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The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

University of British Columbia could also join Simon Fraser...Simon Fraser competes in NCAA DIV II Great Northwest Athletic conference with Alaska and UAA in several sports including men's and women's basketball and volleyball...
 
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Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

I stated it in the Minnesota State forum a few days ago, but Jr. Defenseman Jon Jutzi is no longer listed on the official roster for the Mavericks.

Jutzi was a nice defensive defenseman, and played in 82 games his first two years as a Maverick. (82 GP 1 G 14 A 15 Pts 29 PIM)
 
JohnsonsJerseys said:
Let's just fact check this a bit and come back to Earth...
There is zero chance that the NCHC is going to take ASU - just ask UA-Huntsville. The NCHC wants no part of some small-time start-up program. If those teams wanted that, they never would have left the WCHA / CCHA.
You're packing in 800 fans for home games... last I check you going to need a new rink before the WCHA will talk with you (just ask BSU) and you had better convince Arizona to be going D-I as well as the WCHA also has a track record of not wanting an odd number of teams.

I'm all for more college hockey teams, but in the next five years, seeing ASU in ANY college hockey conference is a pipe dream at best (just ask the Red Dragons in MN).

Ryan J
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With all due respect to gfmorris and the great Charger fans around here, ASU is a major athletic brand in a major media market, with overall enrollment of over 70,000 studentd. Were they to start D1 hockey it would be a coup not just for whatever conference they join but also college hockey in general.
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Squarebanks said:
With all due respect to gfmorris and the great Charger fans around here, ASU is a major athletic brand in a major media market, with overall enrollment of over 70,000 studentd. Were they to start D1 hockey it would be a coup not just for whatever conference they join but also college hockey in general.
Click to expand...

I agree. Getting ASU would be a huge boost for either conference, and ASU would immediately be the biggest name, biggest brand in either conference.
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Seriously? ASU could have a million students but if only 800 of them are going to hockey games who cares what their enrollment might be. If you think ANY conference is beating down ASU's door begging them to join their hockey conference you're fooling yourself. I'm sure plenty of conferences are begging to get their football, basketball, etc teams into their conference. I get that, but we're talking about hockey. AZ is so hockey starved, they're about to get a second NHL team in Phoenix... oh wait that's right they're on the brink of being yanked out of the state and moved to Canada.

Are we not the same USCHO posters that just spent the last couple seasons crying over the huge travel burden of having to play TWO AK schools AND UAH in the South? All the member teams are going broke (allegedly) and you think the WCHA is looking to get another team 1500+ miles away from everyone else?

If your team had the choice of scheduling a home game with a non-conference opponent of their choice, which do you think they would pick?
A - ASU
B - ANYONE else currently with a hockey program.

Again, I'm all in favor of expansion, but some of this talk is so far off in left field it makes AK seem close-by. Other than having a huge school listed in your conference what other possible benefit do they bring to the table? Sure maybe it works for one of the big conferences of other sports to try and pluck a huge school in a big city, but all they are trying to do is push a cable sports package into another 10 million TV homes. The WCHA is a one sport conference with no TV deal so what does it matter how big the school, or the city is for that matter? Just look back at the past D-I hockey programs that have folded at "major" universities - just being a big school has nothing to do with fielding a successful athletic team, especially in a sport like hockey. If you don't have fans, you won't have a team for long either.

Ryan J

Chance of ANY Canadian school playing US D-I hockey AND getting into a conference >>> Chance of ASU doing the same
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

"Big" schools playing D-I hockey... Size does not equate to stability or being desired. If you don't have any fans or support, good luck hanging around in the sport.
Kent State, Northern AZ, Wayne State, Pennsylvania, UIC... the list goes on. With the exception of NAU, all of these teams are from the rust belt where there are plenty of other teams to play and hockey fans to try and lure to your games, yet even that wasn't enough to save them. All those schools with enrollments over 25,000 and where are they now? Defunct - just like all the little programs that folded.

I'm just saying...
Ryan J
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Its all speculation and I doubt either ASU or SF go D1 (but I've been wrong before about this type of thing).

Soo... Penn St is not too far off the size of ASU. Sure they aren't the same school...but Penn St put 6k students in the seats of many a game this year with a losing season. It also got 17k to attend a game against powerhouse Vermont. I have little doubt many a conference would be willing to take a flyer on ASU in part because TV contracts would be involved.
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Squarebanks said:
With all due respect to gfmorris and the great Charger fans around here, ASU is a major athletic brand in a major media market, with overall enrollment of over 70,000 studentd. Were they to start D1 hockey it would be a coup not just for whatever conference they join but also college hockey in general.
Click to expand...

None taken, but all the rumors are that there will be more realignment out west because the NCHC underestimated the pain in its travel. Adding another far-flung team doesn't make that any easier on them.

