Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)
I'll retract that statement. I should have said Denver or State College. I went to Omaha for a Ferris game back in their CCHA days and was really impressed by the whole thing. Plus, the USHL is alive and well on the Great Plains.
O.K., in fairness, I probably should let you off the hook for that one since I frankly can understand why there might be some "legitimate" sentiment like what you retracted above.
Our program has only existed at the D-1 level since 1997. We were a middle of the road CCHA team for much of our existence. How much success and legacy we've had as a hockey program in that time is rather debatable, probably, to outsiders. Believe me, I have wondered to some degree what we did to merit inclusion in the new conference and I have just decided to thank my lucky stars and sit back and enjoy. Our historical perspective isn't sullied by decades of tradition and I think UNO fan, by and large, is just happy to be included in with hockey's elite (uh oh, flame away, everybody not in the NCHC) in the new conference. There is a thread in one of the Gopher forums that addresses the whole "what did UNO do to be given the keys to the city and what are they doing there with all those other teams?" sentiment. Even as a UNO fan, I admit it is a valid question.
In the time since the inaugural season, we've made the CCHA final once and lost, had 2 NCAA appearances with no wins (well, whether that is true or not is still VERY debatable, Michigan fan), had 5 All Americans, 2 Hobey Baker finalists, had five 20 wins seasons, and been in the top five in attendance, nationally, since the program's inception. That is a pretty "light" resume' compared to some other teams that could have been there instead of us, the most obvious two candidates being, IMHO, Lake Superior State and Bemidiji State. We can't hold a candle to either team insofar as program history and pedigree is concerned and they are on the "outside" looking in. I can understand then, to some degree, why they or any other team in the new WCHA might be wondering "why UNO" and not them.
That said, UNO has many intangibles. They will have the largest arena in the new conference, by far. Omaha is a major metropolitan area and is centrally located, geographically, within the new conference. They are probably the
only D-1 school playing hockey in the country where every fan of every other team in the country knows who our Head Coach is AND who our Athletic Director is. UNO has the largest hockey booster club in all of D-1 hockey. The Blue Line Club has more than 2000 members! The CCHA press guide, our last year in the conference, said it was larger than the booster clubs of all the other CCHA teams
combined, at that time. The school was/is so serious about being a hockey school that they punted their
football program and wrestling programs last fall to show how serious about that they really were. This happened the very day that the wrestling program won its 2nd consecutive national championship! Finally, the amount of money that exists in Omaha, which is just under a million in metro area population, is something you have to live here and see to believe for a city this size. Do not forget that the 3rd richest man in the world lives here, banks here, his business is located here, his equally rich family all live here, and that Omaha is the headquarters of
five Fortune 500 companies! That's more Fortune 500 companies than are headquartered in the entire State of Missouri, a vastly larger state, to give you an idea. These aren't just "any" Fortune 500 companies, either. They include the #7 company on the the entire list (Berkshire Hathaway), the largest railroad in the
world, the largest food company in the
world, the largest construction company in the
world, and one of the largest insurance companies in the United States. There are no professional sports teams to compete for sports dollars here, either (or, for the expendable income of all the executives and management of all these companies, either). The only real competition they have there is the Huskers. If you have ever wondered why the Huskers can have the success they do in such a "small" state as this one, now you know why.
I think the NCHC sees/saw the same thing I believe that Coach Blais saw here when he took the job (maybe Trev, too). A sleeping giant. UNO has the potential to be a very significant player in the new conference and Omaha gives them an option and arena for the conference tournament in a city with an unprecedented record of hosting NCAA events that matches up with that of ANY other city's and then some.
All this said, if I was in any town where the new WCHA is going to reside, I can well understand why maybe they might be wondering "why not us?". I think the answer is dollars and future potential.
