain that, though I'm sure Covid didn't help, but they can turn it around again at some point. Not like they are competing against a stellar basketball team on campus for attendance.
Not surprisingly that was when attendance peaked and Thompson Arena enjoyed raucous crowds for the first time in forever. They had some fun teams, won lots of conference playoff games, made it to Albany regularly, just couldn't get the one extra win or the other games to break their way to get into the NCAAs. I think it was my freshman or sophomore year they seemed to always trail by 1 late in the third at home but would get two goals in the last 5 minutes minutes to pull out wins every single time.
Not sure why they couldn't maintain that, though I'm sure Covid didn't help, but they can turn it around again at some point. Not like they are competing against a stellar basketball team on campus for attendance.
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unofan
Well-known member
Tl;dr: You have no farking idea, but wanted to bloviate for 500 words because reasons.
iowabasedtraveler
Well-known member
Sean, can you re-post your attendance post on the Colgate thread? Thanks.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
... says the guy who posts this response from halfway across the country, and hasn't been in NH for at least a decade.
The "Dartmouth is the Witness Protection Program of the Ivies" is from a local buddy (Dartmouth Class of '70).
Dartmouth's "contribution" to this thread appears to be from two alums who left Hanover 25 and 15 years ago.
Actions speak louder than words. No ill will intended, but you're pretty much making my point(s) here ...
Another option would be for UNH and Dartmouth to drop back to Div 3 to play SNHU, St Anselms, and Plymouth State on a regular basis. Might be better than joining AHA on detention for a few years with other plan.
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DavidNardolillo
Member
Thanks for compiling. Softening the focus of your excellent detail to zoom out to a longer term trend: The attendance levels in 19-20, the last Pre-Covid year are down at least 10 percent from 01-02 for 7 of the 12 ECAC schools--confirms my sense attendance not just a Dartmouth issue
Sean Pickett
2009 NCAA Champions
UNH and Dartmouth have never been D3. The ECAC instituted divisions before the NCAA and Dartmouth was always D1, along with the rest of the Ivies. UNH decided to go with D2, but after 2 seasons moved up to D1, still before the NCAA had divisions, where they have remained.
Sean
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
I know you're being half-serious about this Snives, but if UNH isn't institutionally prepared to compete to the level of their facility, then why not just throw in the towel and downgrade? Ditto Dartmouth?? On the latter front, two Ivies don't even skate D-1 programs ... so if Dartmouth isn't ready to seriously push to compete at the ECAC level, then maybe they should downgrade and join Columbia and Penn in the ACHA??
Looking at Sean's historical ECAC attendance data, you realize how ballsy it was for UNH to build a 6,500 seat arena - and then for them to regularly fill it for a decade plus, with 4 digit waitlists - when the prior arena (and most other arenas in the Northeast) were roughly half that size. That was back when UNH had purpose and drive ... not the current sad-sack status quo institutional complacency that's set in for far too long now ...
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
This Week in Dartmouth Athletics
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