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RPI 2024 Off-Season: Was 2023 – 2024 Just a Bad Dream?

Engineers said:
Survival mode like you said.
Another poster mentioned maybe the AD dropped the hammer. Fix the roster to be more competitive or find a new job. I sure hope that’s what was said. I’m tired of this bull**** waxing poetically about a decent season 4 years ago. It’s been **** for 7 years.
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To be fair, RPI really hasn't done anything since the early 2000s. The last time RPI made it anywhere close to a championship in ECAC was in 2002, where they went out in third place. That was 22 years ago. Assuming the average student starts college when they are 18 turning 19, seniors in college were not alive the last time RPI made it anywhere close to an in league championship. Last time they made the NCAA tournament they lost 6 to nothing in the first round.
This is especially sad considering most of the other sports at RPI are pretty good right now. Football played fantastic last season. Mens Lax last time I checked was the number 2 team in the nation. Softball is number 19. Track and field just won the indoor championship. Even our club hockey team was pretty good last season. It really is just our D1 programs that haven't been doing good, which is something the school needs to find a way to fix.
 
RPI Hockey Guy said:
To be fair, RPI really hasn't done anything since the early 2000s. The last time RPI made it anywhere close to a championship in ECAC was in 2002, where they went out in third place. That was 22 years ago. Assuming the average student starts college when they are 18 turning 19, seniors in college were not alive the last time RPI made it anywhere close to an in league championship. Last time they made the NCAA tournament they lost 6 to nothing in the first round.
This is especially sad considering most of the other sports at RPI are pretty good right now. Football played fantastic last season. Mens Lax last time I checked was the number 2 team in the nation. Softball is number 19. Track and field just won the indoor championship. Even our club hockey team was pretty good last season. It really is just our D1 programs that haven't been doing good, which is something the school needs to find a way to fix.
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I agree, and hope that President Schmidt really believes this. My concern is that they will consider moving the hockey teams to DIII. Of course, not even Shirley did this although her actions, or really lack of action, was probably the major cause of the current situation.
 
RPI Hockey Guy said:
To be fair, RPI really hasn't done anything since the early 2000s. The last time RPI made it anywhere close to a championship in ECAC was in 2002, where they went out in third place. That was 22 years ago. Assuming the average student starts college when they are 18 turning 19, seniors in college were not alive the last time RPI made it anywhere close to an in league championship. Last time they made the NCAA tournament they lost 6 to nothing in the first round.
This is especially sad considering most of the other sports at RPI are pretty good right now. Football played fantastic last season. Mens Lax last time I checked was the number 2 team in the nation. Softball is number 19. Track and field just won the indoor championship. Even our club hockey team was pretty good last season. It really is just our D1 programs that haven't been doing good, which is something the school needs to find a way to fix.
Click to expand...

You are just spot on!! After the great success of the mid 1980's we simply could no longer keep that level of play up. But for the next 15+ years, virtually every year was at least competitive with a chance to attend the ECAC final four. Some more so than others and the talent level that came in as recruits placed several boys at the higher (AHL) or highest (NHL) level in the sport. We would be deluding ourselves if we thought that we have been close to that since 2002. OK, there have been a couple of exceptions, but they have been few and far between. The entire game has changed from recruitment all the way to retaining whatever talent you do find and obtain. These are different times with an entirely different world. And we can never under estimate the power and draw of the finances involved for boys making the decision on where to matriculate or how their choice of DI school affects their further movement into the upper echelons of hockey which they aspire to. I would be dreaming to even remotely expect a return to what we had almost 40 years ago. But I would like to be able to keep the hope that we just might be able to turn back the clock the 20+ years and compete at the level we had before 2002.
 
Ralph Baer said:
I agree, and hope that President Schmidt really believes this. My concern is that they will consider moving the hockey teams to DIII. Of course, not even Shirley did this although her actions, or really lack of action, was probably the major cause of the current situation.
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This is a concern RB, but I take comfort in Schmidt being an alum and a Boston area hockey dad (his sons played) and the fact that the new A.D. comes to town from a storied blue-chip hockey program. I don't think this was by accident. I believe program review and corrective efforts are underway. I would like to have some news re: the HFH facilities review process and where that stands. The fans could use some positive news and plans ...it's the least that RPI could do, while the program is in what we all hope will soon be a rebirth.
 
