New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

[BGDrew]

Hey guys, can we come play?!

GFM

From what I’ve heard it’s going to take some pretty big travel subsidies for that to happen.

 

[MavHockey14]

We haven’t played Wisconsin since the breakup of the oWCHA, and I can’t say anyone’s missed them. I’m not a Big hater, but other than Minnesota, I really don’t have any interest in any of their programs, and they certainly aren’t the national powers some of them used to be.

Bingo.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

It may, Drew. I get that.

But I have to say this: if you're the nCCHA, and UAH fans raise $500k in four days with a GoFundMe during a freaking pandemic and you say, "Nah, y'all aren't committed enough?" That looks super, super ****ty on you.

I think that every last one of you knows that I know all of the problems that exist with having our program in a conference. I have already begun railing not for a rink but for paying for charters to all road games and for all road opponents to fly here directly. I do not have a sense of what that cost is, but it's just about table stakes. No one wants to change planes once or twice to get here. No one wants to fly to BNA or ATL and then hop a charter bus for 2-4 hours to get here. We don't want to do that outbound — it's why the team often spends 18 hours in a sleeper bus.

If you want to be truly committed, you fly out and you fly people in. People will shut the hell up if they go from their nearest airport that the plane can get into and get dropped right at HSV, where they hop a bus and ride 20 minutes to downtown to stay in a nice hotel a short walk from the rink. You cannot beat that with a stick. Where it goes from there? I don't know. But if you do that, you survive.

GFM

 

[Sol Diablo]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

It may, Drew. I get that.

But I have to say this: if you're the nCCHA, and UAH fans raise $500k in four days with a GoFundMe during a freaking pandemic and you say, "Nah, y'all aren't committed enough?" That looks super, super ****ty on you.

I think that every last one of you knows that I know all of the problems that exist with having our program in a conference. I have already begun railing not for a rink but for paying for charters to all road games and for all road opponents to fly here directly. I do not have a sense of what that cost is, but it's just about table stakes. No one wants to change planes once or twice to get here. No one wants to fly to BNA or ATL and then hop a charter bus for 2-4 hours to get here. We don't want to do that outbound — it's why the team often spends 18 hours in a sleeper bus.

If you want to be truly committed, you fly out and you fly people in. People will shut the hell up if they go from their nearest airport that the plane can get into and get dropped right at HSV, where they hop a bus and ride 20 minutes to downtown to stay in a nice hotel a short walk from the rink. You cannot beat that with a stick. Where it goes from there? I don't know. But if you do that, you survive.

GFM

I feel that UAH has always been committed, arguably more so than many in NCAA D1, arguably more so than many in the WCHA. But just my opinion.......

 

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I feel that UAH has always been committed, arguably more so than many in NCAA D1, arguably more so than many in the WCHA. But just my opinion.......

Just stop.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

I feel that UAH has always been committed, arguably more so than many in NCAA D1, arguably more so than many in the WCHA. But just my opinion.......

I'm sorry, I blacked out from the lack of oxygen from laughing so hard. Here, let me give you EJ Brophy's number.

GFM

 

[BGDrew]

It may, Drew. I get that.

But I have to say this: if you're the nCCHA, and UAH fans raise $500k in four days with a GoFundMe during a freaking pandemic and you say, "Nah, y'all aren't committed enough?" That looks super, super ****ty on you.

How committed is a university that has cut the program twice in a decade though? There is no denying that when faced with a cut your fan base can raise a big chunk of money in a few days. But there needs to be an actual commitment from the university to quell the doubts about the program’s long term health.

 

[pdt1081]

It may, Drew. I get that.

But I have to say this: if you're the nCCHA, and UAH fans raise $500k in four days with a GoFundMe during a freaking pandemic and you say, "Nah, y'all aren't committed enough?" That looks super, super ****ty on you.

I think that every last one of you knows that I know all of the problems that exist with having our program in a conference. I have already begun railing not for a rink but for paying for charters to all road games and for all road opponents to fly here directly. I do not have a sense of what that cost is, but it's just about table stakes. No one wants to change planes once or twice to get here. No one wants to fly to BNA or ATL and then hop a charter bus for 2-4 hours to get here. We don't want to do that outbound — it's why the team often spends 18 hours in a sleeper bus.

If you want to be truly committed, you fly out and you fly people in. People will shut the hell up if they go from their nearest airport that the plane can get into and get dropped right at HSV, where they hop a bus and ride 20 minutes to downtown to stay in a nice hotel a short walk from the rink. You cannot beat that with a stick. Where it goes from there? I don't know. But if you do that, you survive.

GFM

I wouldn't expect an announcement from the CCHA anytime soon. You need a plan with action, first. Some announcements of a couple big donations, and maybe even a shovel in the dirt. There has to be something sustainable for more than a year. What you guys just did is awesome, but it's not a commitment yet.

