aparch
Acetaminamerican
Uhh. No. While I appreciate all Dave has done during his time with NMU, I'd prefer to distance NMU from the circus that is UAA right now.
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Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
- Thread starter boot_walt_kyle
- Start date
Uhh. No. While I appreciate all Dave has done during his time with NMU, I'd prefer to distance NMU from the circus that is UAA right now.
gfmorris
New member
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
Be the change that you want to see. It's hard out here for a small program. I know this all too well. If it tells you anything, I feel like the BEC would be an upgrade for UAH. Sure, our club-level seating is probably nicer, but the locker rooms are terrible and we're the second tenant.
I don't have any other things to add, especially as you're cycling back around to your complaint. Anyone can complain on a message board.
GFM
Be the change that you want to see. It's hard out here for a small program. I know this all too well. If it tells you anything, I feel like the BEC would be an upgrade for UAH. Sure, our club-level seating is probably nicer, but the locker rooms are terrible and we're the second tenant.
I don't have any other things to add, especially as you're cycling back around to your complaint. Anyone can complain on a message board.
GFM
RamboWildcat
New member
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
There can be a lot of speculation on wealthy alums, but bottom line its their money. I'm sure Dave D. knows a lot of what goes on behind the scenes. One thing NMU can do better though is build a vision. Define what's their dream for the next 20 years for Wildcat Hockey. Not just we need more money to compete, but showcase their tremendous assets and how they want to build for the future whether that is improving the facility, better fan experience, support for the players, etc. You gotta build a vision for "them" (Donors) to come to the table too. Give them something to be really excited about. If you watched the 30-30 ESPN episode on the Rules of Basketball, it took a great, passionate fan to convince David Booth to win the auction for the Naismith original Rules of Basketball. He did it through storytelling and giving Mr. Booth a Vision of what it would be like to have them at KU. He also got Mr. Booth's blood boiling over in excitement. Hook, line and sinker. Wealthy people need something to believe in and get them amped up. I witnessed it myself working in fundraising in Tennessee. Millionaires would scoff at a mere $2,000 if they thought something didn't tickle their fancy, and acted like cheap old geezers, while others said yes on the spot to $100,000+ if something stirred them and connected with their values. Look at Mr. John Berry. I bet he was jacked up to partly fund the arena with his love of the Cats and hockey and opportunity to make a big difference - and build on Coach Comley's vision/dream for the new arena.
There can be a lot of speculation on wealthy alums, but bottom line its their money. I'm sure Dave D. knows a lot of what goes on behind the scenes. One thing NMU can do better though is build a vision. Define what's their dream for the next 20 years for Wildcat Hockey. Not just we need more money to compete, but showcase their tremendous assets and how they want to build for the future whether that is improving the facility, better fan experience, support for the players, etc. You gotta build a vision for "them" (Donors) to come to the table too. Give them something to be really excited about. If you watched the 30-30 ESPN episode on the Rules of Basketball, it took a great, passionate fan to convince David Booth to win the auction for the Naismith original Rules of Basketball. He did it through storytelling and giving Mr. Booth a Vision of what it would be like to have them at KU. He also got Mr. Booth's blood boiling over in excitement. Hook, line and sinker. Wealthy people need something to believe in and get them amped up. I witnessed it myself working in fundraising in Tennessee. Millionaires would scoff at a mere $2,000 if they thought something didn't tickle their fancy, and acted like cheap old geezers, while others said yes on the spot to $100,000+ if something stirred them and connected with their values. Look at Mr. John Berry. I bet he was jacked up to partly fund the arena with his love of the Cats and hockey and opportunity to make a big difference - and build on Coach Comley's vision/dream for the new arena.
AnchorsAway
Registered User
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
As an LSSU fan, I feel the funding problem woes of your fan base. The uncomfortable reality is that very small publicly funded Division 1 hockey programs like ours are at a serious crossroads with no clear answer as to what the future may hold. Take for instance the final USCHO rankings from this season, every single team in the top 20 rankings and every team who received votes is either private, or publicly funded and has an enrollment of roughly 15,000 students or more. We are both moving to a "small school" conference, and even there our 3 U.P schools are among the smallest. How do programs such as ours hope to drum up more money, be it by alumni donations, increased ticket sales, even increased enrollment??
