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The New WCHA (2013-14)

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Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

JohnsonsJerseys said:
Even if UAH doesn't become a league member for 2013-14 I think the WCHA would be well served to put UAH in the scheduling. It gives you 10 teams to schedule and I think a firm schedule of WCHA teams visiting UAH really helps strengthen UAH's hockey program and make them a team to be taken seriously in D-I hockey. I don't see them lasting long without a conference home. The WCHA needs to do the right think and help them out in some way shape or form.

Ryan J
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Just my opinion, not based on anything I've heard, but I think if UAH doesn't have a conference lined up for 2013/14 by the start of this next season latest, there will be no 2013/14 UAH DI team...

...and I'm not one to put blame on WCHA if they decide against, but I see it as a failure of college hockey as a whole. For years college hockey, and their fans, have touted themselves as not being like the greedy, money hungry big sports - football, basketball. Now they're becoming just like them.
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

aparch said:
And you really think a sixteen game schedule allows UAA a better shot at the championship auto-bid?
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I think that cumbersome overcommitted conference schedules take choice away from individual universities. I think all schools have unique challenges to try to make their programs successful and this particular issue would benefit both UAA and UAF due to their unique geographic circumstances.

If UAH would be happy with an 18 game conference schedule i'm all for adding them.
 
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Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

aparch said:
A vast majority of Michigan Tech fans couldn't find Alabama-Huntsville on an Alabama state highway map.


If UAH is to be added, I want it to be something that makes sense for the New WCHA and all it's member schools. I mentioned the NCAA waiver as a quick fix to allow teams to decide to either fly or bus. I can't see UAH being willing to pull a Fairbanks/Anchorage and sponsor conference schools in coming to them, at least in the long term. Sure short term they would be able to do it, but 10 years down the road, they may want out of that agreement. Almington brings up a valid concern.


And to answer "why the other teams?" Well, Minnesota State and Bemidji State were likely added because of their proximity to the other schools in the league, making for easy travel. If anything, Bemidji should have been in the WCHA instead of forming the CHA, but we all know what happened there, the WCHA members were too hung up on having a nice round number after NMU went and screwed it up in 1997.
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How dumb do you actually think Michigan Tech fans are? Tell me how you really feel. Obviously you have concerns and it would be nice if the NCAA could have a waiver that travel rule that you repeatedly mention. I also know that some kind of subsidy from UAH would be necessary to offset the additional travel costs. It should be interesting to see how it all shakes out, what UAH actually offers and if the WCHA does consider them. I want them in, IF the WCHA doesn't at least consider it I will be ****ed.
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

i'm in favor of adding UAH to the WCHA. I think it will benefit the league to do so, and that's why you do it. I don't care about the bhhc, I figure they are so self serving that something like this is beyond them mentally anyway. However, adding uah has to be something that can be afforded and won't bankrupt anyone. I don't think it will, but who knows. The teams are going to have to come up with more money in any event as the league playoffs will not produce all that much revenue compared to now. So yeah budgets will be stretched, but i don't think the marginal cost of adding uah is that big.

Travel will cost more no matter what anyway, the question is how to allocate the travel money. Saving trips to colorado is a big savings, and thus there should be funds to go to alabama. So the real issue is the time it takes to get there. From a financial standpoint Tech could actually be ahead. They fly to colorado now and flying to Hunstville is cheaper. If UAH fly's to alaska then it's one less flight for everyone else, which is money saving as well.

I also disagree that this league will be a low status league. I know that no one in Minnesota believes it, but they do play real good hockey in the CCHA, and these teams will be every bit as good as the ones you are losing. Plus you are still getting 70% of those other minnesota teams in anyway.So maybe at first fans will be skeptical but really the competition will be very stiff. I don' t think it will matter in Houghton, If we replace CC, Du, UNO and St cloud, with FSU, BGSU, LSSU, and NMU, no one will care.

