MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

[hattrick16]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Even numbers are nice, but not necessary. If you have a lazy league schedule maker, than an odd number of teams isn't their dream job.

I have seen a very prelim BSU schedule for next year. Right now, depending on what the NCAA allows for the opening weekend, they have five open weekends with one non-conference series left to schedule, so net four open weekends. Since every team in your league has basically the same amount of open weekends and the same amount of non-conference games, an odd numbered league can work. You just have to get a little creative with the amount of teams in league play (an even number) and the amount of teams in non-conference play or on byes (an odd number).

The current CCHA has an odd number of teams. When you're talking about 9, 10, 11 or 12 teams the odd/even thing is really irrelevant because it is really not difficult to schedule.

 

[goldy_331]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

and this would be the first anyone has heard of Iowa Stte, right?

I know I've never heard of Iowa Stte.

I know about Iowa State, but not his other one....

 

[Beer Pong Horn]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

I don't think the difference between Mankato and St. Cloud has anything to do with the schools themselves, or even really hockey. It has to do with Mankato being part of a metropolitan area of ~97,000, versus St. Cloud being a metropolitan area of ~168,000 and part of the larger Minneapolis-St. Paul CSA. Basically, it's as close as a non-rodent school can be to the Twin Cities.

I don't think there's an appreciable difference here. St. Cloud happens to be in the MSP CSA, but in reality it's only 20 miles and 15 minutes closer than Mankato. The population of the Mankato MSA is definitely smaller than that of the St. Cloud MSA, though both schools draw from the entire population of Minnesota and have name recognition throughout the state (unlike, say, Southwest State or U of M-Crookston.)

Seriously, though, does Goeb have to go on with his claims? I guess the MSU and UAH ones are a given. But UWGB is total bull**** and this would be the first anyone has heard of Iowa State, right?

The New WCHA thread mentions that a Green Bay reporter confirmed that UW-GB hasn't spoken to the WCHA. Reading into it, I think that means they just aren't that interested in hockey, rather than meaning "we haven't talked to the WCHA, but have to the NCHC." Iowa State has come up on USCHO before, but I don't have any references - it might just have been speculation based on their club team's success.

 

[UMD21]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

I don't think the difference between Mankato and St. Cloud has anything to do with the schools themselves, or even really hockey. It has to do with Mankato being part of a metropolitan area of ~97,000, versus St. Cloud being a metropolitan area of ~168,000 and part of the larger Minneapolis-St. Paul CSA. Basically, it's as close as a non-rodent school can be to the Twin Cities.

Where did you get 168k for St. Cloud? 120 at most, but I don't understand what exactly they call the St. Cloud area. If you can count St. Cloud as a suburb of MSP, then you might as well call Brainerd a suburb of St. Cloud.. or Cheyenne a suburb of Denver

irrelevant, but I always go crazy driving from MSP to St. Cloud. It's anything but a suburb, an economy on its own.

 

[Biddco]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Where did you get 168k for St. Cloud? 120 at most, but I don't understand what exactly they call the St. Cloud area. If you can count St. Cloud as a suburb of MSP, then you might as well call Brainerd a suburb of St. Cloud.. or Cheyenne a suburb of Denver

irrelevant, but I always go crazy driving from MSP to St. Cloud. It's anything but a suburb, an economy on its own.

If that area along the 94 corridor continues to expand than in 20 or 30 years we may look at St. Cloud as that...

So odd that they mention UW-GB and yet it sounds like they have no interest in even starting a hockey team.

 

[Beer Pong Horn]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Where did you get 168k for St. Cloud? 120 at most, but I don't understand what exactly they call the St. Cloud area. If you can count St. Cloud as a suburb of MSP, then you might as well call Brainerd a suburb of St. Cloud.. or Cheyenne a suburb of Denver

irrelevant, but I always go crazy driving from MSP to St. Cloud. It's anything but a suburb, an economy on its own.

Ask the US Census Bureau, it was their choice. The development from Minneapolis to St. Cloud IS a lot more continuous than that from Minneapolis to Mankato, but otherwise I don't see there being a big difference.

If that area along the 94 corridor continues to expand than in 20 or 30 years we may look at St. Cloud as that...

So odd that they mention UW-GB and yet it sounds like they have no interest in even starting a hockey team.

Very true.

Yup. It's early for the WCHA leadership to be grasping at straws, it seems like they must have spoken with SOMEone at Green Bay.

 

[bunt_q]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Where did you get 168k for St. Cloud? 120 at most, but I don't understand what exactly they call the St. Cloud area. If you can count St. Cloud as a suburb of MSP, then you might as well call Brainerd a suburb of St. Cloud.. or Cheyenne a suburb of Denver

Totally not hockey related, but if you're curious, census metropolitan area definitions info is here: http://www.census.gov/population/metro/

Although, I would say "do you go crazy driving between the two?" might be a better criteria than anything the Census uses.

 

[kingdobbs]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

The New WCHA thread mentions that a Green Bay reporter confirmed that UW-GB hasn't spoken to the WCHA. Reading into it, I think that means they just aren't that interested in hockey, rather than meaning "we haven't talked to the WCHA, but have to the NCHC." Iowa State has come up on USCHO before, but I don't have any references - it might just have been speculation based on their club team's success.

