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Niagara drops women's hockey!!

Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

NPEfan said:
We are finding the application date for transfers is also past ...most are by March 15th. Some earlier. And yes, a big issue is the schools are saying that their money is gone and can't offer anything this coming year.:(
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My heart goes out to you. Its a tough situation. There's no good answer. I wish you and all of the women on the team the best. I know that there are some schools that have an April 1st application deadline. Maybe you can catch on with one of those however make sure that it is the right school for you academically.
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

There are absolutely schools out there that you can apply to until well into the summer. Whether they are going to have roster spots/scholarship opportunity is another question.

There are also plenty of great D3 options available that for kids not on full athletic scholarship at Niagara could end up being very comparable in price to what was being paid at NU, and again, many of them will take applications until well into the summer and likely are going to have a great deal more flexibility in terms of their rosters at this stage than many of the D1's
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

WIrinkrat said:
There are absolutely schools out there that you can apply to until well into the summer. Whether they are going to have roster spots/scholarship opportunity is another question.

There are also plenty of great D3 options available that for kids not on full athletic scholarship at Niagara could end up being very comparable in price to what was being paid at NU, and again, many of them will take applications until well into the summer and likely are going to have a great deal more flexibility in terms of their rosters at this stage than many of the D1's
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This is a great point!!! D3 schools tend to be smaller and have more flexibility in admissions and the whole process is later so there will be spots available. No athletic scholarship money though..... but perhaps academic merit aid for those that qualify. Good luck to the girls...
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

WIrinkrat said:
There are absolutely schools out there that you can apply to until well into the summer. Whether they are going to have roster spots/scholarship opportunity is another question.
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Things are starting to happen... good to see. Good luck girls!
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

PrincetonFan said:
Lindenwood will be in next year, along with Penn State? That's good--lose one, but gain three. I guess that's some kind of progress.
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Although Lindenwood and Penn State are solid additions to NCAA hockey and have long traditions in the ACHA as well as strong support of athletics at both schools, losing Niagara is a big loss! To me it's a bigger loss than Wayne State. Wayne State dropping women's hockey was not a shock after they dropped the men's program; plus the economic recession hitting Michigan and Detroit especially hard, no on-campus ice facility and a really sub-par facility they were using, combined with other factors. Niagara is a much bigger loss and also a much larger surprise! It has a stable men's program, a nice on-campus ice arena, a good location (excellent for US and Canadian recruiting), being in a hockey-rich area of Northwestern NY, as well as their conference growing and stabilizing. So now we've lost 2 programs in Wayne State and now Niagara just when it looks like NCAA women's hockey starts growing with the additions of Lindenwood, Penn State, and now RIT
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

sbkbghockey said:
Although Lindenwood and Penn State are solid additions to NCAA hockey and have long traditions in the ACHA as well as strong support of athletics at both schools, losing Niagara is a big loss! To me it's a bigger loss than Wayne State. Wayne State dropping women's hockey was not a shock after they dropped the men's program; plus the economic recession hitting Michigan and Detroit especially hard, no on-campus ice facility and a really sub-par facility they were using, combined with other factors. Niagara is a much bigger loss and also a much larger surprise! It has a stable men's program, a nice on-campus ice arena, a good location (excellent for US and Canadian recruiting), being in a hockey-rich area of Northwestern NY, as well as their conference growing and stabilizing. So now we've lost 2 programs in Wayne State and now Niagara just when it looks like NCAA women's hockey starts growing with the additions of Lindenwood, Penn State, and now RIT
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Great point made above. The fall of WIH at Niagara can be directed at the AD and admin. Men's ice hockey is not going no where. The AD guided the WIH program into an ambush. They wanted this a long time ago.
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

PurpleEagles said:
Great point made above. The fall of WIH at Niagara can be directed at the AD and admin. Men's ice hockey is not going no where. The AD guided the WIH program into an ambush. They wanted this a long time ago.
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I got the feeling Wayne State was trying to make it work, they could have just cut women's hockey when they cut men's. Outside economic factors and the fact that WSU is a state school and those purse strings are controlled by the state were big factors to the program ending. Niagara made this sudden announcement and I haven't heard if they've tried working with alumni, local hockey community, etc... to try and keep the program.
 
