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Boy, I thought you Bentley guys were pretty reasonable about stuff a few weeks ago when RIT played Bentley, but WOW was that a bitter nasty assessment of things (not to mention somewhat misinformed).
Flagship? I'm not too sure I'd agree with that. RIT has been in the league for less than half of its existence. The reason the championships are here in Rochester is because it is the only site where there is an adequately large facility that has any chance of drawing any sort of attendance (and that actually was willing to put in a bid). Of course that rides so much on RIT making the Final Four. You know the league's hearts were skipping beats this year and back in 2009 when RIT was extended the full three games in the Quarterfinals.
You don't really understand what traditional power means do you? Cornell's current status makes them nationally relevant. Their status as a traditional power in college hockey comes from what they accomplished in the 60s and 70s, and the 8 Frozen 4s they've had. Harvard is hitting tough times in its program, and its attendance is down, but remember that they made the tournament every year from 01-06, have a national title, and numerous Frozen Fours. They could become strong again at any moment assuming they actually get decent support from their university. The problem with the new WCHA is that there is no school like Cornell (mostly on a size and interest perspective). It has a lot of Clarkson's and RPI's, but the few big schools it has just aren't very interested in hockey, (maybe Ferris qualifies along those lines, but Ferris is always going to have a harder time getting high profile games than Cornell). With the lack of name recognition that that league is going to suffer, don't be surprised if they have a hard time scheduling quality opposition out of conference. They're going to have a hard time finding a tournament site (which I think the ECAC will eventually solve by gaining what I see as another large, hockey crazy school which has the potential to grow on the national stage in RIT). I hope I'm wrong, since being from a conference of little guys, I love to see the little guys thrive. I just don't see a long term path for success for the New WCHA.
Just my opinion, but I have a feeling we're getting closer and closer to seeing a split within ECAC. I cant imagine the Ivy schools are that satisfied being associated with a hockey league as poorly run as the ECAC is, especially of late. Not to mention the Ivy League did just hire a marketing agency for the first time in conference history to promote Ivy athletics and to help produce sponsorship opportunities as well as provide other marketing functions, including social media, public relations and licensing. Also who knows, perhaps a seperate Ivy hockey conference would help encourage Penn to get their program going again and help grow the sport. I guess it all comes down to what the Ivy presidents feel is best for them, whether its staying put in the ECAC or going off on their own.
Significant difference in buildings and one gives scholarships while the other does not.