Today is 1 April 2024. There are 187 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 5 October 2024 for the start of next season.
 
Engineers said:
Survival mode like you said.
Another poster mentioned maybe the AD dropped the hammer. Fix the roster to be more competitive or find a new job. I sure hope that’s what was said. I’m tired of this bull**** waxing poetically about a decent season 12 years ago. It’s been **** for 20 years.
Click to expand...


FIFY. :D Happy Monday!
 
DrDemento said:
Having watched all the NCAA games that were televised, I noticed that many of the players had been transfers to the schools from other schools that they previously played for. I also note4d that most of these were from other conferences and not from teams and schools within the same conference. is there some unspoken rule or agreement that transfers do not remain within the conference of the team they have left?
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I don't think such an unwritten rule exists. If it did, it would be illegal anticompetitive conduct. The Ivies do have a rule that they don't take grad transfers, or allow players to stay for extra year of eligibility if they graduate early.

There used to be a rule for the grad transfer that your new school had to offer a degree that your current school didn't, but I think that rule was never strictly enforced or had exceptions that rendered it meaningless. Not sure that it is even still on the books.
 
engineerhockeyfan said:
Baack n the day when a coach got fired, they would say, you can't fire the team.
I guess that is not true anymore.
It just feels like desperation.
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I don't know what is going on behind the scenes, but most of the reported cuts can't really be a surprise. I think you have to expect some significant roster turnover on a last place team. I don't want to drag any player, they all played hard, but I think some of them really struggled to make an impact at the Division I level. Some of them would be superb Division III players.
 
Ralph Baer said:
Also Max Itagaki. So that makes three with Fonataine. Also Sophie Helgeson on the women's side.
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In this case though, was it a hockey issue or an issue with not wanting to commit 4 years to the Army? The Army isn’t for everyone. I’m sure though 98% of the time it’s about playing time and lack of loyalty.

This portal is really going to hurt not only the game, but lives. There’s no transfer portal for your post-college career.
 
jericho said:
In this case though, was it a hockey issue or an issue with not wanting to commit 4 years to the Army? The Army isn’t for everyone. I’m sure though 98% of the time it’s about playing time and lack of loyalty.

This portal is really going to hurt not only the game, but lives. There’s no transfer portal for your post-college career.
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Good point. I think that's how we got Greg Burgdoerfer who played earlier for the Air Force Academy.
 
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I noticed that nearly every D1 player in the state of Alaska has entered the portal. Can't help but think an announcement regarding the state university athletics may be imminent.
 
DavidNardolillo said:
I don't think such an unwritten rule exists. If it did, it would be illegal anticompetitive conduct. The Ivies do have a rule that they don't take grad transfers, or allow players to stay for extra year of eligibility if they graduate early.

There used to be a rule for the grad transfer that your new school had to offer a degree that your current school didn't, but I think that rule was never strictly enforced or had exceptions that rendered it meaningless. Not sure that it is even still on the books.
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I had not been suggesting any rule exists but perhaps some sort of gentleman's agreement within a conference? I noted during the games yesterday a couple of Cornell transfers making an impact for other teams and it set me wondering a bit.
 
I don’t know what the answer is to a more successful team. A lot of ideas are being tossed around. But the hurdles that need to be overcome are substantial. How much money should be spent on getting a better coach (and paying off the existing one)? How much money should and can be spent on facilities (Union isn’t building its own rink at their expense. Could something like that in conjunction with a private company or city of Troy (which is not a wealthy city- just look at the state of the roads)? Are the alumni and the community and the fans willing to pony up say $50-100 million to address the needs? Lastly success breeds success. I get it. It’s been a 20 year downward spiral. But patience will be needed. It will take vision and a long term plan. And the acceptance that RPI is an institution of higher learning. Sports are an extra not supra curricular. Once you decide that no expense shall be spared, that’s when the cheating starts and abuse of athletes and staff gets dismissed. I want a winning team as much as anyone . 35 years of sitting in my seat cheering won’t end unless I feel like I am enabling bad behavior in order to become a winner. We have enough of that in this country. I need a place to have fun, cheer, and feel good about what I am a part of.
 
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