 

[bcmsu9196]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

Would the new CCHA even entertain bringing aboard UAH, or just stick to its "original" seven with no geographic outliers, even if it would mean an even # of teams?

 

[DavidNardolillo]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

Would the new CCHA even entertain bringing aboard UAH, or just stick to its "original" seven with no geographic outliers, even if it would mean an even # of teams?

I have the same question. Why would UAH be considered for the new CCHA when they weren't in the original group? I am assuming that the other 7 schools don't want them in the conference. Surely UAH would have wanted to be included if that was an option, right? Seems even less likely the new CCHA schools would be interested now. What am I missing here?

 

[DavidNardolillo]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

But I have to say this: if you're the nCCHA, and UAH fans raise $500k in four days with a GoFundMe during a freaking pandemic and you say, "Nah, y'all aren't committed enough?" That looks super, super ****ty on you.

I am glad that UAH is back, and I hope it stays. But there is a flip side to this. Yes $750k in four days has been great, but UAH has been trying to endow the program for years, and the same folks who donated now presumably ignored them before, knowing full well the program was scraping by. It took threatening to yank the program to engage the donor base. At best, that's a mixed signal, regardless of whether the previous fundraising inertia is the fault of the school, alumni, or both. I hope this episode finally engages the resources to put the program on solid ground.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

But I have to say this: if you're the nCCHA, and UAH fans raise $500k in four days with a GoFundMe during a freaking pandemic and you say, "Nah, y'all aren't committed enough?" That looks super, super ****ty on you.

To play devil's advocate if I'm the nCCHA commish - that tells me that you have a small group of passionate fans, but you lack long-term institutional support.

 

[Sol Diablo]

I'm sorry, I blacked out from the lack of oxygen from laughing so hard. Here, let me give you EJ Brophy's number.

GFM

So didn't Brophy agree to subsidize travel of many WCHA to Huntsville, thus indicating UAH is highly committed to hockey? Didn't fans just raise a nice chunk of money to keep the program alive? Didn't the nCCHA basically kick 3 teams out of the WCHA? I must be missing something here.
Please enlighten me.

 

[Sol Diablo]

To play devil's advocate if I'm the nCCHA commish - that tells me that you have a small group of passionate fans, but you lack long-term institutional support.

I suspect you are correct, with the current administration.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

How committed is a university that has cut the program twice in a decade though? There is no denying that when faced with a cut your fan base can raise a big chunk of money in a few days. But there needs to be an actual commitment from the university to quell the doubts about the program’s long term health.

Actually, I think the "commitment" that you'll see from UAH is an agreement to fund it at around $500k. The rest is going to be on the people who just made a lot happen in four days. Can they make it $1.5MM instead of $750K? I honestly don't know, Drew. I hope so.

I wouldn't expect an announcement from the CCHA anytime soon. You need a plan with action, first. Some announcements of a couple big donations, and maybe even a shovel in the dirt. There has to be something sustainable for more than a year. What you guys just did is awesome, but it's not a commitment yet.

I wouldn't expect anything before January or February at best. The school and the alumni have a lot of work to do. The two alumni leading this each dropped $125k today on this. They're serious businessmen who want to keep this happening. They're going to have to sell the seven nCCHA schools just as much as Darren Dawson will.

Would the new CCHA even entertain bringing aboard UAH, or just stick to its "original" seven with no geographic outliers, even if it would mean an even # of teams?

I have never understood the hatred of an odd-numbered conference. It has advantages in scheduling. Again, as we learned in 2010, applying to get into the CCHA when we'd make them an even number of teams is no sure thing!

I have the same question. Why would UAH be considered for the new CCHA when they weren't in the original group? I am assuming that the other 7 schools don't want them in the conference. Surely UAH would have wanted to be included if that was an option, right? Seems even less likely the new CCHA schools would be interested now. What am I missing here?

The seven schools were right to doubt UAH's institutional commitment. This is a commitment of a different kind. It's about five hours old in being a real deal, so to quote Winston Wolfe, "let's not start ####### each other's ##### yet."

I am glad that UAH is back, and I hope it stays. But there is a flip side to this. Yes $750k in four days has been great, but UAH has been trying to endow the program for years, and the same folks who donated now presumably ignored them before, knowing full well the program was scraping by. It took threatening to yank the program to engage the donor base. At best, that's a mixed signal, regardless of whether the previous fundraising inertia is the fault of the school, alumni, or both. I hope this episode finally engages the resources to put the program on solid ground.

The previous AD did very little to push for the pledges made. I think I got one phone call in three years, and I had $4,000 outstanding on my pledge. We have a different AD who's not solely focused on himself (ask any staff member in Spragins Hall and they'll agree with that). That's got to help just a little bit.