An even scarier, yet relevant question is will we even be able to keep up our current funding now that our schools figure to have decreased visibility since we are no longer assured games with "name schools"? If you figure that overall attendance (and thus revenues) suffer (and why wouldn't they to a certain extent?) from not playing those big name schools, how do you even hope to recoup those potential attendance losses (read:$$) while playing a conference schedule that is filled with schools that don't particularly drum up a lot of interest?? The most plausible of the remaining solutions (of which the choices are slim) is that the nWCHA can make a stand as a major player in college hockey and that there are many successful programs in our conference, enough to make people come watch. But what is the more useful definition of said success as it relates to getting more people in the door, visibility, etc.? Is it that the teams in the nWCHA drum up great winning records? In reality, to do so, that would likely include more non-conference games against schools that are easier to beat (read: no-name schools that no casual fan is going to pay to see) and thus resulting in good records that, despite the possible NCAA bids likely will set up teams for a major fall come post season time? Or is it the alternative of scheduling tougher (read:big name schools, if they would even agree to play our small schools) resulting in likely more mediocre regular season records that may season our teams better but from a record standpoint prevent our teams from grabbing an NCAA bid if they don't get the one auto bid available? The dream scenario is that teams from the nWCHA somehow can manage good records and notable showings in the NCAA with regularity. Granted, there are the occasional "lightning in a bottle" seasons from small schools that make a spirited run that garners some national attention, but logically, to expect runs like this from nWCHA teams with regularity is going to take talent, and talent costs money in terms of recruiting budgets etc....There is no clear solution and from a pragmatic standpoint it looks scary for cash-strapped small public schools like ours. There will always be the standard set of die-hard NMU, LSSU, etc. fans who will show up to watch our teams play regardless of if our school's teams are D1, D3 or beer leagues, but the bottom lines is that we need the money from those casual fans, those donors, that increased enrollment, and that will only come with better results, and more visibility.
Walt Kyle is a good coach, Jim Roque is average at best.....but neither of these coaches will be around forever, who follows after them?? Our schools glory days are getting farther and farther in the mirror and thus so are our chances of cashing in on that cache, let alone the fact that we can't afford to pay anybody who is really worth talking about. Regarding the next decade plus, it is going to take a pretty high batting average on recruits (and coaching hires?) for our schools to remain somewhat relevant and hold on to the market share that we have and an even higher batting average for our programs to show any notable growth
As an LSSU fan, I feel the funding problem woes of your fan base. The uncomfortable reality is that very small publicly funded Division 1 hockey programs like ours are at a serious crossroads with no clear answer as to what the future may hold. Take for instance the final USCHO rankings from this season, every single team in the top 20 rankings and every team who received votes is either private, or publicly funded and has an enrollment of roughly 15,000 students or more. We are both moving to a "small school" conference, and even there our 3 U.P schools are among the smallest. How do programs such as ours hope to drum up more money, be it by alumni donations, increased ticket sales, even increased enrollment??
An even scarier, yet relevant question is will we even be able to keep up our current funding now that our schools figure to have decreased visibility since we are no longer assured games with "name schools"? If you figure that overall attendance (and thus revenues) suffer (and why wouldn't they to a certain extent?) from not playing those big name schools, how do you even hope to recoup those potential attendance losses (read:$$) while playing a conference schedule that is filled with schools that don't particularly drum up a lot of interest?? The most plausible of the remaining solutions (of which the choices are slim) is that the nWCHA can make a stand as a major player in college hockey and that there are many successful programs in our conference, enough to make people come watch. But what is the more useful definition of said success as it relates to getting more people in the door, visibility, etc.? Is it that the teams in the nWCHA drum up great winning records? In reality, to do so, that would likely include more non-conference games against schools that are easier to beat (read: no-name schools that no casual fan is going to pay to see) and thus resulting in good records that, despite the possible NCAA bids likely will set up teams for a major fall come post season time? Or is it the alternative of scheduling tougher (read:big name schools, if they would even agree to play our small schools) resulting in likely more mediocre regular season records that may season our teams better but from a record standpoint prevent our teams from grabbing an NCAA bid if they don't get the one auto bid available? The dream scenario is that teams from the nWCHA somehow can manage good records and notable showings in the NCAA with regularity. Granted, there are the occasional "lightning in a bottle" seasons from small schools that make a spirited run that garners some national attention, but logically, to expect runs like this from nWCHA teams with regularity is going to take talent, and talent costs money in terms of recruiting budgets etc....There is no clear solution and from a pragmatic standpoint it looks scary for cash-strapped small public schools like ours. There will always be the standard set of die-hard NMU, LSSU, etc. fans who will show up to watch our teams play regardless of if our school's teams are D1, D3 or beer leagues, but the bottom lines is that we need the money from those casual fans, those donors, that increased enrollment, and that will only come with better results, and more visibility.
Walt Kyle is a good coach, Jim Roque is average at best.....but neither of these coaches will be around forever, who follows after them?? Our schools glory days are getting farther and farther in the mirror and thus so are our chances of cashing in on that cache, let alone the fact that we can't afford to pay anybody who is really worth talking about. Regarding the next decade plus, it is going to take a pretty high batting average on recruits (and coaching hires?) for our schools to remain somewhat relevant and hold on to the market share that we have and an even higher batting average for our programs to show any notable growth
giwan
Really??!!
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
Nice thought but the Starbucks on campus does not even stay open. People drive out of their way to go to the StarBucks out of town.
Nice thought but the Starbucks on campus does not even stay open. People drive out of their way to go to the StarBucks out of town.
