The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Got the idea from Deadspin. Here's how the college hockey realignments look. The spot is the midpoint of all the member schools. The ring is the average distance from each school to the midpoint location.

As the WCHA and CCHA are currently:

And how the NCHC, WCHA, and B1G will look come next October:

Adding Huntsville to the WCHA for 13-14 moves the midpoint just slightly southeast (still located within Canada) and the ring shrinks by just 30 miles (virtually no change to the graph).

All the more reason to let us in.

GFM

 

[uaafanblog]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

All the more reason to let us in.

GFM

Any arguments against letting UAH in are just feeble baseless excuses made by insular status-quo loving twats.

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Got the idea from Deadspin. Here's how the college hockey realignments look. The spot is the midpoint of all the member schools. The ring is the average distance from each school to the midpoint location.

Adding Huntsville to the WCHA for 13-14 moves the midpoint just slightly southeast (still located within Canada) and the ring shrinks by just 30 miles (virtually no change to the graph).

First, aparch needs to get some kind of award for these graphics he is putting together. I was impressed with the conference maps way back on page one, and now this - the engineer side of me is now even more impressed.

Now as far as the analysis goes, the AK schools sway this data big time. This year the CCHA and WCHA each have one AK school. Next year they both fall in the WCHA so the WCHA goes from "B" to "DD" in size. I would be curious to see one more graph: The nWHCA not including the AK schools, the NCHC and the Bi6 Mess. In this scenario, I would expect the nWCHA to be a more average "C" size compared to the "B"i6 Mess and the "DD" NCHC spanning CO to OH. Even putting UAH into the nWCHA won't alter the data like even one AK school. I think we can all agree that the AK schools are going to make the average distance much greater.

Ryan J

 

[stuckinwi]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

First, aparch needs to get some kind of award for these graphics he is putting together. I was impressed with the conference maps way back on page one, and now this - the engineer side of me is now even more impressed.

Now as far as the analysis goes, the AK schools sway this data big time. This year the CCHA and WCHA each have one AK school. Next year they both fall in the WCHA so the WCHA goes from "B" to "DD" in size. I would be curious to see one more graph: The nWHCA not including the AK schools, the NCHC and the Bi6 Mess. In this scenario, I would expect the nWCHA to be a more average "C" size compared to the "B"i6 Mess and the "DD" NCHC spanning CO to OH. Even putting UAH into the nWCHA won't alter the data like even one AK school. I think we can all agree that the AK schools are going to make the average distance much greater.

Ryan J

Short version. Alaska is far away.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Any arguments against letting UAH in are just feeble baseless excuses made by insular status-quo loving twats.

I will say no such things about people who have as-yet not been convinced of our value to the league but who also have the power to affirm or deny.

GFM

 

[aparch]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

First, aparch needs to get some kind of award for these graphics he is putting together. I was impressed with the conference maps way back on page one, and now this - the engineer side of me is now even more impressed.

Now as far as the analysis goes, the AK schools sway this data big time. This year the CCHA and WCHA each have one AK school. Next year they both fall in the WCHA so the WCHA goes from "B" to "DD" in size. I would be curious to see one more graph: The nWHCA not including the AK schools, the NCHC and the Bi6 Mess. In this scenario, I would expect the nWCHA to be a more average "C" size compared to the "B"i6 Mess and the "DD" NCHC spanning CO to OH. Even putting UAH into the nWCHA won't alter the data like even one AK school. I think we can all agree that the AK schools are going to make the average distance much greater.

Ryan J

Thanks.

Don't have time tonight to whip up the graphics (maybe Saturday or Sunday), but the raw data says that the Midpoint City for the current WCHA minus Anchorage is: Milroy, MN. I'd ballpark the average distance from there to be ~200 miles.
Midpoint for the Alaska-less current CCHA: Charlotte, MI. Wild-a**-guessing I would put the average distance to this location at ~150 miles.

An Alaska-less NewWCHA, without Huntsville: Crivitz, WI with a ballpark of ~150 Miles.
Alaska-less NewWCHA with Huntsville: Kiel, WI, and I'd think it would be at least ~200 Miles.