To play devil's advocate if I'm the nCCHA commish - that tells me that you have a small group of passionate fans, but you lack long-term institutional support.

I agree. I counter with a question about how many nCCHA schools have a broad donor base above the $250 yearly mark. I honestly don't know! And yes, the University has given us a year. We're going to have to raise $1.5MM for 2021-22 in the next few months for any of this to matter a ****.

So didn't Brophy agree to subsidize travel of many WCHA to Huntsville, thus indicating UAH is highly committed to hockey? Didn't fans just raise a nice chunk of money to keep the program alive? Didn't the nCCHA basically kick 3 teams out of the WCHA? I must be missing something here.
Please enlighten me.

WHBT. IHTH. HAND. SYO.

GFM

 

[aparch]

To play devil's advocate if I'm the nCCHA commish - that tells me that you have a small group of passionate fans, but you lack long-term institutional support.

How much was local? How much is continuous? I can't see a GoFundMe every year to balance the books as a viable finance stream... (glares in the direction the Women's side of the WCHA)

That being said, there is no way I'm raining on this parade. Southern hockey works as seen by the longevity of this program, the Gwinnett Gladiators, Nashville Predators, and their predecessors who paved the way. (Glares at the former ownership group of the Atlanta Thrashers.)

This is either going to be the best going away party college hockey has ever seen... or it's one hell of a "Year One" new beginnings party for UAH.

 

[lakersparty]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

If UAH hockey is indeed able to play, could the new CCHA accept UAH as an affiliate member like they did with Alaska back in the day? It would be a good method to test their commitment without totally shutting the door on them.

 

[Sean Pickett]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

I agree. I counter with a question about how many nCCHA schools have a broad donor base above the $250 yearly mark. I honestly don't know!

Luckily, all of the nCCHA schools are public (and honored my FOIA requests), so I have their NCAA Financials from 2010 through 2018. The average annual donations to their hockey programs have been:
Bemidji State, $360,953
Minnesota State, $220,074 (10 years)
Michigan Tech, $180,904
Bowling Green, $138,500 (10 years)
Ferris State, $78,570
Northern Michigan, $51,339
Lake Superior State, $37,242

For 2018 the donations for each program were:
Minnesota State, $286,161
Bemidji State, $277,233
Michigan Tech, $102,822
Ferris State, $89,450
Northern Michigan, $24,085
Bowling Green, $19,428
Lake Superior State, $600

Each programs' highest and lowest reported annual donations to their programs:
Bemidji State
2011, $709,898 (first year in the WCHA)
2010, $108,689
Bowling Green
2010, $724,982 (I believe this was the the year BGSU's team was on the chopping block)
2016, $8,315
Ferris State
2014, $118,987 (first year in the WCHA)
2010, $44,444
Lake Superior State
2015, $116,814
2018, $600
Michigan Tech
2013, $466,456
2012, $66,154
Minnesota State
2017, $353,060
2012, $87,178
Northern Michigan
2012, $111,867
2018, $24,085

By the way, Bowling Green was unable to maintain their high donation rate for hockey and in fact 2016-18 are the worst of the 10 years I have the information for:
2010, $724,982
2011, $63,906
2012, $85,428
2013, $101,924
2014, $135,158
2015, $101,164
2016, $8,315
2017, $33,369
2018, $19,428
2019, $111,326

So, UAH has already exceeded the amount BGSU raised when their program was on the chopping block.

While these numbers don't give the number of donors who gave $250+ every year, they do give an overview of how well (or poorly) the programs are supported through direct donations.

Sean

 

[pdt1081]

By the way, Bowling Green was unable to maintain their high donation rate for hockey and in fact 2016-18 are the worst of the 10 years I have the information for:
2010, $724,982
2011, $63,906
2012, $85,428
2013, $101,924
2014, $135,158
2015, $101,164
2016, $8,315
2017, $33,369
2018, $19,428
2019, $111,326

So, UAH has already exceeded the amount BGSU raised when their program was on the chopping block.

While these numbers don't give the number of donors who gave $250+ every year, they do give an overview of how well (or poorly) the programs are supported through direct donations.

Sean

2016 is an interesting year. BGSU received a "transformational gift" of $2 million that resulted in the name change to the Slater Family Ice Arena.

As for their fundraiser when the program was saved, May of 2010, BGSU topped $2 million. I don't know the details of those funds, whether they had received $2 million in cash by that point, or that was the amount pledged over so many years.
https://www.bgsu.edu/news/2010/05/bring-back-the-glory-campaign-tops-2million.html

 

[moose97]

Re: New CCHA Back From The Ashes.

How much was local? How much is continuous? I can't see a GoFundMe every year to balance the books as a viable finance stream...

This. Looking through the GoFundMe donations list is a laundry list of college team fans who have nothing else to spend money on currently. How, exactly, is this sustainable?