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

[Spartanforlife4]

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

Mark Cuban was interested in starting an Indiana team, correct?

And I thought I heard Jimmy John would be willing to donate to start an Illinois team.

What happened to these rumors?

 

[ScoobyDoo]

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

Mark Cuban was interested in starting an Indiana team, correct?

And I thought I heard Jimmy John would be willing to donate to start an Illinois team.

What happened to these rumors?

Title IX

 

[JF_Gophers]

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

Title IX

This wouldn't stop Mark Cuban.

 

[Spartanforlife4]

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

The Internets says Cuban is worth 2.5 billion. I think he could throw some cash towards Indiana if Title IX costs started to get in the way, especially since he talked about starting his own college football playoff.

 

[MUhawks628]

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

College hockey at Indiana.... > 1k average attendence after the first season would be a miracle. Seriously.

 

[duper]

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

College hockey in Indiana.... > 1k average attendence after the first season would be a miracle. Seriously.

Didn't people used to think this about the NBA in Dallas?

 

[MUhawks628]

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

Didn't people used to think this about the NBA in Dallas?

Well, I was -9 years old when the Mavericks were founded so I can't really say

Maybe you devolp a good student following that will grow into a fan base over time, but it's hard to imagine the Hooiser alumni base getting amped up to support a new hockey team. Just my 2 cents from living in Indy and working with oodles of IU grads.

 

[duper]

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

Well, I was -9 years old when the Mavericks were founded so I can't really say

Maybe you devolop a good student following that will grow into a fan base over time, but it's hard to imagine the Hooiser alumni base getting amped up to support a new hockey team. Just my 2 cents from living in Indy and working with oodles of IU grads.

I would tend to suspect that this, in general, goes for any sport. Based on what I remember as a kid, I'm amazed that hockey has become popular in the Chicago-area. I had 2 classmates who played. Now, there is a kid who would have gone to my HS (if he hadn't gone somewhere else in order to play hockey) playing in the NHL (I think he's still in the NHL anyway) and two different minor league teams as well as junior teams in the area.

If this were any other conference, I would think there are no new teams coming anytime soon. But the Big Ten has deep pockets and lots of rich alumni. One never knows. I will say, I wouldn't think Indiana either in general.

 

[hattrick16]

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

Maybe you devolp a good student following that will grow into a fan base over time, but it's hard to imagine the Hooiser alumni base getting amped up to support a new hockey team. Just my 2 cents from living in Indy and working with oodles of IU grads.

As an IU alum, I can say definitively that there is zero hockey culture in Bloomington, not to mention no adequate facilities and no signs of a giant check specifically written for hockey on its way. We must all realize the uniqueness of the Penn State situation where they got 80 million dollars assigned only for hockey in a state with two NHL teams and a rapidly growing youth hockey culture. Frankly, if IU got a check for 80 million dollars I would hope to god they would spend it on academics and improving the athletic facilities that are already there. No need for hockey in basketball country just yet. The environment has to be right.

The rumor was that Assembly Hall was suppose to have an ice surface too, and the layout makes that quite apparent, but Coach Knight nixed that plan from the get go.

I still think Northwestern is the logical 7th team.

 

[slowe]

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

Normally I would agree that Indiana isn't the best place to start a hockey team. I don't think there is a good history of developing players there (correct me if I'm wrong...), and Indiana doesn't exactly scream hockey culture. There is a pretty long tradition of minor league hockey in Indiana though. I've heard the Fort Wayne Komets (currently CHL) have an average attendance that would put them in the top 3 of any minor leauge teams (AHL, CHL, or ECHL). Evansville has the Icemen (CHL) and Indianapolis has had various teams, currently the Ice (USHL). I've heard rumors that Marion Indiana is building a new rink in hopes of attracting another USHL team to Indiana. Not sure about the economies in Bloomington or Lafayette, but if other parts of the state can support hockey teams why not the Hoosiers or Boilermakers? Actually getting programs started is a whole different issue, but if they were up I'd be optimistic they could get support.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

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

This discussion made me curious, so I put together a comparison of the B1G markets without a D1 hockey team based on the criteria below. I then added the markets that currently have D1 hockey teams as a reference point.

