It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

[MUhawks628]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

"BTHC (8 teams)"

Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Penn State, Notre Dame, Uconn.
Big Ten goes to 16 teams (likely candidates to fill the other spots are Kansas, Missouri, Syracuse and Rutgers). Notre Dame can even join for hockey only if they want. Gets the camel's nose under the tent.

The Big 10 does not accept partial members. Will never happen.

 

[Kepler]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

The most likely scenario is very little change. The BTHC teams will have their conference, the rest of the teams will probably line up just as they are, except I don't understand why AF isn't in the WCHA, and sharing the Alaska travel pain made sense once but not now when the CCHA is going to have serious money worries.

There is no reason for the eastern conferences to be affected at all.

 

[Almington]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

It's already the Big Twelve, which is the Big Ten plus at least two others.

Teams that only want to be partial Big Ten programs need not apply. We're elitist like that. All or Nothing. Deal with it.

 

[Eaglefan06]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

It's already the Big Twelve, which is the Big Ten plus at least two others.

IF Notre Dame wanted to join the Big Ten (lets face it no way they are just going to join the Hockey league as the Big Ten wouldn't allow that) then the Big Ten would find someone to take that other spot. They for sure wouldn't take UConn.

 

[manurespreader]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Ok, let's play what if for a second. These are rumors, but where there is smoke there is fire generally.

What if the revenue the CCHA team get from their remaining structure falls short of what they need, and two if not more of those teams drop hockey.

What if revenue in the remaining WCHA schools is about the same as before, ( a stretch I know)

what if additional present Big Ten schools add hockey, say two of them in 2015.

Where would we be then as a college hockey community?

This imho, is the real problem.

 

[redhawk95]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

So where does Notre Dame end up?

And why would the CCHA lose them?

 

[redhead18]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

The most likely scenario is very little change. The BTHC teams will have their conference, the rest of the teams will probably line up just as they are, except I don't understand why AF isn't in the WCHA, and sharing the Alaska travel pain made sense once but not now when the CCHA is going to have serious money worries.

There is no reason for the eastern conferences to be affected at all.

I also think there will be very little change. I see the WCHA staying at 10, BTHC-6, CCHA either stays at 8 or could possibly add UAH, RMU and Mercyhurst bringing it back to 11 schools, AHA-10 or 12, ECAC-12 and HEA-10.

 

[Spidermonkey86]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Why don't they take out the Ivy Leagues give them their own conference. Take The Air Force Academy, and put them into the WCHA. Then combine the remaining AHA schools into a new ECAC. You could also probably reunite the two Alaska schools into one conference.

 

[NMU8405]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Why don't they take out the Ivy Leagues give them their own conference. Take The Air Force Academy, and put them into the WCHA. Then combine the remaining AHA schools into a new ECAC. You could also probably reunite the two Alaska schools into one conference.

Air Force will stay with their rival Army...and with the rumors of Navy starting a program that would fit in the AHA...I doubt they will go anywhere.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Why don't they take out the Ivy Leagues give them their own conference. Take The Air Force Academy, and put them into the WCHA. Then combine the remaining AHA schools into a new ECAC. You could also probably reunite the two Alaska schools into one conference.

And the actual retail price is.....

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ueywqUBW3oM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[AFHockeyFan]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Air Force isn't going anywhere anytime soon. They've won three of the last four AHA championships but have only won four games against current WCHA members (DU once, CC once, Bemidji twice) in the last five years. There are significant obstacles (American-born players, service committment, etc.) that trump geography for conference affiliation. Plus, when you're in the Air Force, flying a lot isn't a problem.

 

[NMU8405]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Air Force isn't going anywhere anytime soon. They've won three of the last four AHA championships but have only won four games against current WCHA members (DU once, CC once, Bemidji twice) in the last five years. There are significant obstacles (American-born players, service committment, etc.) that trump geography for conference affiliation. Plus, when you're in the Air Force, flying a lot isn't a problem.

Most explosive team in college hockey?

 

[RMUColonials]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

UConn would be full member in the expansion to sixteen. They are an up-and-comer in all major sports--football had a BCS bid this year and played at the Big House, men's and women's hoops are always solid, and they hosted a baseball regional last year and are ranked again this year--quality in all three major sports. Hockey gives the rest of the conference a doormat for a while until that program grows. Plus you finally add the East Coast market for the network. UConn is a natural choice for expansion.

Not a chance. The BTN isn't adding UConn. There are only 2 schools that they would add a 13th and 14th member for......Notre Dame or Texas.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

It's already the Big Twelve, which is the Big Ten plus at least two others.



UConn would be full member in the expansion to sixteen. They are an up-and-comer in all major sports--football had a BCS bid this year and played at the Big House, men's and women's hoops are always solid, and they hosted a baseball regional last year and are ranked again this year--quality in all three major sports. Hockey gives the rest of the conference a doormat for a while until that program grows. Plus you finally add the East Coast market for the network. UConn is a natural choice for expansion.

You do realize that UConn is a basketball heavy school in a basketball heavy conference right? They aren't leaving the Big East moneymaker anytime soon, certainly not for a hockey they care nothing about.

 

[boblav1]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Isn't PC also one of the founding members?

Yes, and Lowell has been a member since the league started play.

 

[bigmrg74]

Why is it that nobody realizes that if there's any school out there that's open to flying around a lot, it would be Air Force. You guys do realize they go to school to fly stuff right?

