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UNH 2024/2025 Goldberg Edition

Snively65 said:
The “bridge to nowhere” was a project in SE Alaska. We have a goalie from nowhere and he is doing fine.
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He is not a cornerstone keeper to build a team around nor a conduit to future success.

MS7's "success" can be tied to the rise of the portal and, potentially, the transfers from the CHL. So, he has a track record of mediocrity, is a poor recruiter of organic (not transfer) talent, and is struggling to fundraise. So, what is it that he actually brings to the table outside his connection to Dick and glories that faded long ago?
 
Snively65 said:
Agreed that we need to beat NU but we will not be able to leapfrog them out of the HEA basement untl mid-January at the earliest as the Huskies are 4 points ahead of us. If we beat the Huskies and the Huskies beat Mack on December 14th, we could tie Mack in the basement with 8 points each. We also could leapfrog UMass-Flagship leaving them in the basement if the Minutemen get fewer than 2 points in their two games against BU on December 7th and 11th. Otherwise, our next opportunity to beat a HEA team does not happen until January 10th against Yukon.
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Thinking ot would be a start of sorts..and...a W at Dartmouth would perhaps lead to UNH being a ranked team going into the break..Haha maybe that IS a bridge too far to speculate at this point?
 
After attending the wonderful (aside from a 3 PM start actually being 4 PM) centennial event for the Bruins yesterday, I am wondering if UNH will be doing anything to celebrate what is the 100th (101st, technically) season of the hockey program.
 
2013hockeyfan said:
After attending the wonderful (aside from a 3 PM start actually being 4 PM) centennial event for the Bruins yesterday, I am wondering if UNH will be doing anything to celebrate what is the 100th (101st, technically) season of the hockey program.
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Outdoor rink at UNH opened in 1926, so plenty of time to plan something tied to fund raising for 100-year anniversary. Maybe host Dartmouth at the Whitt?
 
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TheGrouchyCat said:
MS7's "success" can be tied to the rise of the portal and, potentially, the transfers from the CHL. So, he has a track record of mediocrity, is a poor recruiter of organic (not transfer) talent, and is struggling to fundraise. So, what is it that he actually brings to the table outside his connection to Dick and glories that faded long ago?
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Grouch, you overlooked his legendary inability to coach his players up during their time under his tutelage ...
 
Chuck Murray said:
Grouch, you overlooked his legendary inability to coach his players up during their time under his tutelage ...
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Souza is one of if the the lowest paid coaches in Hockey East. Like seemingly everything else associated with UNH, the hockey program is being asked to do more with less. Most of the time, less resources leads to lesser results. The building is outdated and the player facilities second rate. Souza is not the answer, but he's by no means the problem. The problem is a lack of commitment to the program from the University, the State and the fans. The failure to be able to follow through on the renovations says it all. UNH is a program that without dramatic funding changes will be a lower tier HE team that makes the NCAAs about 10% of the time.
 
Chuck Murray said:
Grouch, you overlooked his legendary inability to coach his players up during their time under his tutelage ...
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Must be still suffering the consequences from my post Thanksgiving hangover for missing such an obvious point.

But point taken...like Sardarian averaging a point a game at Michigan Tech as the most recent example?
 
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Potluck said:
Souza is one of if the the lowest paid coaches in Hockey East. Like seemingly everything else associated with UNH, the hockey program is being asked to do more with less. Most of the time, less resources leads to lesser results. The building is outdated and the player facilities second rate. Souza is not the answer, but he's by no means the problem. The problem is a lack of commitment to the program from the University, the State and the fans. The failure to be able to follow through on the renovations says it all. UNH is a program that without dramatic funding changes will be a lower tier HE team that makes the NCAAs about 10% of the time.
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These issues stem directly back to Scarano and his vain attempt to make the University a football school and to elevate his own reputation. He chose poorly as UNH has never had a reputation of a national football powerhouse in a second tier league at that. The upgrades to the Whitt and the associated fundraising should have begun 10+ years ago, but apparently strategic planning isn't a thing at the UNH. So much for the bona fides of the Whittemore School of Business and the application of lessons learned in the vacuum of theory.