You start a fund like the 100 Man Club has for NMU Hockey? Now I see a lot of names you've mentioned. Guys like Hiller and Avery. Do you think just because a guy saw a little time in the show, that he's automatically wealthy. Jimmy and Steve are both good guys, but hardly in the perennial 7 figure category. But all of those guys are in contact with NMU As for Shyiak, what is his sales and marketing experience? What part of the hockey budget do find the first year salary from? Current staff salaries? Recruiting? Equipment? Travel? And by the way, I'm glad you would have the Starbucks Superior Dome. But it would take a little more than a decent Yoopers salesman to convince one of the top businessmen in the country to reallocate the funds he already gives to NMU from academics to athletics. Your ideas are well founded, but you haven't presented anything that hasn't been tried and any names that haven't been contacted.
Why so quiet? Gee, I may have been spending the evening with a couple of my best friends. You know, dinner and such, planning a trip next month. Hope that's OK.
Of the rinks you've been to, which would you consider outdated? Anchorage is one for sure. BG and Ferris are definitely older, but when their teams are playing well, they pack them and the atmospheres are electric. Huntsville has just undergone major renovations and LSSU is supposed to start theirs this summer. One thing the realignment does is put the teams on more equal footing together. Until we can add 20,000 students, fill an 80,000 seat football stadium on campus and get about six hours nearer a major market, competing with the multi million dollar budgets of Michigan or Minnesota will be tough for all of the new WCHA. But we can compete well with Bemidji and Bowling Green.
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
I haven't posted in a while, but I've been following the conversation. And, I don't know if I'm currently in any financial position to give to NMU Hockey (a month an a half ago I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Mantle Cell Lymphoma, so we're going to be cash-strapped for months/years). But, nevertheless, I'd like to know a contact number or address for the NMU Hockey Booster Club or 100 Man Club, so that I might send a small check that would go directly to the Wildcat Hockey program. Is there anyone out there who can provide me with a contact name or numbers?
As Anchors Away posted above or below (however you're reading this), I am definitely worried about the teams in the nWCHA and how they are going to survive, especially with the huge travel expenses they are going to face and the financial limitations that smaller state schools face year in and year out.
I will always be a Walt Kyle fan though!
Go 'Cats!
I haven't posted in a while, but I've been following the conversation. And, I don't know if I'm currently in any financial position to give to NMU Hockey (a month an a half ago I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Mantle Cell Lymphoma, so we're going to be cash-strapped for months/years). But, nevertheless, I'd like to know a contact number or address for the NMU Hockey Booster Club or 100 Man Club, so that I might send a small check that would go directly to the Wildcat Hockey program. Is there anyone out there who can provide me with a contact name or numbers?
As Anchors Away posted above or below (however you're reading this), I am definitely worried about the teams in the nWCHA and how they are going to survive, especially with the huge travel expenses they are going to face and the financial limitations that smaller state schools face year in and year out.
I will always be a Walt Kyle fan though!
Go 'Cats!
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
You could try the hockey office at 906-227-1209. And I hope all goes well for you in your battle. Was nice to see you this season.
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PerkyforPrez
Registered User
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
I am very sorry to hear of your health issue. You will be in my Prayers.
I am very sorry to hear of your health issue. You will be in my Prayers.
gfmorris
New member
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
What a tough diagnosis. You will be thought of down South.
GFM
What a tough diagnosis. You will be thought of down South.
GFM
Recruiting class looks pretty strong, led by Shane Sooth and Dominik Shine. Key returnees include Seckel, Vigier and Ludwig. Freshman Mattias Dahlstrom looks to be the odds on favorite to see a lot of minutes in goal, while transfers Luke Eibler and Barrett Kaib strengthen the blue line.
MinnesotaNorthStar
Minding the gap
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
Did you really respond to a 4 year old post?
Luke was at Northeastern and was here in school last year. Kaib is a Providence transfer who spent last year in the USHL with Green Bay.
aparch
Acetaminamerican
Re: Fire Walt Kyle (nmu Is Going To The Pits!)
But I don't think anyone cares.
It's not the off season thread that was created, it's actually a four year old thread dug up from the depths of USCHO.
But I don't think anyone cares.
Luke is from Pinckney. Barrett from Pittsburgh. Both will be eligible first semester. You can find their career stats and more info for most players at hockeydb.com.
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And a thread started by an annoying multi screen named individual whose best suggestions as a replacement head coach were D-III assistants and a first year video coach. Similar to the Truth sisters in the Soo
Waddell is working with Pittsburgh. Talked to him for a while last month in Detroit. Pyle is a great guy, but 30 years removed from college hockey and takes over the ECHL Evansville Ice Men July 1. Hiller has a really good gig and is very well respected in NHL circles. Those points are moot however as you're right when you say Walt isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Nor should he. In his time at NMU, his record is 35 games better than his next closest nWCHA opponent and 50 better than the next after that.
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