Re: Who will be the 7th member of the Big Ten Hockey Conference?
The Illini club team played in Chicago instead of Champaign this weekend. I was quite surprised to see this lengthy article in the Chicago Tribune bemoaning the lack of college hockey in Illinois. Worth the read.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...ge-hockey-spt-1005-20140927-story.html#page=1
After graduating from Lake Forest High School, Cody Murphy hoped to play college hockey in Illinois.
The problem: No Divison I schools in his home state have varsity hockey teams.
"It would be nice for a lot of Chicagoans to have a place to call home," Murphy said. "There are a lot of really good prospects that come out of the Chicagoland area."
Instead, he plays at Miami of Ohio, which heavily and successfully recruits Chicago-area talent. The RedHawks are one of many hockey teams that eagerly welcome players from Illinois.
Illinois is one of the nation's most fertile grounds for youth hockey. The Blackhawks' success has inspired a legion of new fans and players.
Yet since Illinois-Chicago's varsity program melted away in 1996, the only hockey available at Division I universities is at the club level. (The state has Division III programs at Lake Forest College and Aurora University.)
Illinois, Northwestern, Northern Illinois and DePaul, which all field D-I athletics, have no plans to elevate their club teams to varsity status. Their budgets, school spokesmen said, are devoted to maintaining and improving current sports programs.
There certainly wouldn't be a lack of in-state talent if they did.
Sixty-six players in college hockey last season were from Illinois, ranking the state sixth nationally, according to College Hockey Inc. That marks a 53 percent growth rate over the last decade.
Nine Illinois natives are on the six Big Ten hockey rosters: four at Wisconsin, two at Michigan and one each at Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State (Minnesota is the sixth team).
Division I hockey's 59 programs are concentrated in only 19 states, and none of the states without a team produces as many players as Illinois.
"If you took just a team of Illinois players and projected it, it would be favored to win the national championship," said Mike Snee, executive director of College Hockey Inc.
Among players registered in 2012-13 with USA Hockey, Illinois ranked sixth with 29,977, behind longtime breeding grounds Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. That marked an 8.4 percent increase from the previous season.
Since 2008-09, Illinois has picked up more than 8,000 players for a 36.6 percent growth rate.
On paper, at least, Illinois seems perfectly suited for a college hockey program.
"It could work really well here," said former UIC coach Larry Pedrie, who now runs hockey camps and clinics. "There are better players locally than there were 20 years ago. … There are seven schools in Michigan with D-I (hockey), and you're going to tell me Illinois can't have one?"
Pricey pursuit
So why must these players go out of state to pursue college hockey? Simply put: money.
In-state universities acknowledge the burgeoning interest, but the costs are intimidating.
Hockey insiders say the sport is second in operating budgets behind only football, which brings in millions of dollars to universities that hockey would not. To implement a D-I hockey program or elevate a club program to varsity would take between $1.5 million and $2 million.
Michigan estimated a few years ago it would spend as much as $5 million to replace aging ice equipment.
A startup team at most universities would require a new facility. Illinois' facility is small and aging. Northern Illinois has played its club games in Geneva.
Schools also would be required by law to add a women's sport to maintain gender equity. Women's ice hockey, which has also grown through the years, would be a logical but similarly costly choice.
The 18 maximum scholarships allowed by the NCAA also carry a financial burden.
"It's not like you can sit back and say there's no interest," said Joe Battista, the former club coach at Penn State who is now an NHL administrator with the Sabres. "That's not the case.
"It is a bit frustrating that you have that kind of interest throughout the country, but historically hockey has not been looked at as a varsity sport in places because of the budgetary challenges that most athletic departments are going through right now. The timing for an area like Illinois is just perfect."
After decades of drum-beating, Battista's goal of Divison I hockey at Penn State was realized with a $102 million donation from Terry Pegula, the Sabres' owner and a Penn State graduate.
The school built a gleaming $90 million hockey facility and used remaining funds to endow scholarships. The rise in status helped usher in Big Ten hockey last season.
Some describe Penn State as a college hockey blueprint. But even Battista acknowledges there aren't many people willing to give away millions of dollars.
There certainly weren't when UIC's program was folding after 30 years. The program started in 1966 and became a Division I member in 1982.
In its 15 years as a D-I sport, the Flames went 202-326-31. The final seven seasons ended with losing records, including a 9-24-3 mark in the final season, and interest waned.
According to a Tribune report at the time, the UIC hockey program lost about $600,000 in its final season.
'The ideal place'
Yet Battista said there are methods to make a hockey program work in Illinois today.
Hockey attracts a financially upper-class fan base, Battista said, making for a potentially more lucrative bank of donors. An ice rink does not require the level of grandeur as Penn State's. Sharing facilities with minor league teams could help offset costs.
A college in Illinois would not have to spend as much scouring the nation in recruiting with so much talent in local USHL junior teams such as the Chicago Mission, Bloomington Thunder and Chicago Steel.
"I got laughed at for a long time for having the dream," Battista said. "All it was was finding people with a shared passion who wanted to leave a mark. It can be done."
