The NCHA likely got stronger with Northland leaving. Northland hasn't made the NCHA Playoffs recently. The only benefit for the WIAC is 2-3 less non-conference games.
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WIAC adds Northland
- Thread starter spwood
- Start date
The NCHA likely got stronger with Northland leaving. Northland hasn't made the NCHA Playoffs recently. The only benefit for the WIAC is 2-3 less non-conference games.
d3hockey57
New member
Re: WIAC adds Northland
Was there ever any prospective to elevate another Wisconsin state school to NCAA status (Platteville, Oshkosh, La Crosse, Whitewater)?
Was there ever any prospective to elevate another Wisconsin state school to NCAA status (Platteville, Oshkosh, La Crosse, Whitewater)?
GB Puck Fan
It's A Great Day For Hockey
Re: WIAC adds Northland
Oshkosh just cut men's soccer a couple of years ago... guessing there's no budget to add a more expensive support.
Oshkosh just cut men's soccer a couple of years ago... guessing there's no budget to add a more expensive support.
pete99race
Rocking 'The Stone'
Re: WIAC adds Northland
UW Plattville, Oshkosh and La Crosse have club hockey teams, but no indication of going varsity any time soon....
UW Plattville, Oshkosh and La Crosse have club hockey teams, but no indication of going varsity any time soon....
net presence
Active member
Re: WIAC adds Northland
Sir Nubs -- Obviously, you're free to not believe me but, I'm quite confident they were approached. Was it more than a single call to guage any possible interest that was immediately rebuffed with a polite "no thank you"? Certainly possible.
Sir Nubs -- Obviously, you're free to not believe me but, I'm quite confident they were approached. Was it more than a single call to guage any possible interest that was immediately rebuffed with a polite "no thank you"? Certainly possible.
Re: WIAC adds Northland
It's also possible your source was feeding you a big pile of road apples, or was giving you incorrect information to try and make their own position/move look better. Anyone involved with a clue would know better than to ask SNC in the first place. Then again, there are a lot of clueless people out there these days...
It's also possible your source was feeding you a big pile of road apples, or was giving you incorrect information to try and make their own position/move look better. Anyone involved with a clue would know better than to ask SNC in the first place. Then again, there are a lot of clueless people out there these days...
GB Puck Fan
It's A Great Day For Hockey
Re: WIAC adds Northland
No inside knowledge here... while I think SNC would reject any WIAC call, situations change. While not as volitile as D1 football, obviously, there's no reason for SNC to be difficult, either. At the moment, does it make sense to go back to the WIAC schools? I think not. But who know what develops down the road. Besides, SNC needs to keep playing those schools for the non-con schedule, so it needs to maintain those lanes of dialogue.
No inside knowledge here... while I think SNC would reject any WIAC call, situations change. While not as volitile as D1 football, obviously, there's no reason for SNC to be difficult, either. At the moment, does it make sense to go back to the WIAC schools? I think not. But who know what develops down the road. Besides, SNC needs to keep playing those schools for the non-con schedule, so it needs to maintain those lanes of dialogue.
Re: WIAC adds Northland
The WIAC needs SNC and the NCHA as good partners more than the other way around. The NCHA schools aren't the ones with 17 non-conference games to schedule every year recently. That number won't drop much with the addition of Northland. So I don't think the WIAC is going to do anything to antagonize the NCHA membership.
The WIAC needs SNC and the NCHA as good partners more than the other way around. The NCHA schools aren't the ones with 17 non-conference games to schedule every year recently. That number won't drop much with the addition of Northland. So I don't think the WIAC is going to do anything to antagonize the NCHA membership.
d3hockey57
New member
Re: WIAC adds Northland
The problem with the WIAC is you have to play by their rules. With the NCHA, there's more freedom for each school to express any concerns they have to the league. There's a reason the Wisconsin state schools left to create their own division. Northland is not in a position to dictate WIAC policy (not that they have to at this point). But hey, all I know is "West is best".