- # of players in-state registered with USA Hockey
- The growth of those registrations since 1990
- The number of D1 hockey players (as of recent INCH article)
- The % of US players playing D1 hockey
- The number of NHL players produced all-time

<IMG SRC="http://stateofhockeymn.webs.com/B1G%20Hockey%20Market%20Comparison 2.jpg"></>

Some things that jump out at me. First, I can't believe Penn State didn't add a team earlier. Seems like more than enough interest in the sport in Pennsylvania. Also, I think Illinois has more than enough interest in hockey to support a D1 hockey team. Two might be stretching it. Not sure which is more likely, Illinois or Northwestern, but my money is on Illinois.

As for Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska, they really kind of fall short of the other markets in terms of participation. Although, as has been mentioned earlier, the USHL is doing quite well in Iowa and Nebraska in terms of attendance, so who knows. The growth of USA hockey registrations has been much higher in Iowa and Nebraska than in Indiana, so I think I would say Indiana would be the least likely to be able to support a team.

 

[CornwallAce]

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

Some things that jump out at me. First, I can't believe Penn State didn't add a team earlier. Seems like more than enough interest in the sport in Pennsylvania.

State College is a far cry from the rest of Pennsylvania in population.

 

[duper]

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

This discussion made me curious, so I put together a comparison of the B1G markets without a D1 hockey team based on the criteria below. I then added the markets that currently have D1 hockey teams as a reference point.

- # of players in-state registered with USA Hockey
- The growth of those registrations since 1990
- The number of D1 hockey players (as of recent INCH article)
- The % of US players playing D1 hockey
- The number of NHL players produced all-time

<IMG SRC="http://stateofhockeymn.webs.com/B1G%20Hockey%20Market%20Comparison 2.jpg"></>

Some things that jump out at me. First, I can't believe Penn State didn't add a team earlier. Seems like more than enough interest in the sport in Pennsylvania. Also, I think Illinois has more than enough interest in hockey to support a D1 hockey team. Two might be stretching it. Not sure which is more likely, Illinois or Northwestern, but my money is on Illinois.

As for Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska, they really kind of fall short of the other markets in terms of participation. Although, as has been mentioned earlier, the USHL is doing quite well in Iowa and Nebraska in terms of attendance, so who knows. The growth of USA hockey registrations has been much higher in Iowa and Nebraska than in Indiana, so I think I would say Indiana would be the least likely to be able to support a team.

I was amazed at the list of Illinois NHL'ers. I knew about Chris Chelios and Tim Stapleton. That's about it.

 

[Red Cows]

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

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.

I have also heard that Pinnacle is going to have ice capability. BUT, it supposedly is only going to have ice capability for things like ice shows. I have no idea why ice that is O.K. for ice shows would not be O.K. for hockey. Perhaps someone can educate me on the nuances of ice making.

Further, I have also heard that, supposedly, the plans for Breslow allow for future expansion.

That said, if whatever ice capacity they do have at Pinnacle is not suitable for hockey as currently planned (supposedly) it isn't a reach to think they couldn't resolve that issue if they needed to or wanted to.

 

[Red Cows]

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

This discussion made me curious, so I put together a comparison of the B1G markets without a D1 hockey team based on the criteria below. I then added the markets that currently have D1 hockey teams as a reference point.

- # of players in-state registered with USA Hockey
- The growth of those registrations since 1990
- The number of D1 hockey players (as of recent INCH article)
- The % of US players playing D1 hockey
- The number of NHL players produced all-time

<IMG SRC="http://stateofhockeymn.webs.com/B1G%20Hockey%20Market%20Comparison 2.jpg"></>

Some things that jump out at me. First, I can't believe Penn State didn't add a team earlier. Seems like more than enough interest in the sport in Pennsylvania. Also, I think Illinois has more than enough interest in hockey to support a D1 hockey team. Two might be stretching it. Not sure which is more likely, Illinois or Northwestern, but my money is on Illinois.