Blackhawks President John McDonough said he has not been approached to work with an in-state university to create a varsity program.
"If they came to us, we would tell them what we believe is the maximum potential," he said. "If we were approached, we would encourage and embrace it. It's hard to work in the inverse. For us to go to them, we're kind of meddling in their business."
McDonough is tuned in to what he called the "explosion" of youth hockey membership in the state and how it has correlated to the Hawks' success. Their first-round draft pick in 2013 was Ryan Hartman, a West Dundee native who played with the Mission.
"It's just an economics exercise, that commitment we'd have to make to develop a Division I program and (finding) who would be willing to do that," McDonough said. "As far as the ability to feed those programs, that's possible right now."
John Olen, a junior at Illinois from Lake Zurich, can't help but feel jealous when he sees Division I athletes on campus. He puts in nearly as much practice time yet gets none of the perks.
"It's kind of like, 'Oh, you're on the club team,' " said Olen, who played two seasons in the North American Hockey League before picking Illinois over Division III programs. "It's still nice to play. You get some recognition. But it's not like you're on the football team or basketball team."
Unlike some schools that fully fund their club sports through recreation budgets, Illinois' hockey club receives limited free ice time from the university and uses fundraising and fees to reach its annual budget of up to $200,000.
Players pay $1,700 for a year of hockey, covering travel and some equipment. They're responsible for their own skates (as much as $850) and sticks (as much as $250). Olen said he goes through five or six sticks a season.
But there's still satisfaction.
The Illini field a successful program in the competitive American Collegiate Hockey Association, winning the championship in 2008. The club team's ticket sales and revenue production trail only the varsity football and basketball teams, selling out nearly every game in the 1,200-seat arena, coach Nick Fabbrini said.
"We do pretty well," he said. "I think that Illinois would probably be the ideal place to have a college Division I team."
Only four teams have been added in Division I since 2000, including Penn State in 2012.
College hockey also is becoming a more consistent feeder for the NHL, which historically gleaned talent from the major junior ranks, where players lose eligibility.
McDonough said the Blackhawks have devoted more scouting to the college level "like never before." Forward Ben Smith played four seasons at Boston College, while stars such as Jonathan Toews (North Dakota), Patrick Sharp (Vermont) and Duncan Keith (Michigan State) each played two seasons.
Despite the growth of hockey, Fabbrini is not optimistic.
"I don't think there's any kind of push from the university before the Big Ten Conference (added hockey) or even after it," he said. "I don't think the university really is too invested in it.
"But especially with new facilities, you'd get most of those (in-state) kids and be pretty competitive right away."
The Illini club team played in Chicago instead of Champaign this weekend. I was quite surprised to see this lengthy article in the Chicago Tribune bemoaning the lack of college hockey in Illinois. Worth the read.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...ge-hockey-spt-1005-20140927-story.html#page=1
After graduating from Lake Forest High School, Cody Murphy hoped to play college hockey in Illinois.
The problem: No Divison I schools in his home state have varsity hockey teams.
"It would be nice for a lot of Chicagoans to have a place to call home," Murphy said. "There are a lot of really good prospects that come out of the Chicagoland area."
Instead, he plays at Miami of Ohio, which heavily and successfully recruits Chicago-area talent. The RedHawks are one of many hockey teams that eagerly welcome players from Illinois.
Illinois is one of the nation's most fertile grounds for youth hockey. The Blackhawks' success has inspired a legion of new fans and players.
Yet since Illinois-Chicago's varsity program melted away in 1996, the only hockey available at Division I universities is at the club level. (The state has Division III programs at Lake Forest College and Aurora University.)
Illinois, Northwestern, Northern Illinois and DePaul, which all field D-I athletics, have no plans to elevate their club teams to varsity status. Their budgets, school spokesmen said, are devoted to maintaining and improving current sports programs.
There certainly wouldn't be a lack of in-state talent if they did.
Sixty-six players in college hockey last season were from Illinois, ranking the state sixth nationally, according to College Hockey Inc. That marks a 53 percent growth rate over the last decade.
Nine Illinois natives are on the six Big Ten hockey rosters: four at Wisconsin, two at Michigan and one each at Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State (Minnesota is the sixth team).
Division I hockey's 59 programs are concentrated in only 19 states, and none of the states without a team produces as many players as Illinois.
"If you took just a team of Illinois players and projected it, it would be favored to win the national championship," said Mike Snee, executive director of College Hockey Inc.
Among players registered in 2012-13 with USA Hockey, Illinois ranked sixth with 29,977, behind longtime breeding grounds Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. That marked an 8.4 percent increase from the previous season.
Since 2008-09, Illinois has picked up more than 8,000 players for a 36.6 percent growth rate.
On paper, at least, Illinois seems perfectly suited for a college hockey program.
"It could work really well here," said former UIC coach Larry Pedrie, who now runs hockey camps and clinics. "There are better players locally than there were 20 years ago. … There are seven schools in Michigan with D-I (hockey), and you're going to tell me Illinois can't have one?"
Pricey pursuit
So why must these players go out of state to pursue college hockey? Simply put: money.