sbkbghockey said:
I got the feeling Wayne State was trying to make it work, they could have just cut women's hockey when they cut men's. Outside economic factors and the fact that WSU is a state school and those purse strings are controlled by the state were big factors to the program ending. Niagara made this sudden announcement and I haven't heard if they've tried working with alumni, local hockey community, etc... to try and keep the program.
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No one was contacted for support and apparently this plan was in the works over a year ago.
http://niagarahub.com/2012/03/19/audio-niagara-ad-mclaughlin-talks-about-demise-of-womens-hockey/
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

sbkbghockey said:
I got the feeling Wayne State was trying to make it work, they could have just cut women's hockey when they cut men's. Outside economic factors and the fact that WSU is a state school and those purse strings are controlled by the state were big factors to the program ending. Niagara made this sudden announcement and I haven't heard if they've tried working with alumni, local hockey community, etc... to try and keep the program.
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I disagree with you fully that WSU was trying to make it work. Though the state may have been hit harder economically then many, WSU at the same time pour large sums of $$$$$ into their football program. It's a D2 program not like they get 10's of thousand coming to see them weekly. If I remember correctly the week prior to the announcement captains were named for the next year.

Not sure about the Niagara situation, but more then likely it was a cost shift to another program. It does not look good if there was no plea made to the alumni or local community.
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

PurpleEagle4ever said:
No one was contacted for support and apparently this plan was in the works over a year ago.
http://niagarahub.com/2012/03/19/audio-niagara-ad-mclaughlin-talks-about-demise-of-womens-hockey/
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That's really a shame, the lack of communication between supporters and the athletic department make this situation worse.

giwan said:
I disagree with you fully that WSU was trying to make it work. Though the state may have been hit harder economically then many, WSU at the same time pour large sums of $$$$$ into their football program. It's a D2 program not like they get 10's of thousand coming to see them weekly. If I remember correctly the week prior to the announcement captains were named for the next year.

Not sure about the Niagara situation, but more then likely it was a cost shift to another program. It does not look good if there was no plea made to the alumni or local community.
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I think it was stated on this thread earlier in the discussion, the majority of athletic programs don't make money, football and basketball teams make the most money at many universities, at some of the big hockey schools, men's hockey makes some money. A lot of schools use the revenue made at football and basketball to help cover costs of other programs. It's not a surprise they put money into football, but that doesn't mean they weren't trying for women's hockey too.
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

No it doesn't make sense! We as alumni aren't getting any answers as to why we weren't notified before the demise to help keep the program alive. Multiple letter have been written to the Administration so far and nothing has been stated or said. Its been very frustrating so far, but we are not giving up on the future of this program or the answers we deserve!
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

Has anyone got a quote from Coach MacKenzie regarding this subject? I know that he and the AD were at odds when he was "released" and I wonder if this latest news had any weight at that time as well.
 
Cali said:
Has anyone got a quote from Coach MacKenzie regarding this subject? I know that he and the AD were at odds when he was "released" and I wonder if this latest news had any weight at that time as well.
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What we have heard is there is nothing we could have done to prevent it which makes me believe it wasn't about money...A couple former coaches and players have been contacted by USCHO and a local newspaper so hopefully more light will be shed on this.
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

Cali said:
Has anyone got a quote from Coach MacKenzie regarding this subject? I know that he and the AD were at odds when he was "released" and I wonder if this latest news had any weight at that time as well.
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He did a good job of keeping this quiet, and is not likely to say much now. ;)
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

If it's any reflection on the motives, the "school" issued the news release before telling the kids. Yes, you could say that doing so would prevent a leak by the kids via cellphone or whatever, but the fact remains, the kids were an afterthought IMHO.
 
Re: Niagara drops women's hockey!!

PurpleEagles said:
Two players have found a home with Mercyhurst.... Two players on a visit to UNH.
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Mercyhurst has 6 incoming recruits according to the D1 committments thread, and 6 graduating Seniors according to their team website. Where might these two NU players fit in?

Cali
 
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