NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

[John J. MacInnes]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Why not do the hockey tournament the way lacrosse does it. First round is at the rink of the higher seeds. You could schedule that on a Tuesday, followed by super regionals played on Saturday and Sunday. It might have prevented St. Cloud from losing yet again.

This has been covered ad nauseum before. "Super regionals" don't work in hockey because of practice/pregame ice time and locker room space. Four teams at a site is the optimum number.

 

[Kepler]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

There is no "must." The current system, although ridiculous, can always continue to operate.

The best system is 2 weeks of single game elimination at the better seed. Bids as now with AQ and AL. Field ranked 1-16 by PWR, no exceptions, no bullsh-t. If that matches up conference rivals, so be it. If Factory Derp University has to play at Tiny Liberal Arts College, tough sh-t. Play better next year.

8 1Rs; reseed; 4 QFs; reseed; F4.

Clean, simple, fair.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

I'm going to be talking to one of the D-I committee members tomorrow for a story on USCHO that will follow up on some of the decision making behind the 2020 and 2021 regional sites. Anything anyone would like me to ask about?

 

[LTsatch]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

I'm going to be talking to one of the D-I committee members tomorrow for a story on USCHO that will follow up on some of the decision making behind the 2020 and 2021 regional sites. Anything anyone would like me to ask about?

What will happen if Yale and SHU make the field as co-hosts in Bridgeport at SHU's home rink?

 

[Numbers]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

I'm going to be talking to one of the D-I committee members tomorrow for a story on USCHO that will follow up on some of the decision making behind the 2020 and 2021 regional sites. Anything anyone would like me to ask about?

Who else bid?

 

[GB Puck Fan]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

I'm going to be talking to one of the D-I committee members tomorrow for a story on USCHO that will follow up on some of the decision making behind the 2020 and 2021 regional sites. Anything anyone would like me to ask about?

Who else bid?

Is the NCAA satisfied with the number of sites to choose from?

Is the NCAA satisfied with the quality of sites to choose from?

Is the NCAA satisfied with the location of sites to choose from? (i.e. enough out west?)

If the answer is "no" to any of those, what will change to make that a "yes"?

What feedback, if any, did it get from previous bidders that did not seek games this time (ie. Resch Center in Green Bay said not bidding because of xxxx)? If none, did the NCAA even ask, or will it?

Are there any of the requirements it is considering changing, based on the bids submitted, not submitted, feedback, etc?

Are there any format changes being considered, based on the bids submitted (or any other factor)?

Would it consider bids in the same city as an institution, but not in the home rink, in order to satisfy the neutral ice requirement? (i.e. the Coliseum in Madison instead of the Kohl Center, the other Omaha rink, etc)

Has attendance at the regionals or Frozen Four been a concern? If so, what will be done to address that? (site selection, ticket prices, game times, etc)

 

[davyd83]

Those are mostly gone:
Sacred Heart plays in AHL arena in Bridgeport
AIC plays in AHL arena in Springfield
Holy Cross plays in AHL arena in Worcester
Canisius plays in Harbor Center
Bentley - has own new arena
RIT - has own relatively new arena
Army, Air Force, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris - I can't speak to the quality of their facilities in this context, but know they are definitely not community barns.
Niagara has their own facility that I know is sub-standard for an event like this and for TV.

How.do you secure dates at these multi tennent facilities in case of a possible regional?

 

[duper]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

It might have prevented St. Cloud from losing yet again.

I mean, another way to prevent St. Cloud losing yet again would have been, you know, their players scoring more goals then their opponents.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

How.do you secure dates at these multi tennent facilities in case of a possible regional?

Good question. Sacred Heart's home league series against RIT had to be played Wednesday-Friday because Saturday and Sunday were booked. Had they been in the first round of the AHA playoffs, that arena would have had Sesame Street Live with shows on Saturday and Sunday.

 

[Ed Trefzger]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Who else bid?

Is the NCAA satisfied with the number of sites to choose from?

Is the NCAA satisfied with the quality of sites to choose from?

Is the NCAA satisfied with the location of sites to choose from? (i.e. enough out west?)

If the answer is "no" to any of those, what will change to make that a "yes"?

What feedback, if any, did it get from previous bidders that did not seek games this time (ie. Resch Center in Green Bay said not bidding because of xxxx)? If none, did the NCAA even ask, or will it?

Are there any of the requirements it is considering changing, based on the bids submitted, not submitted, feedback, etc?

Are there any format changes being considered, based on the bids submitted (or any other factor)?