GFM
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

gfmorris said:
None taken, but all the rumors are that there will be more realignment out west because the NCHC underestimated the pain in its travel. Adding another far-flung team doesn't make that any easier on them.

GFM
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Is there much beyond discussion on the message boards? Although there's a lot to be said for the world rotating around the message boards :)
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

blackswampboy said:
over at AZZ, a guy makes the case that Simon Fraser has DI hockey ambitions. huge school, currently at NCAA DII. but their arena only seats 2,000, and they'd have to do the NCAA petition thing to move up.
this season they're making a road trip to BGSU and Miami State.

what conference wouldn't want to stamp their footprint into BC?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...me-first-international-member/article4459441/
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Do you call them Miami State just to **** them off? Technically it's just Miami University...
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

BGFan said:
Do you call them Miami State just to **** them off? Technically it's just Miami University...
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Also don't forget the (OH) so no one mistakenly thinks they are playing hockey in Florida.
You could also go next level and call them "THE Miami (OH) State Univ" and ruffle OSU while you're at it.
Ryan J
 
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Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Repost from the Tech thread:

Bemidji and Mankato to the NCHC - puts all the MN teams except UMTC back together with UND in an easy busing situation, and the CO schools become your only flights.

Western and Miami to the WCHA - Sure, there's the double Alaska trip once every four years, but they still get to go back to something of a bus league, with MAC rival BG, each other, Ferris, and da Yoop all obvious bus trips (and UAH probably a bus trip for at least Miami).

I consider this basically a done deal, and give it about 3-5 years. By then, the Wings new barn will be open, and the league has its new over-sized, centralized tourney site for Robertson to pursue his delusions of grandeur. Move the league offices back to Farmington Hills, and boom, done. Welcome back to the 'new' WCCHA.
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Actually I see something along the following lines happening based on what I've read in other posts:

Western and Miami jump to the WCHA to cut travel costs because Denver and UND have emptied the NCHC bank account by spending millions of dollars to remove all the "F_____g S___x" logos from the Ralph and left the other teams poor and twisting in the wind. Seeing the defections and the writing on the wall, UMD also looks to exit the NCHC, but is told by the WCHA they can't join without a partner so they invite UNO to the dance bringing the WCHA up to 14 teams. The WCHA simultaneously renames the post season conference tourney the "Red Baron Delta Airlines Xcel Energy - Eight is Enough WCHA Playoffs presented by Little Ceasars".

Unknown to the rest of college hockey, DU, UND, CC gather at their secret lair in the Broadmoor Hotel to discuss how they will plug the holes in the dam of defections. Meanwhile back in MN, SCSU puts out a press release stating how pleased they are to be in the NCHC and that being a part of the smaller, more cost effective NCHC is best for their program, fans and alumni. Hours later, with a 75% vote of the membership, the NCHC votes to accept ASU into the conference and dumps SCSU to avoid having an odd number of teams.

In the end everyone is happy because the WCHA has once again become the power conference of Western college hockey, the NCHC has shrunk their footprint and is once again only comprised of like-minded, huge hockey programs who can bring in a windfall of cash and SCSU eventually folds their program after three years of independent hockey and being turned down for league membership by Atlantic Hockey.

Ryan J
 
Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

JohnsonsJerseys said:
Actually I see something along the following lines happening based on what I've read in other posts:

Western and Miami jump to the WCHA to cut travel costs because Denver and UND have emptied the NCHC bank account by spending millions of dollars to remove all the "F_____g S___x" logos from the Ralph and left the other teams poor and twisting in the wind. Seeing the defections and the writing on the wall, UMD also looks to exit the NCHC, but is told by the WCHA they can't join without a partner so they invite UNO to the dance bringing the WCHA up to 14 teams. The WCHA simultaneously renames the post season conference tourney the "Red Baron Delta Airlines Xcel Energy - Eight is Enough WCHA Playoffs presented by Little Ceasars".

Unknown to the rest of college hockey, DU, UND, CC gather at their secret lair in the Broadmoor Hotel to discuss how they will plug the holes in the dam of defections. Meanwhile back in MN, SCSU puts out a press release stating how pleased they are to be in the NCHC and that being a part of the smaller, more cost effective NCHC is best for their program, fans and alumni. Hours later, with a 75% vote of the membership, the NCHC votes to accept ASU into the conference and dumps SCSU to avoid having an odd number of teams.

In the end everyone is happy because the WCHA has once again become the power conference of Western college hockey, the NCHC has shrunk their footprint and is once again only comprised of like-minded, huge hockey programs who can bring in a windfall of cash and SCSU eventually folds their program after three years of independent hockey and being turned down for league membership by Atlantic Hockey. Ryan J
Click to expand...

This is more realistic than ASU starting up DI hockey
 
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