 

[camilo]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Didn't the league already announce how many conference games they would be playing?
I like 24 games and I like the pods. I think if you did that maybe, just maybe you could not have the two alaska teams playing each other in the playoffs.
Donald, I like your ideas, and you are right it brings opportunity, however give the AD's credit, they are smart guys who do figure things out eventually. If it's something that would work, they will consider it.
Overall though, I think less that 24 league games is unrealistic.

Haven't been studying this thread completely, so don't know exact specifics of what's being batted about. (interesting though). I know I've seen some discussions on promoting rivalries though.

WOuldn't putting AK teams in different pods be separating what is undoubtedly the most intense rivalry in the new WCHA? Seriously, those guys (or at least the fans) hate each other, evidently both towns are hell holes filled with jerks ;-)

 

[camilo]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Donald, I think you best bet is the crossover divisional brought up.
West: BSU, MSU, MTU, NMU, UAA
East: UAH, BGSU, FSU, LSSU, UAF
With a designated rival in the other division. But that puts us at 28

How does it make sense to make the two schools with the largest travel difficulties (Alaska and UAH) play each other?

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

You could argue the UAF UAA is the biggest rivalry but I think you'd be wrong.

How does it make sense to make the two schools with the largest travel difficulties (Alaska and UAH) play each other?

to try and keep the ccha, wcha teams mostly intact.

 

[aygwm2]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

You could argue the UAF UAA is the biggest rivalry but I think you'd be wrong.

NMU v. MTU in the nWCHA ? ? ?

or...

 

[aparch]

NMU v. MTU in the nWCHA ? ? ?

or...

Nah. That Ferris / Mankato rivalry is a real blood bath.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

How does it make sense to make the two schools with the largest travel difficulties (Alaska and UAH) play each other?

I don't know that our guys would find a long plane-travel day to Fairbanks much worse than they did 22 hours in a sleeper bus one-way to SLU. Everyone I've talked to here is ready to do this thing.

GFM

 

[Squarebanks]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

This was mentioned on the UAF season thread, but apparently Bruce McLeod is in Fairbanks this weekend for the UAF/Miami series and will speak at tomorrow's Face Off Club luncheon. I'm sure the Nanook hockey blog will provide a recap if asked nicely.

 

[Squarebanks]

How does it make sense to make the two schools with the largest travel difficulties (Alaska and UAH) play each other?

AK to Huntsville isn't going to be any worse than the trip to Marquette or the Soo, both of which involve long bus rides after long flights.

Reminds me of the 2010 Worcester regional when some reporter implied that the Fairbanks to Boston haul must have been horrible and several of our guys said it was one of the easiest road trips of the season.

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

the raw data says that the Midpoint City for the current WCHA minus Anchorage is: Milroy, MN. I'd ballpark the average distance from there to be ~200 miles.
Midpoint for the Alaska-less current CCHA: Charlotte, MI. Wild-a**-guessing I would put the average distance to this location at ~150 miles.
An Alaska-less NewWCHA, without Huntsville: Crivitz, WI with a ballpark of ~150 Miles.
Alaska-less NewWCHA with Huntsville: Kiel, WI, and I'd think it would be at least ~200 Miles.

The nWCHA league is certainly a win for MTU in terms of travel. Other teams' views may vary, but we dumped trips to Denver, CC, UNO and picked up NMU, LSSU and Ferris. That's really shrinking the travel budget and why I don't think Tech would put up any resistance to UAH joining. Even with a trip to AL and AK, Tech is still making a net gain on the travel costs.

...how the NCHC, WCHA, and B1G will look come next October:

So what this graph says is the nWCHA is really the "National"CHC *shudder*, the NCHC is really the CCHA and the Bi6 Mess is just some time regional conference with a minimal footprint. Also it shows the the nWCHA needs to poach one of the top Canadian programs for the league like all the BCS football conferences are doing. The heck with geography - It's a money grab...