Is it plausible that the BSU guy misspoke (or the writer misheard/miswrote) and meant to say UW-Milwaukee?

 

[scsutommyboy]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Where did you get 168k for St. Cloud? 120 at most, but I don't understand what exactly they call the St. Cloud area. If you can count St. Cloud as a suburb of MSP, then you might as well call Brainerd a suburb of St. Cloud.. or Cheyenne a suburb of Denver

irrelevant, but I always go crazy driving from MSP to St. Cloud. It's anything but a suburb, an economy on its own.

I know what you are saying, but the crazy thing is if you go up hwy 10, there is maybe 15 miles tops of no development otherwise it is all city the whole way up. Still not a suburb, but gettting real close. Also, 20% of people in St. Cloud drive to the twin cities to work.

 

[Flashy Man]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Here's what a Green Bay Press Gazette reporter had to say on twitter.

Talked with @GBPhoenix AD Ken Bothof, who reiterated there are no plans at this time to add men's hockey to the school's sports programs

Have no plans doesn't mean they haven't explored it. It could have been as simple as asking the WCHA for budgets from all it's members. As well as, what AD is going to just tell a reporter of big plans that a hockey team would be.

 

[Squarebanks]

Is it plausible that the BSU guy misspoke (or the writer misheard/miswrote) and meant to say UW-Milwaukee?

Green Bay was also reported in the Fairbanks rag a few weeks ago. Who knows how true the rumor is, but it's been floating around for a while.

 

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Green Bay was also reported in the Fairbanks rag a few weeks ago. Who knows how true the rumor is, but it's been floating around for a while.

I'll quote Rob Demovsky (who covers UWGB for the GB Press Gazette), who had this to say when I emailed him after that Fairbanks story got out (I also asked about the rumors of the Resch Center for the WCHA tourney):

David:
*
The UWGB hockey thing isn't happening. That athletic department couldn't fund that. Plus, there would be major Title IX issues. The school issued a statement saying it doesn't know why its name would be mentioned in that story because it has had no discussions with the WCHA.
*
Not sure about the Resch Center as a possible venue for that tournament. I will look into it.
*
Thanks,
*
Rob

 

[Beer Pong Horn]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Is it plausible that the BSU guy misspoke (or the writer misheard/miswrote) and meant to say UW-Milwaukee?

Isn't UWM something of a commuter school? I see it being something like Wayne State's foray into D-1 men's hockey, unless it really is a different environment there.

Either way, if a non-B1G D-1 school adds hockey in the Midwest, the NCHC will fight tooth-and-nail to grab it before the WCHA does. Even if it would be a better fit for the WCHA.

 

[Mav Fan]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

I'm still not sure what "like-minded" even means. But, MavsFan has a point that Mankato is broadly equivalent to SCSU, excepting its NCAA division and recent hockey success. You could feasibly recruit them to the NCHC.

MSU and SCSU are both Div II. They are both in the NSIC in other sports, along with UMD and Bemidji.

 

[Beer Pong Horn]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

MSU and SCSU are both Div II. They are both in the NSIC in other sports, along with UMD and Bemidji.

Oh, for some reason I thought that SCSU had just jumped to D-I. Maybe it was speculation that they would consider it, with NDSU and UND both up a division. In other words, SCSU and MSU-Mankato are almost entirely identical - right?

 

[MavsFan]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Oh, for some reason I thought that SCSU had just jumped to D-I. Maybe it was speculation that they would consider it, with NDSU and UND both up a division. In other words, SCSU and MSU-Mankato are almost entirely identical - right?

Yep, except it appears that their administration cares about their hockey program, unlike ours.

 

[state of hockey]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Mankato is completely happy being good to great at basketball and wrestling. "Hockey? We're D-1. That's good enough."

 

[MavsFan]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Mankato is completely happy being good to great at basketball and wrestling. "Hockey? We're D-1. That's good enough."

Correct, except I think they'd like to excel at football too.

 

[Bale]

Re: MN State-Moorhead, AL-Huntsville, WI-GB and Iowa State looking at the WCHA

Oh, for some reason I thought that SCSU had just jumped to D-I. Maybe it was speculation that they would consider it, with NDSU and UND both up a division. In other words, SCSU and MSU-Mankato are almost entirely identical - right?

There's also the added factor that SCSU almost dropped their football program over the last couple years due to funding issues.

As for MSU's admin not caring about hockey, that's not exactly true. No, they haven't done the same things that other schools have done, but they did what they had to do to get to D1 and now their hands are tied due to some of the agreements they had to make (ie the financial package they accepted to have VWC built). They probably place more emphasis on women's sports than a lot of people would like, but that's the direction that MSU has chosen to make. It doesn't sit well with a lot of hockey supporters.

 

[aparch]

Yep, except it appears that their administration cares about their hockey program, unlike ours.

Don't forget that SCSU's AD told the NCHC to go pound sand when they broke away from the WCHA. Then when they get their invite, they start singing a whole different tune.

SCSU was invited to be a bottom in the NCHC. Hope they like it...