Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

[Hockey Monk]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

The Husker story is why I resurrected this thread from the dead a few days ago.

Go back to post #121:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.p...y-Conference&p=5363299&viewfull=1#post5363299

............not only are Lucia's actual comments there, I posted a link to the podcast for the entire interview.

SB Nation's Nebraska site Corn Nation picked up on a story where Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said hockey seemed like a natural fit at the University of Nebraska, and they look at the possibility. First, it's important to note that there's really no new information here; just Lucia saying he thinks it would be good idea, which is correct. If done correctly, Lincoln could be a great college hockey town, in much the same way Omaha is. But I would still be very surprised if Division I hockey happens there, at least with the current administration. Husker football will always be king, and I don't think the university has any intentions of adding another sport to compete with it. And while it was never officially made public, it was pretty clear two years ago that Nebraska-Omaha got to become the state's "hockey school" in exchange for dropping their football program, thus freeing up however many in-state players to walk-on at Nebraska-Lincoln rather than go elsewhere to play football.

http://www.westerncollegehockeyblog.com/2012/2/22/2816193/linkorama

 

[goldy_331]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

The Husker story is why I resurrected this thread from the dead a few days ago.

Go back to post #121:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.p...y-Conference&p=5363299&viewfull=1#post5363299

............not only are Lucia's actual comments there, I posted a link to the podcast for the entire interview.

So, maybe reading the thread before posting in it is a good idea, huh?

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

The Husker story is why I resurrected this thread from the dead a few days ago.

Go back to post #121:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.p...y-Conference&p=5363299&viewfull=1#post5363299

............not only are Lucia's actual comments there, I posted a link to the podcast for the entire interview.

SB Nation's Nebraska site Corn Nation picked up on a story where Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said hockey seemed like a natural fit at the University of Nebraska, and they look at the possibility. First, it's important to note that there's really no new information here; just Lucia saying he thinks it would be good idea, which is correct. If done correctly, Lincoln could be a great college hockey town, in much the same way Omaha is. But I would still be very surprised if Division I hockey happens there, at least with the current administration. Husker football will always be king, and I don't think the university has any intentions of adding another sport to compete with it. And while it was never officially made public, it was pretty clear two years ago that Nebraska-Omaha got to become the state's "hockey school" in exchange for dropping their football program, thus freeing up however many in-state players to walk-on at Nebraska-Lincoln rather than go elsewhere to play football.

http://www.westerncollegehockeyblog.com/2012/2/22/2816193/linkorama

Yeah, Nebraska Lincoln sets up shop and it wouldn't be too long until Trev is saying UNO can't afford D1 hockey, so they'll drop that sport as well. Trev serves the Corn Lords in Lincoln!!!

 

[hattrick16]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

I haven't read this entire thread, so I apologize if I'm repeating something that has been said. I think Northwestern is a natural fit for college hockey. A urban school in a large city. They could play at the Sears Center or Allstate until they get their own facility and I don't think they would have trouble getting fans in the building and finding good recruits. Plus I know the Big Ten would love to penetrate the Chicago hockey market.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

I haven't read this entire thread, so I apologize if I'm repeating something that has been said. I think Northwestern is a natural fit for college hockey. A urban school in a large city. They could play at the Sears Center or Allstate until they get their own facility and I don't think they would have trouble getting fans in the building and finding good recruits. Plus I know the Big Ten would love to penetrate the Chicago hockey market.

Here's a recap of the recent postings on the thread regarding Northwestern.

Much like in Minnesota where the North Stars didn't have enough fan support there isn't enough Blackhawk fan support for Northwestern to play college hockey.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

Here's a recap of the recent postings on the thread regarding Northwestern.

Much like in Minnesota where the North Stars didn't have enough fan support there isn't enough Blackhawk fan support for Northwestern to play college hockey.

Please don't feed the trolls. It makes you look no better than they do.

 

[Jupiter]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

<IMG SRC="http://mnhockeycentral.webs.com/BigTenNumbers.JPG"></>

I now have the 2010 numbers..... I will add it to the chart when I get the chance, but here are the raw numbers for 2010.

