UCLA student article asking for D1 hockey

[4four4]

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[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Similar to that one article that was shared on Reddit a while back.

At least this one has more thought than “hey, it’d be cool and we have a club team”, but I don’t know that there’s a lot of meat on these bones.

Certainly, “all of the pieces” aren’t there unless the authors knows of some potential donors. And the notion of retrofitting ice into Pauley Pavilion seems laughable looking at some pictures of the place.

Edit: okay, I’d forgotten that I once looked at this and there’s another angle of an interior shot of Pauley Pavilion that makes the arena floor look longer than I had thought from looking at the google images results.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauley_Pavilion#/media/File:Pauley_Pavilion.jpg

I don’t know that it’s wide enough to fit a rink in there without major sight line cutoffs along the sides, and it might still be too short.

 

[Sol Diablo]

Would be great if they can pull it off. But I suggest they don't go with the squared end on the arena and put a couple of nets in on the opposite ends of the arena as opposed to their AI rendering...... wink.....

 

[Eddie Schorr]

I'm guessing UCLA will use their B1G windfall to get their existing athletic department in financial order before adding on an expensive hockey program with huge travel expenses. I think the B1G is still banking on Illinois (the coming cash windfall can always reverse their decision) or Northwestern to get to 8 teams. Rutgers might make sense, but I don't know what their current financial situation is.

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

All they need now is a fan base and donor with $100M and they are ready to go. However I would highly recommend the NHL conduct a study recommending a D-I hockey program before they just go ahead and start one next season.

 

[sigx15]

UCLA’s athletic program ran at a $28 million dollar deficit this year, no shot they’re adding such an expensive sport without a mega donor. Sure they’re about to take in a ton of money from the BIG 10 deal, but between how much they’ve been spending and how much their operational costs are about to go up by joining the BIG 10, hockey isn’t happening there anytime soon without a $100 million check

https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla...etics-budget-lower-deficit-big-ten-conference

 

[Eddie Schorr]

UCLA’s athletic program ran at a $28 million dollar deficit this year, no shot they’re adding such an expensive sport without a mega donor. Sure they’re about to take in a ton of money from the BIG 10 deal, but between how much they’ve been spending and how much their operational costs are about to go up by joining the BIG 10, hockey isn’t happening there anytime soon without a $100 million check

https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla...etics-budget-lower-deficit-big-ten-conference

Plus, I believe that Berkeley extorted an annual payment in exchange for letting them go.

 

[UncleRay]

"All the pieces have aligned for it to happen." Except there's no money, no big donor (she id's one alum as if it's a sure thing he'll pony up the big bucks), no on-campus rink, no stated support from the admin. "A precedent for the leap set less than a decade ago." Which goes completely unexplained, unless she is somehow using Arizona as that precedent. "California has 60 peewee teams, so they obviously can support DI hockey." If Minnesota had the same ratio of peewee teams to total population, they'd have fewer than 9. They've got nearly that many D1 men's hockey teams. Or if California had as many DI men's ice hockey teams per capita as Minnesota, total teams in the NCAA would nearly double. I hope she continues her journalism education - she's not ready for the big leagues yet.

 

[Sol Diablo]

"A precedent for the leap set less than a decade ago." Which goes completely unexplained, unless she is somehow using Arizona as that precedent. "

Arizona hasn't yet made the leap to D1. She & you likely meant Arizona State University.....wink

 

[Split-N]

Well, we've all seen this Kabuki dance before (remember how Illinois led us on for three years)? So far, all there is here is a well-intentioned student columnist expressing a sentiment that makes so much sense to us true believers but is likely going nowhere.

First, the usual suspects: Money and Title IX. As to the former, UCLA isn't exactly poor, but its athletic budget looks like a fiscal basket case; as to the latter, the school is big enough to figure out a way comply if it really wants to pursue hockey. Beyond that is probable pushback from entrenched football and hoops interests that won't welcome in-season revenue-producing competition and certainly don't want to see another expensive sport compete for a chunk of the already in-the-hole athletic budget. The football and hoops gods must be fed!

On the bright side: Should some miracle occur, and UCLA starts a D1 hockey program, would it be able to drag USC along with it since both are headed to the B1G?