In-state universities acknowledge the burgeoning interest, but the costs are intimidating.
Hockey insiders say the sport is second in operating budgets behind only football, which brings in millions of dollars to universities that hockey would not. To implement a D-I hockey program or elevate a club program to varsity would take between $1.5 million and $2 million.
Michigan estimated a few years ago it would spend as much as $5 million to replace aging ice equipment.
A startup team at most universities would require a new facility. Illinois' facility is small and aging. Northern Illinois has played its club games in Geneva.
Schools also would be required by law to add a women's sport to maintain gender equity. Women's ice hockey, which has also grown through the years, would be a logical but similarly costly choice.
The 18 maximum scholarships allowed by the NCAA also carry a financial burden.
"It's not like you can sit back and say there's no interest," said Joe Battista, the former club coach at Penn State who is now an NHL administrator with the Sabres. "That's not the case.
"It is a bit frustrating that you have that kind of interest throughout the country, but historically hockey has not been looked at as a varsity sport in places because of the budgetary challenges that most athletic departments are going through right now. The timing for an area like Illinois is just perfect."
After decades of drum-beating, Battista's goal of Divison I hockey at Penn State was realized with a $102 million donation from Terry Pegula, the Sabres' owner and a Penn State graduate.
The school built a gleaming $90 million hockey facility and used remaining funds to endow scholarships. The rise in status helped usher in Big Ten hockey last season.
Some describe Penn State as a college hockey blueprint. But even Battista acknowledges there aren't many people willing to give away millions of dollars.
There certainly weren't when UIC's program was folding after 30 years. The program started in 1966 and became a Division I member in 1982.
In its 15 years as a D-I sport, the Flames went 202-326-31. The final seven seasons ended with losing records, including a 9-24-3 mark in the final season, and interest waned.
According to a Tribune report at the time, the UIC hockey program lost about $600,000 in its final season.
'The ideal place'
Yet Battista said there are methods to make a hockey program work in Illinois today.
Hockey attracts a financially upper-class fan base, Battista said, making for a potentially more lucrative bank of donors. An ice rink does not require the level of grandeur as Penn State's. Sharing facilities with minor league teams could help offset costs.
A college in Illinois would not have to spend as much scouring the nation in recruiting with so much talent in local USHL junior teams such as the Chicago Mission, Bloomington Thunder and Chicago Steel.
"I got laughed at for a long time for having the dream," Battista said. "All it was was finding people with a shared passion who wanted to leave a mark. It can be done."
Blackhawks President John McDonough said he has not been approached to work with an in-state university to create a varsity program.
"If they came to us, we would tell them what we believe is the maximum potential," he said. "If we were approached, we would encourage and embrace it. It's hard to work in the inverse. For us to go to them, we're kind of meddling in their business."
McDonough is tuned in to what he called the "explosion" of youth hockey membership in the state and how it has correlated to the Hawks' success. Their first-round draft pick in 2013 was Ryan Hartman, a West Dundee native who played with the Mission.
"It's just an economics exercise, that commitment we'd have to make to develop a Division I program and (finding) who would be willing to do that," McDonough said. "As far as the ability to feed those programs, that's possible right now."
John Olen, a junior at Illinois from Lake Zurich, can't help but feel jealous when he sees Division I athletes on campus. He puts in nearly as much practice time yet gets none of the perks.
"It's kind of like, 'Oh, you're on the club team,' " said Olen, who played two seasons in the North American Hockey League before picking Illinois over Division III programs. "It's still nice to play. You get some recognition. But it's not like you're on the football team or basketball team."
Unlike some schools that fully fund their club sports through recreation budgets, Illinois' hockey club receives limited free ice time from the university and uses fundraising and fees to reach its annual budget of up to $200,000.
Players pay $1,700 for a year of hockey, covering travel and some equipment. They're responsible for their own skates (as much as $850) and sticks (as much as $250). Olen said he goes through five or six sticks a season.
But there's still satisfaction.
The Illini field a successful program in the competitive American Collegiate Hockey Association, winning the championship in 2008. The club team's ticket sales and revenue production trail only the varsity football and basketball teams, selling out nearly every game in the 1,200-seat arena, coach Nick Fabbrini said.
"We do pretty well," he said. "I think that Illinois would probably be the ideal place to have a college Division I team."
Only four teams have been added in Division I since 2000, including Penn State in 2012.
College hockey also is becoming a more consistent feeder for the NHL, which historically gleaned talent from the major junior ranks, where players lose eligibility.
McDonough said the Blackhawks have devoted more scouting to the college level "like never before." Forward Ben Smith played four seasons at Boston College, while stars such as Jonathan Toews (North Dakota), Patrick Sharp (Vermont) and Duncan Keith (Michigan State) each played two seasons.
Despite the growth of hockey, Fabbrini is not optimistic.
"I don't think there's any kind of push from the university before the Big Ten Conference (added hockey) or even after it," he said. "I don't think the university really is too invested in it.
"But especially with new facilities, you'd get most of those (in-state) kids and be pretty competitive right away."