Fans like to cheer on winning teams and let's be frank, the track record of MS7 is second rate. Part of the job of a coach, besides winning on the ice, to be the chief evangelist to the fans, the community and to donors. How has he done? The Friends disbanded. He only appears in the media when his contract is on the line. Rarely gives interviews. Apparently, he's a fundraising guru but when was the last time we heard any positive updates about the Whitt upgrades. The scuttlebutt from multiple sources is that the capital raise is far behind projections and the groundbreaking for the spring of 2025 is at risk.

Based on his track record and losing record, he SHOULD be one of the lowest paid coaches in Hockey East. He may not be the answer, true but he has certainly contributed to the problem.

Most of the time isn't all of the time. Enough with the excuses and justifications.
 
Potluck said:
Souza is one of if the the lowest paid coaches in Hockey East. Like seemingly everything else associated with UNH, the hockey program is being asked to do more with less. Most of the time, less resources leads to lesser results. The building is outdated and the player facilities second rate. Souza is not the answer, but he's by no means the problem. The problem is a lack of commitment to the program from the University, the State and the fans. The failure to be able to follow through on the renovations says it all. UNH is a program that without dramatic funding changes will be a lower tier HE team that makes the NCAAs about 10% of the time.
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So, you're saying that if Coach Souza was paid more, he'd be a better coach ... correct?

The highest paid coach in HEA is playing in a brand-new rink, and he's got as many winning seasons in his HC career as Souza does, at a school that competes at the top of D-1 in Hoops (both genders). Help me work this out, please ...
 
Chuck Murray said:
So, you're saying that if Coach Souza was paid more, he'd be a better coach ... correct?

The highest paid coach in HEA is playing in a brand-new rink, and he's got as many winning seasons in his HC career as Souza does, at a school that competes at the top of D-1 in Hoops (both genders). Help me work this out, please ...
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Must be nice to have TWO nationally ranked, revenue generating teams that can support the hockey program. And, of course, the obscene CT taxes.
 
Chuck Murray said:
So, you're saying that if Coach Souza was paid more, he'd be a better coach ... correct?

The highest paid coach in HEA is playing in a brand-new rink, and he's got as many winning seasons in his HC career as Souza does, at a school that competes at the top of D-1 in Hoops (both genders). Help me work this out, please ...
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Chuck: Please, you know that's not what I mean. I attended UNH and recall that the school ALWAYS was coming up short with money. It's a byproduct of the frugal, yankee New Hampshire tradition of doing more with less. Or, you know, it's being cheap. In general, you get what you pay for in life. I'm confident the UNH hockey program simply does not have the financial resources a majority of HE teams have and likely falls short by a lot. Over time the program will suffer as it is now. Blaming Souza is unfair. It's a systemic problem. If UNH had a top coach, he'd likely get poached and leave for a better funded program.
 
Potluck said:
Chuck: Please, you know that's not what I mean. I attended UNH and recall that the school ALWAYS was coming up short with money. It's a byproduct of the frugal, yankee New Hampshire tradition of doing more with less. Or, you know, it's being cheap. In general, you get what you pay for in life. I'm confident the UNH hockey program simply does not have the financial resources a majority of HE teams have and likely falls short by a lot. Over time the program will suffer as it is now. Blaming Souza is unfair. It's a systemic problem. If UNH had a top coach, he'd likely get poached and leave for a better funded program.
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Bingo! New Hampshire perennially ranks last in state support of public higher education, and in 2022, the last year that data are available, the separation with second-to-last Pennsylvania is not even close, $3699 per full-time equivalent vs ~$8000 FTE. The national average in 2022 was $10,237 per FTE. Vermont was fourth-to-last, whereas Illinois was highest at $22,970 per FTE and aforementioned Connecticut was 5th highest. UNH is essentially a tuition-driven private university, although the school punches way above its weight in external research funding, led by engineering and the sciences, along with a few notable institutes like Family Research founded by Murray Strauss. Given the school’s precarious funding, it is quite amazing that UNH has any varsity athletic teams at all.
 