School ------- Men's Rev ------ Men's Exp ------ Total ------------ Women's Rev ------ Women's Exp ------ Total ----------- Overall
Michigan State University ------- $1,776,187.00 ------- $3,077,132.00 ------- $(1,300,945.00) ------------ $0 ------ $0 ------ $0 ----------- $(1,300,945.00)
Ohio State University ------- $1,186,956.00 ------- $2,761,793.00 ------- $(1,574,837.00) -------------- $541,688.00 ------- $1,473,216.00 ------- $(931,528.00) ------- $(2,506,365.00)
University of Michigan ------- $4,102,771.00 ------- $3,666,428.00 ------- $436,343.00 ------------ $0 ------ $0 ------ $0 ----------- $436,343.00
University of Minnesota ------- $6,681,561.00 ------- $1,976,633.00 ------- $4,704,928.00 -------------- $478,353.00 ------- $1,169,273.00 ------- $(690,920.00) ------- $4,014,008.00
University of Wisconsin ------- $5,297,711.00 ------- $3,975,306.00 ------- $1,322,405.00 -------------- $597,907.00 ------- $2,897,906.00 ------- $(2,299,999.00) ------- $(977,594.00)

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

I now have the 2010 numbers..... I will add it to the chart when I get the chance, but here are the raw numbers for 2010.

School ------- Men's Rev ------ Men's Exp ------ Total ------------ Women's Rev ------ Women's Exp ------ Total ----------- Overall
Michigan State University ------- $1,776,187.00 ------- $3,077,132.00 ------- $(1,300,945.00) ------------ $0 ------ $0 ------ $0 ----------- $(1,300,945.00)
Ohio State University ------- $1,186,956.00 ------- $2,761,793.00 ------- $(1,574,837.00) -------------- $541,688.00 ------- $1,473,216.00 ------- $(931,528.00) ------- $(2,506,365.00)
University of Michigan ------- $4,102,771.00 ------- $3,666,428.00 ------- $436,343.00 ------------ $0 ------ $0 ------ $0 ----------- $436,343.00
University of Minnesota ------- $6,681,561.00 ------- $1,976,633.00 ------- $4,704,928.00 -------------- $478,353.00 ------- $1,169,273.00 ------- $(690,920.00) ------- $4,014,008.00
University of Wisconsin ------- $5,297,711.00 ------- $3,975,306.00 ------- $1,322,405.00 -------------- $597,907.00 ------- $2,897,906.00 ------- $(2,299,999.00) ------- $(977,594.00)

Thanks Jup

 

[gopher wes]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Here's a recap of the recent postings on the thread regarding Northwestern.

Much like in Minnesota where the North Stars didn't have enough fan support there isn't enough Blackhawk fan support for Northwestern to play college hockey.

Scoobs is right. That pretty much sums it up!

 

[Jupiter]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

FYI.... I have never figured out what the "year" covers.

Meaning, I don't know if when it says 2010 if that is the calendar year of 2010 or if it's the school year of 2009-10. I just don't know how they are required to report their numbers.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

FYI.... I have never figured out what the "year" covers.

Meaning, I don't know if when it says 2010 if that is the calendar year of 2010 or if it's the school year of 2009-10. I just don't know how they are required to report their numbers.

That's a great question.

 

[SanTropez]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Here's a recap of the recent postings on the thread regarding Northwestern.

Much like in Minnesota where the North Stars didn't have enough fan support there isn't enough Blackhawk fan support for Northwestern to play college hockey.

Sounds reasonable.

 

[hattrick16]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Here's a recap of the recent postings on the thread regarding Northwestern.

Much like in Minnesota where the North Stars didn't have enough fan support there isn't enough Blackhawk fan support for Northwestern to play college hockey.

UI-Chicago and the North Stars dropped hockey in the early 90s. Two decades later, Minneapolis has a team back. In addition to the Blackhawks, Chicago supports the Chicago Wolves (AHL), Chicago Steel (USHL), Chicago Express (ECHL), Chicago Hitmen (NAHL) and Division III college hockey. The NHL eventually learned that that argument is flawed. Northwestern and the Evanston community could support hockey if the university wanted it. Boston supports many college teams and is a 1/6 the size of Chicago. Only Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts and New York produce more D-I college hockey players than the Chicagoland area and the state of Illinois has zero D-I hockey programs. There is a very compelling argument for Northwestern to seize that recruiting base and fan support.

 

[slowe]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

In addition to the Blackhawks, Chicago supports the Chicago Wolves (AHL), Chicago Steel (USHL), Chicago Express (ECHL), Chicago Hitmen (NAHL) and Division III college hockey.

I live in the Chicago area, and hockey has been on an upswing here in the last few years. But virtually all of those teams are on the Northwest side of the Chicago area. I wouldn't say that Northwestern couldn't survive, but they would have a lot of competition if they tried. While hockey is growing in popularity, it's not ingrained in the culture as much as it is in Minnesota or Massachusetts. If they tried to share a stadium with one of the other programs mentioned, they would have potential scheduling issues and none of those rinks are nearby the campus. So they would be competing with other teams for the Chicago area population and they would also likely be losing out on the student population. If they ever did want to build an on campus rink it would probably take a little creativity. Evanston is a pretty densely populated area. Though I don't claim to be that familiar with their campus or if a potential space might exist.

