Re: Sources: Arizona State Hockey Won’t Join Big Ten
Re: Sources: Arizona State Hockey Won’t Join Big Ten
Here are my two primary objections to ASU joining the NCHC.
First, they don't fit with our teams. There is no geographic connection. There is no sports connection. No common television package. Nothing. At each of the NCHC schools, hockey is the program or one of the most important programs at the school in terms of revenue, fan support, etc... Maybe only at Miami where football is popular is this not the case.
Hockey at ASU is going to be like girls field hockey. It'll make the sixth page of the campus paper, but that's it. ASU is a football school. It's a basketball school. It's a baseball school. Heck, volleyball and water polo are probably more popular at ASU than hockey ever will be.
ASU and the NCHC schools simply think about hockey and athletics in different ways.
Second, I haven't been that impressed with how they have gone about the formation of their program. Now, that doesn't mean they are doomed to failure. I just don't think they've gone about it in the same was as say Penn St., and as a consequence, we could see some problems down the line.
The article written by their coach that was floating around in the last couple of weeks is case in point.
He was called by a reporter and asked how much money it would take to start at Division 1 hockey program, and off the cuff he just threw out the figure $30 or 40 million. That's it. That's how much thought was put into it. No disrespect to Powers, but I don't think he really had any idea what it would cost to effectively start and maintain a hockey program. I would have liked to have seen a little more thought and planning put into it.
I hope they are successful. I just hope they do it somewhere else.
