Re: Potntial Destinations for D1 Hockey Teams
Slight issues.
1) Rutgers is not that close to Newark as you might think. Anyone that has been stuck on the Turnpike can a test to that. The only school that could benefit from the Prudential center in Newark is Seton Hall as there club team already plays there.
2) That athletic department had a lot of issues before the whole basketball coach meltdown. For years now the school has had to deal with massive state budget cuts and increases in debt partially due to the athletic department.
3) The whole stadium expansion debacle. Seriously the $100+ million upgrade they did a few years back was very controversial.
4) They are a public institution and NJ has massive debt problems and won't be happy about a state school spending more money it doesn't have. A few year back Christie canceled a rail tunnel project to NYC because the state could not handle the extra debt load from it on top of the future fiscal time bomb that is the NJ pension shortfall.
One possible hope that Rutgers hockey has though is that the school will have to either renovate or replace its existing arena soon. If the school where to replace the arena and then install the ice making equipment in the arena it could potenitally start up a team at a later date when they get donors to cover scholarships.
I would not be surprised to see Rutgers in the mix soon. They have a succesful D1 Club program, already D1 for other sports, land on campus to build a rink but close enought to Newark to play there if needed. As the B1G conference grows this would be a natural fit.
Slight issues.
1) Rutgers is not that close to Newark as you might think. Anyone that has been stuck on the Turnpike can a test to that. The only school that could benefit from the Prudential center in Newark is Seton Hall as there club team already plays there.
2) That athletic department had a lot of issues before the whole basketball coach meltdown. For years now the school has had to deal with massive state budget cuts and increases in debt partially due to the athletic department.
3) The whole stadium expansion debacle. Seriously the $100+ million upgrade they did a few years back was very controversial.
4) They are a public institution and NJ has massive debt problems and won't be happy about a state school spending more money it doesn't have. A few year back Christie canceled a rail tunnel project to NYC because the state could not handle the extra debt load from it on top of the future fiscal time bomb that is the NJ pension shortfall.
One possible hope that Rutgers hockey has though is that the school will have to either renovate or replace its existing arena soon. If the school where to replace the arena and then install the ice making equipment in the arena it could potenitally start up a team at a later date when they get donors to cover scholarships.