So the Chicago area argument cuts both ways. It's a good market, but it's also pretty competitive. It's kinda sad that Illinois doesn't have a D1 school yet. We have solid local talent, but they need a place to go. Having an in state school I think would only encourage more kids to play. I don't mean to belittle the chances of Northwestern getting a program. If they did I'd be happy. But also since I went to University of Illinois, I am a little biased if only one in state school were to give it a go...

 

[Genbeau]

I live in the Chicago area, and hockey has been on an upswing here in the last few years. But virtually all of those teams are on the Northwest side of the Chicago area. I wouldn't say that Northwestern couldn't survive, but they would have a lot of competition if they tried. While hockey is growing in popularity, it's not ingrained in the culture as much as it is in Minnesota or Massachusetts. If they tried to share a stadium with one of the other programs mentioned, they would have potential scheduling issues and none of those rinks are nearby the campus. So they would be competing with other teams for the Chicago area population and they would also likely be losing out on the student population. If they ever did want to build an on campus rink it would probably take a little creativity. Evanston is a pretty densely populated area. Though I don't claim to be that familiar with their campus or if a potential space might exist.

So the Chicago area argument cuts both ways. It's a good market, but it's also pretty competitive. It's kinda sad that Illinois doesn't have a D1 school yet. We have solid local talent, but they need a place to go. Having an in state school I think would only encourage more kids to play. I don't mean to belittle the chances of Northwestern getting a program. If they did I'd be happy. But also since I went to University of Illinois, I am a little biased if only one in state school were to give it a go...

Well, it's all just speculation, but if the founder of Jimmy Johns steps up to the plate (or better yet, skates up the the dot) u might get your wish. As far as other B1G's, Iowa seems intriguing. If nothing else, they are in the USHL footprint (easier on the recruiting budget), and those teams draw very well!

 

[duper]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

slowe may have a fair point about campus proximity regarding Northwestern. I would guess that one of the issues with UIC hockey was that Circle (I know I know, no one calls it Circle Campus anymore) is a commuter campus, and student bodies that don't generally live on or near campus also don't generally support their sports too much. While Northwestern is not a commuter campus, getting students to commute from campus to games several miles away might be a pain. On the other hand, I think DePaul does okay with basketball, and I think they still play off-campus so who knows. It would be funny to me if Northwestern went D-1 in hockey and played their home games at the UIC Pavilion.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Yeah, Nebraska Lincoln sets up shop and it wouldn't be too long until Trev is saying UNO can't afford D1 hockey, so they'll drop that sport as well. Trev serves the Corn Lords in Lincoln!!!

Some salient points about the "possibility" of Husker Hockey beyond the current club stage of its existence.

1. Tom Osborne, himself, has said he does not see hockey in the Husker's future:

http://my.journalstar.com/post/Husker_Extra_Group/Husker_Extra/blog/osborne_no_plans_for_hockey.html

2. Trev Alberts has said (personal communication when I cornered him at UNO game) that no quid pro quo exists as far as his decision to eliminate football and soccer are concerned relative to the Huskers seeking or not to go D-1 in hockey. This, despite much conjecture, otherwise, some of it on this board.

3. Tom Osborne turns 75 tomorrow and his tenure as the AD has a very finite lifespan due to his age and I think all bets on anything said on the topic, to-date, are off as a result. When he is gone his successor might totally feel otherwise on the topic.

4. I feel in my heart of hearts that the Big 10 is not going to be satisfied with having only 6 teams in the league (for scheduling and monetary reasons) and I would bet that they'd like to have at least 8 teams. It only makes sense. And, the sooner, the better. By that I mean within the decade.

5. We are talking about the largest and richest schools in the country, by and large, that have ginormous amounts of money and alumni. Most, if not all of them, have the pockets to do it and deal with the Title 9 implications, too, IF THEY WANT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

6. Whether UNO and a Husker program could co-exist is an interesting question. My belief is that they could, particularly since they would be in different conferences. If the Omaha Lancers and the Lincoln Stars can coexist in these markets and both be successful, which they are, then I think the Mavericks and the Huskers can as well. However, I do think Lincoln Stars hockey would suffer from the existence of a D-1 Huskers program, more so than the Lancers would, due to the relative size of the cities and the following anything Husker has in this state. I could see a Husker program being the end of the Stars, even.

