Hockey Expansion

[DownOnTheFarm]

Re: Hockey Expansion

It would be really nice to see more hockey attention brought out to the West Coast. Schools like San Jose State, Stanford, and UC-Berkeley are prime real estate for a team and a competitive team at that. I'm basing this on the logic of location and academics because lets face it, a lot of these kids choose what school they attend by factors other than hockey. Why do you think a not so history thick program like Quinnipiac gets such a huge draw from top prospects?

What mid-20 testosterone latent male wouldn't want to be in Sunny California with beautiful women, beaches, and more to do than one can imagine?

 

[aparch]

Rocky Wirtz being a Northwestern grad is definitely something to consider on that front.

Maybe they're using the Frozen Four in a couple years as a gauge?

I assume (I know, insert the assume makes an a** joke here) that if Rocky was interested in being the Pegula of the Midwest, he would have struck right around the same time that Pegula made his Penn State announcement. Which would have really built steam being piggybacked on the Blackhawks 2010 Cup win, and could have promoted the hell out of an Illinois pipeline for home grown talent.

Instead, the Hawks won a second cup, Chelios is rumored to be spearheading an investigative team for Northwestern (while also performing scouting duties for the Red Wings and watching his son play for the Chicago Wolves), and Don Levin is rumored to have helped bankroll ASU instead of a school in Chicagoland. And Illinois youth still have to leave the state for junior hockey.

The AHL Wolves attendance numbers are juiced by Boy/Girl Scout nights and Rockford "fans" wanting to see the Baby Hawks on Saturday nights; but they're hemorrhaging season ticket holders.

The USHL Steel, bless them, get by with few fans and fewer advertising. And somehow are still alive after the rumored demise of their ice arena when the Hawks had Johnny's Icehouse #2 built.

The ECHL failed after a year. (I think given a second year it would have survived, but attendance and rent numbers killed it.)

Multiple junior teams have come and gone from the western suburbs (NAHL's Chicago Freeze and Chicago Hitmen)

Chicago is an NHL town, not a hockey town. (I would love to see that change though.)

Jimmy John, or whatever his real name is, was the rumored donor thinking of helping kick start the Illini, correct? I don't think anything is imminent, but if he wants it to be, the money could be there.

Yes, I read/heard the same, but that was prior to the Assembly Hall renovation when it was still in the design phase. They should have just pulled a Nebraska and added the ice plant piping as a "just in case."

 

[davyd83]

It would be really nice to see more hockey attention brought out to the West Coast. Schools like San Jose State, Stanford, and UC-Berkeley are prime real estate for a team and a competitive team at that. I'm basing this on the logic of location and academics because lets face it, a lot of these kids choose what school they attend by factors other than hockey. Why do you think a not so history thick program like Quinnipiac gets such a huge draw from top prospects?

What mid-20 testosterone latent male wouldn't want to be in Sunny California with beautiful women, beaches, and more to do than one can imagine?

Where are the great beaches close to campus at San Jose, Berkeley and Palo Alto?

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Hockey Expansion

We already know that Northwestern is one of the three per a comment from Mike Eaves. I'll guess the other two are Illinois and Nebraska. Illinois is more hope than guess I suppose.

"According to Eaves, former UW defenseman Chris Chelios is involved in the group studying the feasibility of adding men’s hockey at Northwestern."

http://m.jsonline.com/sports/blogs/274926991.html

Northwestern was the host of the first ever "Big 10 Hockey Championship" a couple years ago. Pre-Big 10 Hockey Conference.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Hockey Expansion

More on the Iowa arena:

http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/big...oralville-iowa-looking-at-new-7000-seat-arena

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: Hockey Expansion

Can't imagine that they're looking at that large of a rink without any potential tenant options. I think that makes it extremely likely that its Iowa and Northwestern...with a possibility of Nebraska.

Frankly western hockey can handle more schools. Look at schools within a couple hundred miles of Minnesota...Minnesota State, UND, UNO, UMD, Tech...lots of excess talent in the area.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Hockey Expansion

I find it utterly amazing, in the wide variety of threads in this forum that talk about "expansion here" or "expansion there", how almost nobody talks about Title IX implications, which, after the facilities side of things, is one of the bigger impediments to adding hockey.

You have to have a place to play.

You have to have a place to practice.

You have to add women's scholarships in women's scholarship sports, to say nothing of endowing the necessary men's scholarships for the sport.

