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Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

What a non-starter. Both schools *could* potentially add hockey but no-one is talking about it seriously and Omaha would raise holy hell if Lincoln got a team.

Maybe the B10 should first figure out their massive attendance problems at UW and Minnesota before thinking about adding teams no-one would care about outside of those campuses.
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

I read these last week and know the author well. The headline attached by the Strib is very misleading. This was actually the third of the series titled, “Big Ten Hockey, Part 3: Which school is next to join?
 
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Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

Let us know when they get a donor to endow $100 million for a program. Until then, it's all bunk.
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

solovsfett said:
...Omaha would raise holy hell if Lincoln got a team...
Click to expand...

Why? Wouldn't UNO-UNL become an instant rivalry that would work for both programs? Take a look at the Greater Boston area: Four D1 teams within a six-mile radius (five and an extra mile or so if you want to include Bentley). The respective fan bases may loathe and despise one another but the net effect is to raise hockey consciousness all around. What would be so different in Eastern Nebraska?
 
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Split-N said:
Why? Wouldn't UNO-UNL become an instant rivalry that would work for both programs? Take a look at the Greater Boston area: Four D1 teams within a six-mile radius (five and an extra mile or so if you want to include Bentley). The respective fan bases may loathe and despise one another but the net effect is to raise hockey consciousness all around. What would be so different in Eastern Nebraska?
Click to expand...

One, Boston is a vastly larger market than Omaha and/or Lincoln. Two, Omaha is a very loyal University of Nebraska area is most aspects.
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

I don’t know what UNO could actually _do_ about it if Nebraska wanted a program.
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

The whole Iowa thing is a joke. Yes, they built a new arena. Know where the hockey team was playing before? A shopping mall. And not a really great shopping mall, to boot. No one cares about hockey down there. It's football and wrestling.
 
The Rube said:
The whole Iowa thing is a joke.
Click to expand...

There are 5 USHL teams in Iowa and another in Omaha on the IA/NE border. I have NO idea if that would translate to hockey in Iowa City, but the USHL wouldn't be there if there wasn't interest in the state.
 
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The Rube said:
The whole Iowa thing is a joke. Yes, they built a new arena. Know where the hockey team was playing before? A shopping mall. And not a really great shopping mall, to boot. No one cares about hockey down there. It's football and wrestling.
Click to expand...

The USHL teams all draw fairly well and the AHL team averages 6400 a night.
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

It's also the third AHL franchise in a decade in Iowa...
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

Nebraska's administration gets this question fairly regularly and the response is always the same, that men's sports are all underperforming and they'd rather focus on making football, basketball, and baseball competitive than invest in yet another sport to be mediocre in.

Split-N said:
Why? Wouldn't UNO-UNL become an instant rivalry that would work for both programs? Take a look at the Greater Boston area: Four D1 teams within a six-mile radius (five and an extra mile or so if you want to include Bentley). The respective fan bases may loathe and despise one another but the net effect is to raise hockey consciousness all around. What would be so different in Eastern Nebraska?
Click to expand...
It would work for both programs if UNO had a strong and supportive fanbase. Sadly, that's really not the case, since most UNO grads end up becoming Jayskers (Nebraska football/Creighton basketball fans) or Husker faithful after they graduate. Right now UNO is the big ticket for hockey in the state of Nebraska. If Nebraska starts a hockey program you'd see UNO's fanbase evaporate overnight as the T-shirt fan alums run screaming towards UNL. The sports media in Omaha is also loaded with Lincoln J-school grads that take their Husker fandom with them to work every day. One of the main sportswriters in town, Sam Mckeown, even went on the radio during the D1 transition and said UNO should drop all athletics because they don't get good volleyball attendance.
UNO's making good strides in this regard and the move to all sports for D1 has been really good for them when it comes to breaking this, but it's still 20 years too early for UNO. If Lincoln started a program tomorrow UNO would end up dropping hockey within a decade. Hockey in Omaha's already taken a major hit due to Creighton basketball. It used to be the #3 sport in town, and between the Mavericks and Lancers hockey attendance has dropped by over half in the last 15-20 years.
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

The Rube said:
The whole Iowa thing is a joke. Yes, they built a new arena. Know where the hockey team was playing before? A shopping mall. And not a really great shopping mall, to boot. No one cares about hockey down there. It's football and wrestling.
Click to expand...

That isnt true. Hockey does decent there. That said Iowa is not getting a team.
 
aparch said:
It's also the third AHL franchise in a decade in Iowa...
Click to expand...

The Iowa Stars/Chops were one franchise. They ran into trouble with the AHL due to some shady bank dealings. The franchise was sold and moved to the Austin, TX area. The current Iowa Wild are the former Houston Aeros.
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

MadCityRich said:
There are 5 USHL teams in Iowa and another in Omaha on the IA/NE border. I have NO idea if that would translate to hockey in Iowa City, but the USHL wouldn't be there if there wasn't interest in the state.
Click to expand...

This part. This is the key part.
 
Re: Iowa, Nebraska are possibilities for Big Ten hockey: Startribune.com

duluthguy said:
Let's give credit where credit is due. This article appeared on twincities.com, which is the website of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, not Star Tribune.
Click to expand...

I fixed it.
 
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