Ryan J

 

[DB Cooper]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

The nWCHA league is certainly a win for MTU in terms of travel. Other teams' views may vary, but we dumped trips to Denver, CC, UNO and picked up NMU, LSSU and Ferris. That's really shrinking the travel budget and why I don't think Tech would put up any resistance to UAH joining. Even with a trip to AL and AK, Tech is still making a net gain on the travel costs.



So what this graph says is the nWCHA is really the "National"CHC *shudder*, the NCHC is really the CCHA and the Bi6 Mess is just some time regional conference with a minimal footprint. Also it shows the the nWCHA needs to poach one of the top Canadian programs for the league like all the BCS football conferences are doing. The heck with geography - It's a money grab...

Ryan J

Ryan, that may have been a throw away line re the canadian universities but there is certainly a lot of great hockey played, and are a lot great hockey players within the big green circle. Think of the recruiting possibilities. Players can get a scholarship to an american university, and all the cousins in calgary or regina can still see them play each year when their team comes to town.

 

[aparch]

So what this graph says is the nWCHA is really the "National"CHC *shudder*, the NCHC is really the CCHA and the Bi6 Mess is just some time regional conference with a minimal footprint.

As Deadspin put it for their maps:

...the dot represents the geographic midpoint of the conference's programs, and the circle represents the average distance of the schools from this midpoint. This means that the circle is an approximation of the confrence's "compactness," not that every program will actually fall within the radius.

So, all this tells us is how compacted together these programs are in their conferences. Obviously shedding Alaska helps the NCHC.

As for what WCHA/CCHA schools are winners in the merger? I'd say Tech is the only winner. NMU replaces trips to Oxford and Columbus for Mankato and Bemidji. LSSU loses the same, and gains the same, plus an extra two hours travel. Ferris needs to pray for global warming to keep the SS Badger running all winter. Mankato and Bemidji swap trips to Denver and the Springs with Big Rapids and Bowling Green, Ohio.

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

I'd say Tech is the only winner.

I had to quote that. We don't get it see it nearly often enough in Huskies Land.
Ryan J

 

[uaafanblog]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

I don't know that our guys would find a long plane-travel day to Fairbanks much worse than they did 22 hours in a sleeper bus one-way to SLU. Everyone I've talked to here is ready to do this thing.

GFM

It's a shame that none of these other programs have really been faced with losing their program for something as patently stupid as geographic reasons. Maybe Michigan can secede from the US and all those programs will have to jump through hoops to regain admission to the NCAA. As unlikely as that is, I keep my fingers crossed.

 

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

It's a shame that none of these other programs have really been faced with losing their program for something as patently stupid as geographic reasons. Maybe Michigan can secede from the US and all those programs will have to jump through hoops to regain admission to the NCAA. As unlikely as that is, I keep my fingers crossed.

HA!

As for Tech's willingness to add UAH: you can call it still a net savings for Tech, but if that logic worked, UAH would've been in the CCHA the last three seasons. We were closer to a number of CCHA teams than UNO was.

In a management text I read this semester, there was discussion of the Stockdale paradox, after the late Navy Rear Admiral James Stockdale, who was a senior officer in Hoa Lo. The paradox is this: "This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

Do I believe that UAH will end up in a conference? Sure I do; if I didn't, I'd simply go to games until they pulled the plug on the program. [See: 2011.] But do I think that it's entirely likely that three nWCHA teams will tell us "no"? **** skippy. It could be the UP schools as a cohort. It could be Bemidji, Mankato, and one of the UP schools (or maybe Ferris). The only three schools that I feel sure about are Anchorage, BG, and Fairbanks. Everyone else is suspect.

Remember, everyone thought that it made sense for UAH to replace UNO in the CCHA. It made sense, right? We all know how that turned out.

It's very much a fool-me-once thing. Do I think the WCHA will take us? I do, but it only takes three schools against our bid (presuming that we're even allowed to make one, which I believe that we will) to push our program further to the brink of shutting down.

GFM <-- hopes that the desire to have a tenth team not in Alaska will rule the day.