ticapnews
Never graduate.
University of Maine Launches Black Bear Student-Athlete Experience Fund
Sounds like Friends of Maine Hockey with different branding.
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UMaine 25-26: Marques My Word: Back to the Big Time
- Thread starter UncleRay
- Start date
Ineverquit
Born a Mainer
I personally think there should be on campus sites. According to Google ai 80-85% of all NCAA mens d1 hockey arenas have a seating capacity of 2500+. To counter your argument there has NEVER been a team in the top 8 of the pairwise that has an arena that seats less than 2500 according to google ai. This be honest, realistically all teams that are committed to hockey (especially now with NIL) and are going to perform good are going to have an arena over the size of 2500+, many more much bigger than that size. Google ai lists some of the most recent teams that finished top 8 of the pairwise in recent years with smaller seating capacities as Quinnipiac (3,287), Cornell (4,300), Providence (3,030) and Harvard (2,776).
Last year the 4 regionals had an attendance of around 4800-7400 per regional in the 1st round so an average of 2400-3700 between the two games 1st round games at each regional. The regional final games had 6,933, 4,329, 6,802, and 6,453. Google ai says there are 35 or more arenas that seat 4,000 or more. 19 seat 5,000 or more. 14 with 6,000 or more. It'd look a lot better (tv production wise/atmosphere wise) with an arena that is closer to being full than an arena that might be completely full for 1 game and almost empty the next game or 1/2 and 1/2 between the 2 first round games in each regional AT BEST.
I agree with your alternative scenario with schools having the option to host somewhere nearby if there arena is smaller, but as you said that somewhat ruins the point of having an onsite campus regional.
My proposal on the idea is what if the NCAA hockey season gets expanded until mid/late April, instead of early/mid April like it has been (Including playoffs)? Is there something in the rules/by laws that prevent the season from going that long? So I would say split the regionals so 1-8 host the 1st round games on one weekend and then reseed so the top 4 can host the 2nd round games the following weekend. Would cut down some overall travel costs for teams as well, but cost more for ESPN.
One negative of this for ESPN is they would need to do 8 extra setups (unless they are an Hockey East or ECAC team than they could decide to run with their inhouse team(s) if they so choose). One option is the NCAA could choose to have a bye week between conference championships and the NCAA tournament, this would make it so the NCAA hockey tournament would interfere much less with the NCAA Basketball tournament. ESPN would have more crew available to work on the hockey tournament since it would not be as tied up with NCAA basketball duties (and could get more of a chance to air on a bigger channel for more viewership, ex: ESPN, ESPN2), though NBA/NHL playoffs start around mid April. An alternative to avoid the NBA/NHL playoffs is to get rid of the extra week off in-between the 2nd round games and the frozen four but that would give less time for people to make plans.
Or just a donation to the athletic department. I’m sure they’ll just adjust how much they give each team depending on what is received in donations. I doubt these donations make any difference to whichever team you donate to.
ticapnews
Never graduate.
1) You still haven't explained how the NCAA is going to make money. It gets mid-six figures every season having neutral sites bid to host. You need to replace that revenue.
2) What about arenas that host events other than hockey? Agganis typically hosts the circus the week after the Hockey East finals. They've booked it for 10 days this year. Are you expecting them to hold open the arena on the off-chance BU hosts? You going to reimburse them for the lost revenue? Or double book the arena and hope BU doesn't host? But if they do? Call up the Ringling Brothers and apologize that they've been scheduled for a year and have already sold tens of thousands of tickets, but we have some hockey games to play?
AMC
Registered User
There's a whole universe of players out there who don't expect a $750,000 check to show up for one year like McKenna, but also who expect to get more than a scholarship, room, and board. I'm not out here arguing for a $10,000,000 slush fund to get the ten biggest names each year. I'm also not arguing for Maine to get into bidding wars with BC or BU for every player. None of that is feasible. But if a kid is sifting through scholarship/NIL offers, and he's got four or five that will write him a $20,000 check, and ten or so that won't, it's tough to pull ahead of the other 15 schools involved if you are one of the $0 bidders. And those guys aren't necessarily one-and-done.
Not all of those guys are at BC/BU/Michigan, either. Providence has kids making money. UConn has kids making money. The amount of money that would make a real difference isn't ridiculous, there can't be many more than 20 college hockey programs that give enough of a shit to find $150,000 or so to get their players some cash. That's the kind of thing that a fan base like Maine's can accomplish, and it just needed to be set up. Huge kudos to the athletic department for making this push and getting it up and running.
tylerzx2002
Well-known member
I was wondering the same thing. Figure he will at some point.
Was glad to see former Black Bear Felix Trudeau sign a deal with the Blues though.
same here, was bullish on him before & during his time at Maine and loved seeing him do so well at SHU
umhockey91
Well-known member
‘We do not have a choice’: UMaine will pay its athletes to keep athletic teams relevant
Division I sports is changing rapidly, and Maine is doing its best to keep pace.
www.pressherald.com
UncleRay
M-A-I-N-E, GooOOO, Blue!
If there's enough money at a Regional for the NC$$ to make 6 figures and for the venue and the host school to both make money, it seems likely there's enough money for the NC$$ to take a cut, and the #1 seed to get some scratch hosting the 3 game Regional.
I agree that the number 1's should host the Regionals. In their barn, as long as they seat 4,000 minimum. Maybe 6,000 minimum. Give every team the chance, before the season, to name a secondary arena if theirs isn't big enough. Bentley could name Worcester, for example. Or Conte. Go crazy - all of Hockey East could name the Garden, which would put a Regional there more years than not. If Maine is a 3-seed, wouldn't it be better to play in Boston than Albany? If this is about the student athletes, let's make it about the student athletes.
