September 12, 2010
Sources: Penn State Will Add Varsity Hockey
By Mike Eidelbes and Jess Myers
In a move that will significantly alter the college hockey landscape, the formal announcement of Penn State’s plans to launch of a men’s hockey program is imminent, sources tell Inside College Hockey.
Multiple sources in college and junior hockey, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the plan; one source told INCH that the university will make a formal announcement this Friday. A Penn State spokesperson late last week declined to comment on the matter.
With an enrollment of approximately 45,000 students at its State College campus, including nearly 39,000 undergraduates, Penn State would become the second-largest institution in the United States to offer Division I men’s college hockey—only Ohio State, with more than 52,000 students at its Columbus campus, is bigger. The Nittany Lions would become the 59th Division I men’s hockey program.
“It is great for the sport,” WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said, while stopping short of confirming the plans. “A program of that stature to potentially add a Division I men’s hockey program is an exciting thing for the sport.”
While a university with the name recognition of Penn State adding a varsity program can only help the profile of college hockey, the impact on current conference configurations, especially the CCHA and WCHA, could be significant. Penn State would join Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Wisconsin as the sixth Big Ten Conference institution to sponsor varsity hockey. That’s the minimum number of schools required by the NCAA for a conference to award automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and the Big Ten covets hockey for its wildly successful television network.
“At this point we’re not permitted to say a whole lot but we certainly acknowledge the fact that we have had direct contact from a WCHA standpoint with Penn State,” McLeod said. “We’re all well aware of the ramifications … of having a sixth Big Ten hockey school, and what that means for a lot of us.
“Behind the scenes the WCHA has done a lot of homework, had a good discussion with our coaches about the circumstances, and we’re trying to be proactive on a number of issues that are going to be the fallout from Penn State starting hockey.”
Last month, CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos told the Detroit News that the league was interested in adding Penn State as a 12th member. Because of its profile, location and success at the club-sport level, Penn State has long been identified as a potential candidate to add the sport at the varsity level.
“They are a very attractive choice—very attractive,” Anastos said. “They’re in a different market than we’re in, more and more U.S. players are on college rosters, and there’s tremendous growth of the sport in Pennsylvania.”
Penn State has long been rumored to be a candidate to add a varsity hockey program, but an article that appeared in the Altoona (Pa.) Mirror last month put that speculation into high gear. Citing a single anonymous source, the Mirror reported Penn State would add both men’s and women’s varsity ice hockey and build a new ice arena. The Penn State Ice Pavilion, the current home to the school’s club programs, can accommodate 1,350 fans. The Mirror report stated that the university would build a rink that would seat 6,000-8,000 people.
The state of Pennsylvania has already been home to one significant piece of offseason news: Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will host the 2013 and ’14 NCAA Frozen Fours. This announcement could have an even greater long-term impact on the sport.
