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WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conference

Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Bale said:
Ummm....what? Anybody know/think there's any legitimacy to this? This seems to fly in the face of everything that we've heard out of BG for the alst 2 years.

http://www.ay-ziggy-zoomba.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=35222
Click to expand...

I think its terrible personally, we just need to figure out a way to lift up the rest of the conference and everything will be fine...much like the current NCHC, if we ditch those 4 teams, someone is going to be at the bottom of the new conference...
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Bale said:
Ummm....what? Anybody know/think there's any legitimacy to this? This seems to fly in the face of everything that we've heard out of BG for the alst 2 years.

http://www.ay-ziggy-zoomba.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=35222
Click to expand...
Sounds like BG is looking for "like minded" schools to join them. Smells a lot like NaCHo 2.0. I do not see how it helps NCAA hockey as a whole and, in my opinion, that should be a major consideration of any conference realignment proposal.

Those of us hard-core niche fans will be around no matter what happens, but in the big picture of sports entertainment, NCAA hockey isn't big enough or strong enough to screw it up without lasting consequences.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Shirtless Guy said:
I think its terrible personally, we just need to figure out a way to lift up the rest of the conference and everything will be fine...much like the current NCHC, if we ditch those 4 teams, someone is going to be at the bottom of the new conference...
Click to expand...
^^^ This

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Bale said:
Ummm....what? Anybody know/think there's any legitimacy to this? This seems to fly in the face of everything that we've heard out of BG for the alst 2 years.

http://www.ay-ziggy-zoomba.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=35222
Click to expand...
That smells exactly like a few of us thought could happen. Especially with BGSU retaining the rights to the CCHA name/logo/etc.

While I'm flattered they all think the UP schools (minus LSSU) would be on board with this... Talon's math doesn't quite add up.
He simplifies it as: NCHC=oWCHA - B1G and nCCHA = oCCHA -B1G
It really becomes: NCHC = oWCHA - B1G - MTU - UAA and nCCHA = oCCHA - B1G - UA_ + MTU

The three UA* schools get the short end in this scenario.
 
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Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

aparch said:
That smells exactly like a few of us thought could happen. Especially with BGSU retaining the rights to the CCHA name/logo/etc.

While I'm flattered they all think the UP schools (minus LSSU) would be on board with this... Talon's math doesn't quite add up.
He simplifies it as: NCHC=oWCHA - B1G and nCCHA = oCCHA -B1G
It really becomes: NCHC = oWCHA - B1G - MTU - UAA and nCCHA = oCCHA - B1G - UA_

The three UA* schools get the short end in this scenario.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the fuzzy math of college athletics. :)

But I'm sure somehow it would be presented in a way that's "growing the game".

Although, from my perspective, something like this is what should have happened in the first place. Very few of the schools in college hockey have the resources to be a "national" team. It's still a regional sport. Maybe that will change in time, but right now it's still regional. I don't have a good answer for the UA_ "problem". It sure would be a step backwards to allow 3 programs that have shown extensive commitment to a sport to just fail.
 
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Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

I didn't think anybody read our board ;)

It was an interesting conversation. I did not get the impression AT ALL that anything was imminent OR likely; it was his opinion/desires based on the status quo. I also got the impression that LSSU was included in the yooperland mix. And it's not a secret we've held onto our dreams of a nCCHA rising from the ash-heap of long lost college hockey leagues. So take it for what it's worth, but let the speculation begin! Besides, we need something to talk about over the summer.
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

TalonsUpPuckDown said:
I didn't think anybody read our board ;)

It was an interesting conversation. I did not get the impression AT ALL that anything was imminent OR likely; it was his opinion/desires based on the status quo. I also got the impression that LSSU was included in the yooperland mix. And it's not a secret we've held onto our dreams of a nCCHA rising from the ash-heap of long lost college hockey leagues. So take it for what it's worth, but let the speculation begin! Besides, we need something to talk about over the summer.
Click to expand...

Yeah, glad to see it's this crap again. I guess we'll speculate on what WCHA teams will drop next summer.

GFM
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Some logic must come in College Hockey. There are 3 D1 teams in the state of Ohio and they are in 3 different leagues. I don't want to see any program lost, but some regional logic must enter the picture. Geof, UAH was improved last year and will be in a better place if, and when, logic returns to US College Hockey. The more that they improve, the better off they will be.
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Hockey John said:
Some logic must come in College Hockey. There are 3 D1 teams in the state of Ohio and they are in 3 different leagues. I don't want to see any program lost, but some regional logic must enter the picture. Geof, UAH was improved last year and will be in a better place if, and when, logic returns to US College Hockey. The more that they improve, the better off they will be.
Click to expand...

Why does logic matter? Money matters.