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Potluck said:
Chuck: Please, you know that's not what I mean. I attended UNH and recall that the school ALWAYS was coming up short with money. It's a byproduct of the frugal, yankee New Hampshire tradition of doing more with less. Or, you know, it's being cheap.
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It's a state school, what do you expect it to look like funding-wise? Just for facilities in their locations alone, who in HEA is doing better among state schools? UConn, no. UVM, no. UMass Lowell - doubt it. UMaine - not now, but maybe after their renovations? UMass Amherst, their rink was built primarily as a hoops venue (as was BC). Among the privates, NU - no. Providence - post renovations, still no. Merrimack - heck no. BU has a palace, clear win for them. BC's facility is far from perfect AND it's a decade older than The Whitt.

That UNH has fallen back from its previous prominence due to facility shortcomings is the easiest myth to bust ... but even if you put difference making value into bells & whistles like better locker rooms, private study areas, hot tubs, etc. the current coach had a chance to push for all that frosting, and instead decided to spend his decision-making capital on eliminating the competitive edge he had with the larger ice surface.

If your argument is he should be entitled to both, show me who else in HEA has gotten both. I'll wait ...

Potluck said:
In general, you get what you pay for in life. I'm confident the UNH hockey program simply does not have the financial resources a majority of HE teams have and likely falls short by a lot. Over time the program will suffer as it is now. Blaming Souza is unfair. It's a systemic problem.
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The biggest "systemic problem" UNH Hockey has is they picked the wrong head coach, someone who's never been a head coach before, and one whose assistant coaching experience was with scrub programs like UConn and Brown (which likely has a larger endowment than the rest of HEA schools combined). They paid for what an entry level D-1 HC warrants ... and he's still here, almost a decade later with one (1) winning season.

Potluck said:
If UNH had a top coach, he'd likely get poached and leave for a better funded program.
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Possibly, yes. Hubbard left, and that never should have been allowed to happen. Shame he wasn't considered as AD material when Blue Skies ponied off to Cazenovia. But I have an idea ... let's see what it looks like to have an honest-to-goodness "top hockey coach" again first, the last guy who was here stuck around for almost 30 years, and was actually a "top D-1 coach" for a good chunk of his tenure. And he didn't leave, did he??

Quick question: you say you went to UNH (FWIW both of our kids did, too), when was that? Did you live in-state before coming to UNH, and if not, where did you come in from? Did you stay in NH post-grad??

I ask, because you rolled out "byproduct of the frugal, yankee New Hampshire tradition of doing more with less" and I need to know if you mean that in a complimentary or derisory way? Because if your idea of improving things at UNH is attached to bloated budgets driven by a lot of needless extras, that's kinda important to know. Seems like the on-campus housing "crisis" of yore has been dealt with nicely. Again, I'll wait ...
 
Snively65 said:
Bingo! New Hampshire perennially ranks last in state support of public higher education, and in 2022, the last year that data are available, the separation with second-to-last Pennsylvania is not even close, $3699 per full-time equivalent vs ~$8000 FTE. The national average in 2022 was $10,237 per FTE. Vermont was fourth-to-last, whereas Illinois was highest at $22,970 per FTE and aforementioned Connecticut was 5th highest.
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Thank you, Mr. Billy Snives, for your Moneyball invocation of general stats. And for reminding me why I choose to live in NH, and not CT, VT or (gag) Illinois?!?!? I think you're making my point with the last state, no? Last time I checked, Illinois was $1.5B in the hole as a state, and I'm pretty sure none of its state schools are knocking it out of the park competitively in either the FBS or FCS, unless I'm missing something?

Snively65 said:
UNH is essentially a tuition-driven private university, although the school punches way above its weight in external research funding, led by engineering and the sciences, along with a few notable institutes like Family Research founded by Murray Strauss. Given the school's precarious funding, it is quite amazing that UNH has any varsity athletic teams at all.
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Frankly, the UNH model is one to be admired, given the targeting of external (i.e. real world private) research funding.

Are more taxes needed so USNH can better develop a grant structure for breeding of non-cisgender aquatic gerbils??

Moral of the story? UNH runs the way the State of New Hampshire runs, and they're both doing a good job. Is there room for improvement? I sure do hope so. Does UNH need to become Cal-Berkeley to make it happen?? LOL :rolleyes: :eek:
 
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