I don't think anybody knows just how this House settlement thing is going to play out. At face value, the rich will get richer, that is certain. Gotta belive there will be a cascade of legal challenges along the lines of anti trust. In the end, I would not be surprised if a revenue sharing system is cooked up like NBA or NFL. I feel like UNH has no choice but to opt in and hope to eventually get a piece of the big pie...
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UNH 2025 Offseason: Where in the World is MS7?
- Thread starter TheGrouchyCat
- Start date
ESL to Nanaimo
UNH hockey is facing and existential crisis. In light of the massive cuts coming from Concord to UNH, it seems unrealistic to expect UNH to be able to afford 26 scholarships year in and year out. The key issue is the future of HE programs that have uneven scholarship levels. NIL presents precisely the same problem. I think we all agree that UNH is unlikely to make NIL payments to players. At some point the max scholarship/NIL payment programs will form separate conferences from the others.
UNH will still be D1 in hockey but will compete in a conference with schools with similar resources. My guess is the max scholarship/NIL schools will be the following: BC, BU, UConn, UMass, ULowell, Providence, Maine, Northeastern and Merrimack. UNH and UVM will not be in that group.
The biggest question is Merrimack. ULowell scholarships will follow in lock step with UMass because both answer to the same master. NIL will be tough at UML but that will play out over time. The Mass state legislature will do something for that school. Merrimack is interesting. Hockey is its flagship sport and it's a private school. The scholarships will not be a huge issue for it - heck, it funds a scholarship football team. NIL will be tricky. A few wealthy donors may help out. Merrimack will at least try for a while.
Northeastern is a Beanpot school and is fully committed to hockey . New arena coming and well healed alumni base inside Rte 128. Same as BU obviously. Providence has hoop revenue and a proud strong alumni network and local non alumni that view Providence as its regional sports team.
UNH's problem is simple. The state is backing off higher education costs and the residents have a core belief that less is more (ie good coaching and a can do attitude can overcome lack of monetary investment). UVM is a program I'm not as familiar with so I'm going with what other people say.
Ten years from now my guess is you'll see Quinnipiac enter Hockey East with UNH and UVM leaving - perhaps Merrimack. A conference with UNH, UVM, Holy Cross, Bentley, Sacred Heart, Merrimack (?), and perhaps 3 NY schools (RIT, Niagara, Canisius) makes sense. What's interesting is if St Lawrence and RPI go looking for a new home.
UNH will still be D1 in hockey but will compete in a conference with schools with similar resources. My guess is the max scholarship/NIL schools will be the following: BC, BU, UConn, UMass, ULowell, Providence, Maine, Northeastern and Merrimack. UNH and UVM will not be in that group.
The biggest question is Merrimack. ULowell scholarships will follow in lock step with UMass because both answer to the same master. NIL will be tough at UML but that will play out over time. The Mass state legislature will do something for that school. Merrimack is interesting. Hockey is its flagship sport and it's a private school. The scholarships will not be a huge issue for it - heck, it funds a scholarship football team. NIL will be tricky. A few wealthy donors may help out. Merrimack will at least try for a while.
Northeastern is a Beanpot school and is fully committed to hockey . New arena coming and well healed alumni base inside Rte 128. Same as BU obviously. Providence has hoop revenue and a proud strong alumni network and local non alumni that view Providence as its regional sports team.
UNH's problem is simple. The state is backing off higher education costs and the residents have a core belief that less is more (ie good coaching and a can do attitude can overcome lack of monetary investment). UVM is a program I'm not as familiar with so I'm going with what other people say.
Ten years from now my guess is you'll see Quinnipiac enter Hockey East with UNH and UVM leaving - perhaps Merrimack. A conference with UNH, UVM, Holy Cross, Bentley, Sacred Heart, Merrimack (?), and perhaps 3 NY schools (RIT, Niagara, Canisius) makes sense. What's interesting is if St Lawrence and RPI go looking for a new home.
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MilkUniversity
Roll 'Thers | Plymouth State
UNH, and the USNH as a whole, is at a pretty significant inflection point. UNH's position as the "flagship" has shielded it from some of the impacts of declining support for higher ed in the state, but with the incoming fiscal year and potential state cuts they are going to feel the heat. Plymouth, Keene, and formerly GSC have all had to adapt and reform due to budget challenges since before the pandemic (hell GSC doesn't even exist anymore), while UNH has been mostly shielded until the last couple of years.
I still don't fully understand the full implications and technicalities behind the House v. NCAA settlement, but athletics wise UNH needs to keep adapting. Whether from taking advantage of recruiting CHL players (which is already happening), changing the coaching staff (which is a whole other convo I can tell), leaning into more public-private partnerships to bolster funding, or whatever else, there needs to be a shift. I'm not nearly familiar with UNH athletics like most people here, but from what I've seen from the school/admin as a whole is a reluctance to change course or admit mistakes while sailing into headwinds.
Even if UNH can't hit the max NIL number, if UNH drops from Hockey East, it's a major capitulation for the school on top of a growing pile of challenges.
I still don't fully understand the full implications and technicalities behind the House v. NCAA settlement, but athletics wise UNH needs to keep adapting. Whether from taking advantage of recruiting CHL players (which is already happening), changing the coaching staff (which is a whole other convo I can tell), leaning into more public-private partnerships to bolster funding, or whatever else, there needs to be a shift. I'm not nearly familiar with UNH athletics like most people here, but from what I've seen from the school/admin as a whole is a reluctance to change course or admit mistakes while sailing into headwinds.
Even if UNH can't hit the max NIL number, if UNH drops from Hockey East, it's a major capitulation for the school on top of a growing pile of challenges.
I'm not completely sure of this but believe that transfers from Canadian juniors are ineligible for NIL money
I believe it has something to do with their visas. If that is the case with UNH making a significant investment in this area
providing just the scholarships could be enough
It tough for UNh to compete without any new obstacles
I believe it has something to do with their visas. If that is the case with UNH making a significant investment in this area
providing just the scholarships could be enough
It tough for UNh to compete without any new obstacles
MilkUniversity
Roll 'Thers | Plymouth State
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Oh, the fun we could have had with that tag ... SO disappointed ...