Would it consider bids in the same city as an institution, but not in the home rink, in order to satisfy the neutral ice requirement? (i.e. the Coliseum in Madison instead of the Kohl Center, the other Omaha rink, etc)

Has attendance at the regionals or Frozen Four been a concern? If so, what will be done to address that? (site selection, ticket prices, game times, etc)

Good stuff. You have a couple on there I hadn't considered.

 

[GB Puck Fan]

I mean, another way to prevent St. Cloud losing yet again would have been, you know, their players scoring more goals then their opponents.

That’s just crazy talk there.

 

[WeAreNDHockey]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Back in the early 90s when on campus sites were used, I am wondering if those arenas were more readily available to remain open for a regional weekend and didn't have other commitments booked like newer multi purpose facilities do now.

I think you have answered your own question, at least partially. The arenas we see now are multi-purpose and are used for many things. Plus the costs associated with building these things nowadays almost dictate 365 day per year usage. The cost of building a modern arena of any size has so far outstripped inflation over the last few decades because the arenas are nothing like they used to be. Even something like the Compton Family Ice Arena on Notre Dame's campus doesn't sit idle for more than a day or two a year.

 

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

This has been covered ad nauseum before. "Super regionals" don't work in hockey because of practice/pregame ice time and locker room space. Four teams at a site is the optimum number.

"Ad nauseum?" I doubt it. You bring up practice and pre-game ice time. On practice, how long do teams get to practice at the Frozen Four? I think they get one hour on Wednesday, a total of four hours of ice occupancy as sit were. Assuming that first round games would be played at campus rinks, how would four teams per super regional be any different than four teams at the FF? And, continuing that logic, how would four teams occupying four locker rooms at a regional be any different than four teams occupying four locker rooms at a FF.

This is not out of the box thinking. Two regionals in decent sized arenas near metropolitan areas (Manchester, Worcester or Providence in the east, Twin Cities or Detroit in the west), emphasize geographical placement, and attendance would be better. Worth a try in my book because what we have now is not working.

 

[davyd83]

"Ad nauseum?" I doubt it. You bring up practice and pre-game ice time. On practice, how long do teams get to practice at the Frozen Four? I think they get one hour on Wednesday, a total of four hours of ice occupancy as sit were. Assuming that first round games would be played at campus rinks, how would four teams per super regional be any different than four teams at the FF? And, continuing that logic, how would four teams occupying four locker rooms at a regional be any different than four teams occupying four locker rooms at a FF.

This is not out of the box thinking. Two regionals in decent sized arenas near metropolitan areas (Manchester, Worcester or Providence in the east, Twin Cities or Detroit in the west), emphasize geographical placement, and attendance would be better. Worth a try in my book because what we have now is not working.

Four teams at a site works. Six or Eight teams does not.

 

[LtPowers]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Would it consider bids in the same city as an institution, but not in the home rink, in order to satisfy the neutral ice requirement?

They frequently do this. Very frequently. This year alone, the NE regional was in Manchester, home to UNH; and the East regional was in Providence, home to Brown and Providence. And, hell, the Frozen Four was in Buffalo, home to Canisius.


Powers &8^]

 

[LTsatch]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

They frequently do this. Very frequently. This year alone, the NE regional was in Manchester, home to UNH; and the East regional was in Providence, home to Brown and Providence. And, hell, the Frozen Four was in Buffalo, home to Canisius.


Powers &8^]

Actually, UNH is in Durham NH.

 

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Actually, UNH is in Durham NH.

At least the home rink is. Per Wikipedia, that’s a campus that’s split around a few cities in the area.

 

[Split-N]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

At least the home rink is. Per Wikipedia, that’s a campus that’s split around a few cities in the area.

Wikipedia is wrong on that count. I'm not a UNH grad but I've been there enough times to know that the UNH campus is in Durham. There may be things like associated farmland and the odd satellite facility that are in other jurisdictions but UNH itself is indeed in Durham. And depending how you measure, Manchester may actually be a few miles closer to UMass-Lowell than it is to UNH.

 

[LtPowers]

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Wikipedia is wrong on that count. I'm not a UNH grad but I've been there enough times to know that the UNH campus is in Durham. There may be things like associated farmland and the odd satellite facility that are in other jurisdictions but UNH itself is indeed in Durham. And depending how you measure, Manchester may actually be a few miles closer to UMass-Lowell than it is to UNH.

My bad; I skimmed the Wikipedia article. University of New Hampshire at Manchester is in Manchester, though. =)


Powers &8^]

 

[UMD21]

Sorry to have an opinion here folks - consider the source...
Two regionals is plenty. 2.00001 or more is too many.

That’s actually a really good point. We already have regionals on offsetting days, might as well just stick more together. If people are going to travel for the sole purpose of watching hockey, might as well give them a buffet of games. We might even see packed arenas that way.