Then, you have to have the facilities necessary for whatever women's sport(s) you have to add to stay in Title IX compliance. If you don't have a hockey arena to play in, then, oh, you're going to have build one of those, too.

Did I forget to mention that owning and operating an ice rink is crazy expensive?

This isn't easy to accomplish, even at large well funded schools (read: Big 10) or a lot more schools would have hockey.

If any Big 10 schools are seriously looking at hockey, some of the league's or individual schools thought process might be based in this:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...projections-college-football-playoff/8198437/

Big 10 member schools are about to be flush with more money, a LOT more money, that they never had before that may very well be the impetus for hockey at some of them

 

[aparch]

I find it utterly amazing, in the wide variety of threads in this forum that talk about "expansion here" or "expansion there", how almost nobody talks about Title IX implications, which, after the facilities side of things, is one of the bigger impediments to adding hockey.

You have to have a place to play.

You have to have a place to practice.

You have to add women's scholarships in women's scholarship sports, to say nothing of endowing the necessary men's scholarships for the sport.

Then, you have to have the facilities necessary for whatever women's sport(s) you have to add to stay in Title IX compliance. If you don't have a hockey arena to play in, then, oh, you're going to have build one of those, too.

Did I forget to mention that owning and operating an ice rink is crazy expensive?

This isn't easy to accomplish, even at large well funded schools (read: Big 10) or a lot more schools would have hockey.

If any Big 10 schools are seriously looking at hockey, some of the league's or individual schools thought process might be based in this:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...projections-college-football-playoff/8198437/

Big 10 member schools are about to be flush with more money, a LOT more money, that they never had before that may very well be the impetus for hockey at some of them

Practice and play rinks can be the same.

Some schools may be tipped too heavy toward female sports proportionally to the student enrollment. Adding Mens Hockey only could balance things out.

 

[aparch]

Northwestern was the host of the first ever "Big 10 Hockey Championship" a couple years ago. Pre-Big 10 Hockey Conference.

Field Hockey maybe? Not sure why they would sponsor a championship for a sport they don't have otherwise.

 

[Rightnut]

Re: Hockey Expansion

Big 10 member schools are about to be flush with more money, a LOT more money, that they never had before that may very well be the impetus for hockey at some of them

This and the fact that their TV network needs content. Don't discount this as an additional motivating (and funding) factor. Not the main factor but certainly not an insignificant consideration.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Hockey Expansion

Practice and play rinks can be the same.

Some schools may be tipped too heavy toward female sports proportionally to the student enrollment. Adding Mens Hockey only could balance things out.

How many schools can afford a "hockey only" ice facility? Because that's what you have to have if team is going to practice there and play there, whenever they want to/need to. Most schools with an arena either have a multipurpose facility (hockey, basketball, volleyball, concerts, commencements, etc.) or they play in some municipal facility used for the very same things. If it's multipurpose, it has to be a two rink facility (which is what UNO is nearing the completion of and is what Penn State built as well). You can't play or practice when the arena is set-up for basketball.

Almost NO school in the entire country is in "true" Title IX compliance (which includes the University of Nebraska who endows a fair number more men's athletic scholarships than it does women's athletic scholarships):

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary...at-40-Most-schools-still-aren-t-in-compliance

I'd like to see a list of schools that are women's athletic scholarship-heavy. I bet they are few and far between and I'd go so far as to say that no Power 5 conference school (read: schools with D-1 football) can make that claim without even looking to see if I am right. Not a one, I bet. Can anyone refute this? I reserve the right to be wrong but I bet I'm not.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Hockey Expansion

How many schools can afford a "hockey only" ice facility? Because that's what you have to have if team is going to practice there and play there, whenever they want to/need to. Most schools with an arena either have a multipurpose facility (hockey, basketball, volleyball, concerts, commencements, etc.) or they play in some municipal facility used for the very same things. If it's multipurpose, it has to be a two rink facility (which is what UNO is nearing the completion of and is what Penn State built as well). You can't play or practice when the arena is set-up for basketball.

Almost NO school in the entire country is in "true" Title IX compliance (which includes the University of Nebraska who endows a fair number more men's athletic scholarships than it does women's athletic scholarships):

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary...at-40-Most-schools-still-aren-t-in-compliance

I'd like to see a list of schools that are women's athletic scholarship-heavy. I bet they are few and far between and I'd go so far as to say that no Power 5 conference school (read: schools with D-1 football) can make that claim without even looking to see if I am right. Not a one, I bet. Can anyone refute this? I reserve the right to be wrong but I bet I'm not.