GFM
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

An educated guess would say at least half of the schools in the league have considered options outside the WCHA. While I get that seeing it in writing adds some reality to it, this isn’t a new discussion for most coaches and athletic directors in the conference.
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Meh. Another round of realignment is a pretty poorly kept secret. BG, or any other school, will only move if they can demonstrate positive value to their prospective situation.
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Hockey John said:
Some logic must come in College Hockey. There are 3 D1 teams in the state of Ohio and they are in 3 different leagues.
Click to expand...

So what? That's hardly unique, and the 3 in Ohio are further apart.

MINNESOTA
65 miles from Minneapolis to St. Cloud
81 miles from Mankato to Minneapolis
111 miles from St. Cloud to Mankato

MICHIGAN
79 miles from Kalamazoo to East Lansing
107 miles from Big Rapids to Kalamazoo
109 miles from East Lansing to Big Rapids

OHIO
117 miles from Oxford to Columbus
122 miles from Columbus to Bowling Green
172 miles from Bowling Green to Oxford
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

It's pretty hard to have any confidence in the long term future of the WCHA when 2 of the perennial top 4 programs don't want to even be in the conference.

Mankato has already tried to leave and its been no secret for a while now that BGSU really, really wants to be in a Great Lakes area(Michigan-Ohio-Pennsylvania) centered league and end all the long bus trips to Minnesota/Alabama and travel to the AK schools.
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

bravohankins said:
It's pretty hard to have any confidence in the long term future of the WCHA when 2 of the perennial top 4 programs don't want to even be in the conference.

Mankato has already tried to leave and its been no secret for a while now that BGSU really, really wants to be in a Great Lakes area(Michigan-Ohio-Pennsylvania) centered league and end all the long bus trips to Minnesota/Alabama and travel to the AK schools.
Click to expand...

Shot: https://goo.gl/maps/idNhSEH85HT2

Chaser: https://goo.gl/maps/hS2jD5bv1b72

The next round of realignment is going to come only in a handful of forms:

1. WMU / Miami pledge to leave the NCHC and join the WCHA, penalties be ****ed. This would kick off negotiations. This requires donors willing to help soften the blow of the escape clauses. Probability: low (it requires them to move in faith); impact: high (it would essentially force a change that would be uncontrolled).
2. NCHC and WCHA forces combine to make pro-active swap to re-unite the non-B1G Minnesota schools and return WMU/Miami to the lower Midwest. Probability: pretty low (requires the conferences to work together), impact: medium (would be a negotiated change that doesn't result in a chain reaction of panic moves).
3. ASU gets an arena deal in place and joins the NCHC with MSU, leaving BSU as the only Minnesota school in the WCHA (weird statement) and keeping the old CCHA split up. Probability: moderate (I think this would've happened by now if ASU had an arena), impact: low (WCHA approaches Robert Morris / Mercyhurst / Niagara / Air Force to fill the open slot).
4. One or more Division I teams folds (take your pick of UAA/UAF/UAH/LSSU and whatever AHC schools are on life support these days). Probability: moderate (could happen), impact: low (unlikely to make any name schools move).
5. NCAA mandates that no Division I conference can be larger than seven members. Probability: minuscule; impact: could be viewed from the ISS.

I actually like that last one if it's also driven with a cap on league games at 24, but then I also like controlled chaos.

GFM
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Why 7 Geof? That seems to go too far and creates bad situations for autobids, max 7, min 6 creates uncertainty if you’re with teams that might fold...
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

Shirtless Guy said:
Why 7 Geof? That seems to go too far and creates bad situations for autobids, max 7, min 6 creates uncertainty if you’re with teams that might fold...
Click to expand...

Six conference opponents x 2 home-and-home series = 24 league games. More OOC = greater diversity in the sport.

GFM
 
Re: WCHA 2018 Off-Season: Nobody's Walking Out On This Old-Fashioned Hockey Conferenc

gfmorris posted:

Shot: https://goo.gl/maps/idNhSEH85HT2

Chaser: https://goo.gl/maps/hS2jD5bv1b72
Click to expand...

I understand your point on the mileage, but having a program with Tech's history and support in your league compared to Huntsville....the choice is not even close.

.......and don't get me wrong, I like Huntsville. I hope they stay around. BG alum Doug Ross started that program. They are our designated rival....not sure why, but OK. Well, I know why, our real rivals Miami and OSU are in other leagues, which brings us back to our original problem.

Just saying teams would rather drive to Houghton before Huntsville.....and for the rest of the Michigan teams Tech is way closer than Huntsville.

Pretty sure something is going to tip one way or another within 2 years.......we'll see.
 
gfmorris said:
3. ASU gets an arena deal in place and joins the NCHC with MSU, leaving BSU as the only Minnesota school in the WCHA (weird statement) and keeping the old CCHA split up. Probability: moderate (I think this would've happened by now if ASU had an arena), impact: low (WCHA approaches Robert Morris / Mercyhurst / Niagara / ------ to fill the open slot).

GFM
Click to expand...

The problem the last time around was those teams didn't want to travel to the U.P.
 
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