Take it for what its worth. The only certain thing none of the people associated with the conferences are talking to each other or to the public.
1.) With all the unrest it is literally a referee free for all out there. For example, within the next ten days to two weeks referees have to make a decision where they want to officiate. It looks like everyone of them will be receiving a raise, the BiG and the new conference seem to be throwing the most money at the best refs. For some of them the biggest decision will be travel because the WCHA and the BiG seem to have a wider geographic foot print than the new conference.
2.) It looks like the BiG teams will be scheduling their series differently than in the past. I asked why? Television. Don't be surprised if we see the end of the college hockey traditional Friday/Saturday series. It looks more like Friday night and Sunday afternoon or Sunday and Monday maybe a Thursday here or there. We might even see Minnesota vs. Michigan Friday night and then Minnesota travels to Michigan State for a Sunday afternoon game. The BTN doesn't want hockey and basketball to conflict at all, they would rather have winter programing seven days a week without conflicts so they can fill up their daily schedules. With the addition of Penn State the BTN demanded the conference form a hockey conference so Fox and the BiG can make even more money. Programming was super important to the BiG Ten.
3.) Sponsorship has already increased for the Big Ten schools and to a lesser extent the new conference. In fact the new conference already has better deals lined up than the old WCHA or CCHA ever did.
4.) The future is very uncertain. He said, "I wouldn't be surprised if we see five schools fold. Many of the schools across the country need to update their rinks to succeed in the new era or they will be gone." I asked which schools? He wouldn't get into it. He also said, IL, Iowa, and Nebraska have been rumored to be joining the ice box and are close. Some time ago UNO asked Nebraska to please not start up a hockey program in the same market until a certain amount of time passed. That agreement is coming to an end.
5.) I asked which conference made out the best with this restructure? BiG. The other schools in the country can't hold a candle to the Big Ten because they have the ability to make the most money. He went on to say how sad he is having to witness an end of an era. It will never be the same.