 

[uaafanblog]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Why is it that nobody realizes that if there's any school out there that's open to flying around a lot, it would be Air Force. You guys do realize they go to school to fly stuff right?

You do realize that pilots are only a small percentage of graduates from the school right?

 

[Star2City]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

Cut #1
Bold = BCS school

[U]BTHC[/U]     [U]WCHA[/U]    [U]CCHA[/U]    [U]HEA[/U]      [U]AHA[/U]     [U]Empire[/U]  [U]Ivy[/U]        [U]Unassigned[/U]

[B]UMn[/B]      UND     FSU     [B]BC[/B]       SHU     CCT     Harvard    UAH
[B]UW[/B]       SCSU    WMU     BU       BNT     SLU     Dartmouth
[B]UMi[/B]      MTU     LSSU    NE       HC      UC      Yale
[B]MSU[/B]      tUMD    NMU     Prov     AIC     RPI     Princeton
[B]tOSU[/B]     DU      MIA     UML      Army    CLG     Cornell
[B]PSU[/B]      CC      BGSU    MMK      UFA     RIT     Brown
         UAA     UAF     UNH      [B]UConn[/B]   CAN
         UM-Man  [B]NDU[/B]     Mass     QPAC    NIA
         UNO     RMU     UVM
         BSU     Mercy   Maine

Untouched conferences: WCHA, HEA, Ivy
Added to conferences: CCHA
Changed: AHA
New: Empire

Rip it apart, but have something constructive to argue with. Don't say "It will never happen", because the status quo won't stand once the BTHC hits the ice running. Come up with something...

There's a number of schools that will add NCAA DI hockey, if given a conference opportunity:

Lindenwood, Minot St, Minn St-Moorhead, British Columbia (mid-April NCAA anouncement)

Others that could/would, under the right circumstances :

Navy, Rhode Island, Liberty, possibly Grand Valley State

As well as some dream additions:

Buffalo, Syracuse, DePaul, Iowa St, Texas, Oklahoma, Stanford, Washington, Oregon (with Nike $'s), Utah (with the advent of new Pac10, Big 12, Texas, and likely Oklahoma networks, the need for additional programming is acute.)

WCHA adds UBC and loses MTU, creating the potential for more West Coast additions.

Notre Dame, Miami, Bowling Green, and W Michigan secede from CCHA and add Robert Morris, UAH, Lindenwood, and Niagara to form new conference

CCHA adds MTU, plus Grand Valley St, MSU-Moorhead, and Minot State to create regional northern tier league

AHA adds Liberty, Navy, and Rhode Island


Just don't see Notre Dame and Miami staying with Upper Peninsula schools. While UAH, Robert Morris, Lindenwood, and Niagara are not exactly well known names, they at least offer media coverage in relatively large metro areas. Notre Dame has probably been working the phones with schools Big East schools like DePaul, Pitt, Syracuse, UConn to upgrade, and maybe even Iowa State and Texas, etc., but the probability of those happening is likely remote.

 

[CHFAN222]

Re: It's Realignment time, it's realignment time! Make it work

There's a number of schools that will add NCAA DI hockey, if given a conference opportunity:

Lindenwood, Minot St, Minn St-Moorhead, British Columbia (mid-April NCAA anouncement)

Others that could/would, under the right circumstances :

Navy, Rhode Island, Liberty, possibly Grand Valley State

As well as some dream additions:

Buffalo, Syracuse, DePaul, Iowa St, Texas, Oklahoma, Stanford, Washington, Oregon (with Nike $'s), Utah (with the advent of new Pac10, Big 12, Texas, and likely Oklahoma networks, the need for additional programming is acute.)

WCHA adds UBC and loses MTU, creating the potential for more West Coast additions.

Notre Dame, Miami, Bowling Green, and W Michigan secede from CCHA and add Robert Morris, UAH, Lindenwood, and Niagara to form new conference

CCHA adds MTU, plus Grand Valley St, MSU-Moorhead, and Minot State to create regional northern tier league

AHA adds Liberty, Navy, and Rhode Island


Just don't see Notre Dame and Miami staying with Upper Peninsula schools. While UAH, Robert Morris, Lindenwood, and Niagara are not exactly well known names, they at least offer media coverage in relatively large metro areas. Notre Dame has probably been working the phones with schools Big East schools like DePaul, Pitt, Syracuse, UConn to upgrade, and maybe even Iowa State and Texas, etc., but the probability of those happening is likely remote.

The best bet for BCS schools to upgrade is to have a school that is planning on replacing or upgrading its arena.

This could be tough since the economy is still struggling and credit may be tough so I am not sure about which schools will still be doing this.

U Neb Lincoln opted to not add ice capabilities to its new basketball arena so they are most likely not going to add a team.
NC State could add a team at the drop of a hat but most likely won't.
Seton Hall could add one as well since they play Mens bball at the Prudential center and their club team plays there as well.
Washington?
USF is another school that could add one easily and would make more sense than NC state.

 

[bigmrg74]

You do realize that pilots are only a small percentage of graduates from the school right?

Yeah, but they're still all about the airplane.

As soon as I win that Mega-Millions jackpot tomorrow, expect an announcement from GVSU about looking into adding hockey and looking to join a conference with the rest of it's GLIAC bretheran.