Now you know why SU has a women's team.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Hockey Expansion

Field Hockey maybe? Not sure why they would sponsor a championship for a sport they don't have otherwise.

They sure did. Not only did they hold this event (in conjunction with the City of Evanston), I attended it, as Nebraska played in it. It was all club teams! Big 10 club teams (well, mostly). I think the impetus for this was because the Big 10 hockey conference had already been announced, prior to this event, and somebody thought it would be "cute" to be able to say that this was the "first" one. And, that is how it was promoted, as well.

Yes, the Huskers play hockey, already:

http://www.huskerhockey.com/

As does Northwestern:

http://northwesternhockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/northwesternhockey

The event:

http://www.cityofevanston.org/news/2012/01/big-ten-hockey-in-your-own-backyard/

 

[aparch]

How many schools can afford a "hockey only" ice facility? Because that's what you have to have if team is going to practice there and play there, whenever they want to/need to. Most schools with an arena either have a multipurpose facility (hockey, basketball, volleyball, concerts, commencements, etc.) or they play in some municipal facility used for the very same things. If it's multipurpose, it has to be a two rink facility (which is what UNO is nearing the completion of and is what Penn State built as well). You can't play or practice when the arena is set-up for basketball.

Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State, Ferris State, Western Michigan, Michigan, Michigan State, Bowling Green off the top of my head.

Northern Michigan is multi-purpose but the basketball team practicies in their own facility and the floor isn't placed until hours before game time. NMU used to also juggle Olympic Speed Skating with Hockey and Basketball.

I believe rinks like Agganis and Alfond out East are similar to NMU in that they are ice arenas first, and basketball secondary with basketball practicing elsewhere.

 

[aparch]

They sure did. Not only did they hold this event (in conjunction with the City of Evanston), I attended it, as Nebraska played in it. It was all club teams! Big 10 club teams (well, mostly). I think the impetus for this was because the Big 10 hockey conference had already been announced, prior to this event, and somebody thought it would be "cute" to be able to say that this was the "first" one. And, that is how it was promoted, as well.

Yes, the Huskers play hockey, already:

http://www.huskerhockey.com/

As does Northwestern:

http://northwesternhockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/northwesternhockey

The event:

http://www.cityofevanston.org/news/2012/01/big-ten-hockey-in-your-own-backyard/

Thank you! I didn't realize that the club teams did that tournament. I did recall that most (or all) the Big10 schools have club hockey.

I just don't see the ACHA as equal to NCAA hockey. Sure there may be talent at the ACHA Division 1 level, but I think of them as below Div 3 NCAA sports.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: Hockey Expansion

Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State, Ferris State, Western Michigan, Michigan, Michigan State, Bowling Green off the top of my head.

Northern Michigan is multi-purpose but the basketball team practicies in their own facility and the floor isn't placed until hours before game time. NMU used to also juggle Olympic Speed Skating with Hockey and Basketball.

I believe rinks like Agganis and Alfond out East are similar to NMU in that they are ice arenas first, and basketball secondary with basketball practicing elsewhere.

Houston Field House used to be multi-purpose, but it now pretty much exclusive to hockey. There will be a concert there every now and then (not as much as there used to be; heck Mike Tyson fought there once), but the primary purpose is hockey for the men's, women's, and club teams.

 

[Crimson on the Glass]

Re: Hockey Expansion

OK, I am disappointed that this thread is not about unexpected news from Penn and/or Columbia.

 

[AMC]

Re: Hockey Expansion

I believe rinks like Agganis and Alfond out East are similar to NMU in that they are ice arenas first, and basketball secondary with basketball practicing elsewhere.

Alfond is now hockey only. The basketball teams moved off campus (and never practiced in the Alfond). There are occasional high school and youth games at Alfond, but the only true tenants are Black Bear MIH and WIH.

 

[aparch]

Alfond is now hockey only.

Houston Field House used to be multi-purpose, but it now pretty much exclusive to hockey.

Hockey only facilities. Not as rare as commonly thought.

 

[kwm4385]

Re: Hockey Expansion

RIT's new arena is hockey only (so far). We also still operate the old rink for clubs and high school games.