Re: RPI 2011-12 Part III: Our Goal is to be Offensive
Shiny philosophical answer: because things in this world aren't fair and decisions are rarely based on logically-sound premises.
Real answer: Like anything else in the world, I think it will matter to HE whether or not they can expand the "brand" of HE hockey by including RPI into the mix or if financially it would benefit the league. Though I think it is a perfect fit (apart from the academic profile of RPI, which I absolutely believe matches up better with the ECAC than HE), some will debate whether we will really add anything, geographic location, our recent relative lack of big success, etc. In other words: I haven't heard a solid argument AGAINST RPI being included in the HEA.
Though I've beaten a hole in my Hockey East drum, I'll chime in anyways. Our poor performance this year doesn't help in terms of admission to HE, but I don't think it is the predominant factor in determining worthiness to join the conference. Every team has good and bad years, and a team should be selected based on the whole package, rather than a moment in time.
RPI of all of the potential programs is the best fit for HE as is. Basically the only changes required are the specifics with rebranding and restructuring as an HE team. RPI is accepted into the conference, and boom, we are a Hockey East team with fanbase, venue, and team intact. The only downside is that outside of history, fanbase, and a decent historical reputation in college hockey, we might not offer HE the kind of brand image they are looking for.
Teams like UConn or Syracuse would be a dream come true for Hockey East. Huge national reputation, much more likely to draw in a casual fan/television viewer. The problem is that either of these teams would need to overcome massive financial and organizational hurdles to have a competitive team in HE (or even a team at all). As unlikely as either option is, if HE has aspirations of branding their league by bringing in "BCS" teams, then none of the small fish are going to have a shot. HE will tread water with 11 until one of the big boys steps up.
In my opinion, any selection of Holy Cross or Quinnipiac is New England homerism and little else. HC would have to overcome their share of financial hurdles to get up to snuff. Qpac, outside of technically being a D1 school, adds about as much to the HE brand as RPI, but brings a smaller fanbase, and less history.
I take anything I have heard about Cornell with a very,very large grain of salt, just because of the Ivy association. If they were legit, that would be a very real threat. Lynah may be small, but their fanbase is massive, and they have history, recent success, and a bigger national hockey rep. Again, I highly doubt that would happen, but who the hell knows...
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