7. Anybody taking all this in needs to keep this in mind:

Original announcement: http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_a659dba3-86c1-50af-9c9c-ad8a14dcc175.html

Formal announcement: http://journalstar.com/news/local/g...cle_f1637b62-92ec-5b13-8e33-dccd88ee14e2.html

Even more recent: http://www.newsnetnebraska.org/news/breslow-ice-center-expected-for-2013/

Which was the reason I resurrected this thread, the first time, back in the first week of January, back in post #77:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.p...y-Conference&p=5311779&viewfull=1#post5311779

For a school denying at every turn that they aren't looking at this, then I'd sure like to know what the hell this hockey arena is being built for. Please bear in mind that this facility is NOT the the new Pinnacle Bank arena:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnacle_Bank_Arena

......... that the Husker basketball team is going to play in, this is an entirely different facility being built right next to it!!!

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

I'm just saying, if you're a died in the wool Omaha fan, I would be nervous about whatever the Children of the Corn do. Because once they where to start up, you would have to have them come to Omaha to get your students to come to games, and more often than not, they're going to be wearing Corn on their heads. Any other game, say against UMD, those people that packed the arena ain't going to come for the Bulldogs.

 

[4four4]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

Some salient points about the "possibility" of Husker Hockey beyond the current club stage of its existence.

1. Tom Osborne, himself, has said he does not see hockey in the Husker's future:

http://my.journalstar.com/post/Husker_Extra_Group/Husker_Extra/blog/osborne_no_plans_for_hockey.html

2. Trev Alberts has said (personal communication when I cornered him at UNO game) that no quid pro quo exists as far as his decision to eliminate football and soccer are concerned relative to the Huskers seeking or not to go D-1 in hockey. This, despite much conjecture, otherwise, some of it on this board.

3. Tom Osborne turns 75 tomorrow and his tenure as the AD has a very finite lifespan due to his age and I think all bets on anything said on the topic, to-date, are off as a result. When he is gone his successor might totally feel otherwise on the topic.

4. I feel in my heart of hearts that the Big 10 is not going to be satisfied with having only 6 teams in the league (for scheduling and monetary reasons) and I would bet that they'd like to have at least 8 teams. It only makes sense. And, the sooner, the better. By that I mean within the decade.

5. We are talking about the largest and richest schools in the country, by and large, that have ginormous amounts of money and alumni. Most, if not all of them, have the pockets to do it and deal with the Title 9 implications, too, IF THEY WANT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

6. Whether UNO and a Husker program could co-exist is an interesting question. My belief is that they could, particularly since they would be in different conferences. If the Omaha Lancers and the Lincoln Stars can coexist in these markets and both be successful, which they are, then I think the Mavericks and the Huskers can as well. However, I do think Lincoln Stars hockey would suffer from the existence of a D-1 Huskers program, more so than the Lancers would, due to the relative size of the cities and the following anything Husker has in this state. I could see a Husker program being the end of the Stars, even.

7. Anybody taking all this in needs to keep this in mind:

Original announcement: http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_a659dba3-86c1-50af-9c9c-ad8a14dcc175.html

Formal announcement: http://journalstar.com/news/local/g...cle_f1637b62-92ec-5b13-8e33-dccd88ee14e2.html

Even more recent: http://www.newsnetnebraska.org/news/breslow-ice-center-expected-for-2013/

Which was the reason I resurrected this thread, the first time, back in the first week of January, back in post #77:

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.p...y-Conference&p=5311779&viewfull=1#post5311779

For a school denying at every turn that they aren't looking at this, then I'd sure like to know what the hell this hockey arena is being built for. Please bear in mind that this facility is NOT the the new Pinnacle Bank arena:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnacle_Bank_Arena

......... that the Husker basketball team is going to play in, this is an entirely different facility being built right next to it!!!

There is no way Breslow Ice Center could house a Big Ten school especially the capacity being around 1,500 seats. The only way this works if construction could occur to expand the building.

 

[slowe]

Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?

There is no way Breslow Ice Center could house a Big Ten school especially the capacity being around 1,500 seats. The only way this works if construction could occur to expand the building.

Pinnacle Bank Arena will have ice making capabilities I believe. If they wanted to go D1, they would have to use that building for both hockey and basketball. Since Breslow Ice Arena will only only seat 1,500 when it's built it would have to be a practice facility, or possibly for women's hockey. Not commenting on the odds, but short of building another arena, that would have to be their plan.