We all have to understand that it's the WCHA in name only now, otherwise really it is a merger. We have the opportunity to fix all those niggling problems that the old leagues had, and we should do so. This can be a great league, with good rivalries and solid attendance, but we all need to work closely together to make it happen. I think most teams are ok financially, but we have to make sure that the few that are marginal can make it. Most importantly we need to look forward and not back.

I think the scheduling questions will be worked out down the line. I like more non con games, but lets hold our fire for a while on the ramifications.
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

aparch said:
If UAH is to be added, I want it to be something that makes sense for the New WCHA and all it's member schools. I mentioned the NCAA waiver as a quick fix to allow teams to decide to either fly or bus.
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How much time before the start of the first game do you want to be able to leave?
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

aparch said:
A vast majority of Michigan Tech fans couldn't find Alabama-Huntsville on an Alabama state highway map.
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Who uses maps anymore. That's why I have a smart phone. All I have to do is type in Alabama-Huntsville and I can get turn by turn directions from anywhere in the world.
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

The Darkness said:
Who uses maps anymore. That's why I have a smart phone. All I have to do is type in Alabama-Huntsville and I can get turn by turn directions from anywhere in the world.
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Disagree. Try getting directions from Sarh, Chad to Huntsville.
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

Dirty said:
Disagree. Try getting directions from Sarh, Chad to Huntsville.
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Step 1: Purchase ticket to Alabama
Step 2: Turn in ticket at nearest airport
Step 3: Get the hell out of Chad
Step 4: Get off plane
Step 5: Turn right when you get to Huntsville
Step 6: Never go back to Chad
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

manurespreader said:
The teams are going to have to come up with more money in any event as the league playoffs will not produce all that much revenue compared to now.
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CCHA teams went from 5 digits (a pittance compared to the Final Five, yes) to zero during Anastos' reign as a commissioner, so receiving any kind of postseason paycheck will be an upgrade for half the league.
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

bronconick said:
CCHA teams went from 5 digits (a pittance compared to the Final Five, yes) to zero during Anastos' reign as a commissioner, so receiving any kind of postseason paycheck will be an upgrade for half the league.
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to zero? wth are you talking about? Your conference tournament didn't turn a profit with enough left over to give each team $10k?
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

Shirtless Guy said:
to zero? wth are you talking about? Your conference tournament didn't turn a profit with enough left over to give each team $10k?
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I'd believe that, given the larger size of the WCHA arenas and higher average ticket prices in the on-campus portion plus the higher revenue from the neutral site championship (12.5k packages @ $150 each vs 10k packages @ $80 each)
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

Shirtless Guy said:
to zero? wth are you talking about? Your conference tournament didn't turn a profit with enough left over to give each team $10k?[/QUOTE

I heard 2nd hand that since Anastos treated it like a part time job while he continued to work at his other businesses, he had to expand the support staff to do the jobs he farmed out that Beagan (his predecessor) did himself. The original cash was only like ~40k per school anyway, so it wouldn't have taken much to run through that.
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Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

The Darkness said:
Step 1: Purchase ticket to Alabama
Step 2: Turn in ticket at nearest airport
Step 3: Get the hell out of Chad
Step 4: Get off plane
Step 5: Turn right when you get to Huntsville
Step 6: Never go back to Chad
Click to expand...

Yeah, but those directions didn't come from smart phone, did they?
 
Re: The New WCHA (2013-14)

bronconick said:
I heard 2nd hand that since Anastos treated it like a part time job while he continued to work at his other businesses, he had to expand the support staff to do the jobs he farmed out that Beagan (his predecessor) did himself. The original cash was only like ~40k per school anyway, so it wouldn't have taken much to run through that.
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Beagan was even more part-time than Anastos was. The only difference in the support staff now as opposed to 20 years ago is the addition of a sales manager and an administrative assistant. And I don't know if the sales manager is full-time. The demands of college sports today, which is more dependent on marketing plus all of the additional information streams that have to be used, requires the additional staff. The days of sending out a once-a-week press release and via mail and having no multimedia content are long gone.
 
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