I agree that the number 1's should host the Regionals. In their barn, as long as they seat 4,000 minimum. Maybe 6,000 minimum. Give every team the chance, before the season, to name a secondary arena if theirs isn't big enough. Bentley could name Worcester, for example. Or Conte. Go crazy - all of Hockey East could name the Garden, which would put a Regional there more years than not. If Maine is a 3-seed, wouldn't it be better to play in Boston than Albany? If this is about the student athletes, let's make it about the student athletes.
BlackBearHockeyFan
Active member
Let top 8 host best of 3 series.
How much is it to bid on a regional?
How much is it to bid on a regional?
grooverider
Your Team Sucks
Minimum 150k and the host covers all the expenses. And they get a measly 20 percent and NCAA takes 80 percent profit. There is a reason why the same shitholes host all the time. NCAA milking their last huge revenue ripoff. Hosting by higher seeds may be less money but can you imagine Alfond hosting a regional game? People would pay 100+ a ticket. Club 300+ easy.
BlackBearHockeyFan
Active member
Alfond would be nuts. Hope someday we find out
ticapnews
Never graduate.
The bidding itself is a big expense (at least $150K minimum) but there are also the expenses on top of that. The arena has to be available two or three days before the scheduled games, the host pays for hotels for NCAA officials etc. Also the NCAA sets the prices for the tickets, which is usually exorbitant. The NCAA takes a cut of everything: concessions, parking etc. If Maine had won the right to host the regional in Portland, it would have required at least an average attendance of 4500 just to break even. Had Maine (or UNH) been in the regional, it could have done that. But neither Maine nor UNH qualified that year so they would have been lucky to take a modest loss. More than likely it would have been a financial disaster. Schools like Pedo State can afford it because it's a rounding error for their athletics budgets. Maine can't afford it. Thankfully the bid was rejected by the NCAA and Maine has not bid again.
BlackBearHockeyFan
Active member
They wouldn't give Maine a bid anyway
umhockey91
Well-known member
Portland would be an instant favorite (with fans from all schools) to host regionals on a regular basis if were ever given the chance. I think that's what some people are afraid of.
umhockey91
Well-known member
Lots of stuff all over Maine news sources today regarding the formation of a direct payment program to UMaine athletes.....
www.bangordailynews.com
www.bangordailynews.com
As it relates to hockey.....some interesting quotes from Ben Barr:
“It’s not really a choice that we have. It’s something we have to do to stay competitive in this new landscape,” UMaine men’s hockey coach Ben Barr said. “It allows the coaches and the programs to go out and work hard towards raising money. And if we do that, it will go directly to our student-athletes in one form or another, whatever that is.”
Barr said UMaine Vice President and Athletic Director Jude Killy has worked hard with university administration “to get this figured out.”
Barr has been working for a couple of years with Bear Down Collective, an NIL vehicle under the leadership of concert promoter Alex Gray and First National Bank Vice President Kristen McAlpine, so he has been involved in fundraising along with Seth Woodcock, the UMaine senior associate athletic for development and capital planning.
Barr said UMaine has a lot to attract a potential student-athlete in addition to financial resources and a scholarship, including a $50 million renovation to the Alfond Arena, the unique energized game night experience at Alfond Arena and a “great league” in Hockey East.
“We have to thrive in this and we should be able to in hockey. We have to absolutely hammer this,” Barr said. “We have so many good things going for us. We weren’t good enough to make the NCAA Tournament this year, but that’s on me and I firmly believe we will fix that.”
“We should be a destination in college hockey,” Barr said. “We may not be in downtown Boston with all that glamor, but if we’re not chasing that to the best of our ability, shame on us.”
A small group of athletes is already getting paid directly at UMaine
Division I institutions are now able to pay athletes directly after a historic settlement between the NCAA and several former and current collegiate athletes.
www.bangordailynews.com
UMaine coaches welcome move to start paying players
The University of Maine has established a fund for student-athlete pay. This allows fans to directly support teams and athletes.
www.bangordailynews.com
As it relates to hockey.....some interesting quotes from Ben Barr:
“It’s not really a choice that we have. It’s something we have to do to stay competitive in this new landscape,” UMaine men’s hockey coach Ben Barr said. “It allows the coaches and the programs to go out and work hard towards raising money. And if we do that, it will go directly to our student-athletes in one form or another, whatever that is.”
Barr said UMaine Vice President and Athletic Director Jude Killy has worked hard with university administration “to get this figured out.”
Barr has been working for a couple of years with Bear Down Collective, an NIL vehicle under the leadership of concert promoter Alex Gray and First National Bank Vice President Kristen McAlpine, so he has been involved in fundraising along with Seth Woodcock, the UMaine senior associate athletic for development and capital planning.
Barr said UMaine has a lot to attract a potential student-athlete in addition to financial resources and a scholarship, including a $50 million renovation to the Alfond Arena, the unique energized game night experience at Alfond Arena and a “great league” in Hockey East.
“We have to thrive in this and we should be able to in hockey. We have to absolutely hammer this,” Barr said. “We have so many good things going for us. We weren’t good enough to make the NCAA Tournament this year, but that’s on me and I firmly believe we will fix that.”
“We should be a destination in college hockey,” Barr said. “We may not be in downtown Boston with all that glamor, but if we’re not chasing that to the best of our ability, shame on us.”
At a high level, that's accurate, however, it's hard to quantify the "boost" to the local economy. Purely looking at it based on ticket sales for the host to break even doesn't paint the whole picture.