As for Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska, they really kind of fall short of the other markets in terms of participation. Although, as has been mentioned earlier, the USHL is doing quite well in Iowa and Nebraska in terms of attendance, so who knows. The growth of USA hockey registrations has been much higher in Iowa and Nebraska than in Indiana, so I think I would say Indiana would be the least likely to be able to support a team.

Nebraska has, BY FAR, the lowest population of any of these states. I think this graph would be much more meaningful than it already is if you added some per capita tables to it. Every one of these states, other than Iowa, has a metropolitan area in it with a population greater than that of the entire state of Nebraska!

 

[state of hockey]

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

But Nebraska has that big Air Force base. That should count for something.

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

Nebraska has, BY FAR, the lowest population of any of these states. I think this graph would be much more meaningful than it already is if you added some per capita tables to it. Every one of these states, other than Iowa, has a metropolitan area in it with a population greater than that of the entire state of Nebraska!

Great idea. I can do that

 

[mnstate0fhockey]

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

Ok, here is the table with per capita columns added in. I also moved Nebraska down to the "Already Has D1 Team" section because they already do have a D1 team.

- # of players in-state registered with USA Hockey
- 1 Registration per this many people
- The growth of those registrations since 1990
- The number of D1 hockey players (as of recent INCH article)
- 1 player playing D1 hockey per this many people
- The % of US players playing D1 hockey
- The number of NHL players produced all-time
- 1 player playing in the NHL per this many people

<IMG SRC="http://stateofhockeymn.webs.com/B1G%20Hockey%20Market%20Comparison%204.jpg"></>

 

[Red Cows]

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

Ok, here is the table with per capita columns added in. I also moved Nebraska down to the "Already Has D1 Team" section because they already do have a D1 team.

- # of players in-state registered with USA Hockey
- 1 Registration per this many people
- The growth of those registrations since 1990
- The number of D1 hockey players (as of recent INCH article)
- 1 player playing D1 hockey per this many people
- The % of US players playing D1 hockey
- The number of NHL players produced all-time
- 1 player playing in the NHL per this many people

<IMG SRC="http://stateofhockeymn.webs.com/B1G%20Hockey%20Market%20Comparison%204.jpg"></>

Cool. Ask and ye shall receive.

This tells me what I already really knew. That there is a lot of interest in hockey in the State of Nebraska. The number of players registered with USA Hockey and the growth of those numbers is pretty phenomenal. You could also make the case that the numbers had nowhere to go but up, too. This decade's numbers would be even more telling.

The number of D-1 or NHL players produced isn't very significant yet but let us not forget that (state sanctioned) hockey is not played at any high school in the State of Nebraska, either. Male or female. It is played at a handful of schools (13) at the club level.

We can thank UNO (who has only had a program since 1997) and all the USHL teams in our area (Omaha, Lincoln, Sioux City, and Tri-City) for brewing up the interest in youth hockey around here since 1990, of whatever type.

It also tells me that any potential Husker D-1 team wouldn't be recruiting our own state very much, at least, initially. UNO does not have a single player on its roster from the State of Nebraska and, while the Husker Club hockey team does have 9 players on it from Nebraska, obviously none of them are D-1 talent. Let us not forget that the Husker football team is not overloaded with scholarship players from the State of Nebraska, either, and never has been. They get the best of what there is, usually, and then have to recruit elsewhere. You'll see a ton a players on the roster that are from Nebraska but most of them are walk-ons. 16 guys are currently planning on walking-on from the State of Nebraska next year at NU.

 

[4four4]

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

The graph shows an IL university could easily support a hockey team. The question is which one.