The problem with the WIAC is you have to play by their rules. With the NCHA, there's more freedom for each school to express any concerns they have to the league. There's a reason the Wisconsin state schools left to create their own division. Northland is not in a position to dictate WIAC policy (not that they have to at this point). But hey, all I know is "West is best".
Re: WIAC adds Northland
Sounds like the words of someone who doesn't want to leave the NCHA for the WIAC by himself.
Sounds like the words of someone who doesn't want to leave the NCHA for the WIAC by himself.
If Northland thinks it's a good move for them, fine. That doesn't mean anyone else thinks their school moving is a good idea, travel or not.
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d3hockey57
New member
Re: WIAC adds Northland
St. Scholastica - Adrian = 703
St. Scholastica - Trine = 644
It's apparently worth the travel for St. Scholastica to play in the best conference in DIII hockey. Northland not so much, therefore they decided less travel outweighed "trying" to compete in the NCHA.
St. Scholastica - Adrian = 703
St. Scholastica - Trine = 644
It's apparently worth the travel for St. Scholastica to play in the best conference in DIII hockey. Northland not so much, therefore they decided less travel outweighed "trying" to compete in the NCHA.
net presence
Active member
Re: WIAC adds Northland
Sir Nubs -- Again, you're welcome to believe what you want about what I've offered here but, I assure you that my souces (more than one) are solid. That doesn't mean your contention that whoever reached out to SNC was "clueless", may not be true.
They may very well have been. However, I'm confident that they were approached. You're also correct in your assertion that, at the moment, the WIAC schools probably need the NCHA schools more than vice versa. Although, the WIAC schools probably play just as many non-conference games versus MIAC schools then they do versus NCHA schools. The other piece to consider is IF the WIAC can convince one more team to join, that puts them at 7 teams and, if I recall correctly, returns their automatic NCAA birth? If not, I'm sure someone can correct me on that. 
Finally, Northland's decision to move is very much about reducing costs as the school is facing very significant budget issues. Last spring the school dropped both the men's and women's cross country and golf programs, as well as closed the campus radio station. They also forced all staff and faculty to take a 7.5% pay cut while the vice-presidents took a 10% cut and the school president took a 12.5% cut. They have a much smaller endowment than the average private school and, in talking to some of the people involved, there is a real concern about the long term future of the school if they can't improve their ability to raise funds in a significant manner. Whereas Scholastica has recently added football and doesn't seem to have any issues with whatever travel expenses are incurred being in the NCHA. Here is a link to the Duluth News Tribune article from last may that outlines the concerns:
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4272582-northland-college-making-big-cuts
Sir Nubs -- Again, you're welcome to believe what you want about what I've offered here but, I assure you that my souces (more than one) are solid. That doesn't mean your contention that whoever reached out to SNC was "clueless", may not be true.
They may very well have been. However, I'm confident that they were approached. You're also correct in your assertion that, at the moment, the WIAC schools probably need the NCHA schools more than vice versa. Although, the WIAC schools probably play just as many non-conference games versus MIAC schools then they do versus NCHA schools. The other piece to consider is IF the WIAC can convince one more team to join, that puts them at 7 teams and, if I recall correctly, returns their automatic NCAA birth? If not, I'm sure someone can correct me on that. Finally, Northland's decision to move is very much about reducing costs as the school is facing very significant budget issues. Last spring the school dropped both the men's and women's cross country and golf programs, as well as closed the campus radio station. They also forced all staff and faculty to take a 7.5% pay cut while the vice-presidents took a 10% cut and the school president took a 12.5% cut. They have a much smaller endowment than the average private school and, in talking to some of the people involved, there is a real concern about the long term future of the school if they can't improve their ability to raise funds in a significant manner. Whereas Scholastica has recently added football and doesn't seem to have any issues with whatever travel expenses are incurred being in the NCHA. Here is a link to the Duluth News Tribune article from last may that outlines the concerns:
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4272582-northland-college-making-big-cuts
Re: WIAC adds Northland
If St. Norbert was approached at all it was probably done in a very informal manner, probably by another school looking to leave. Like Northland. If that qualifies, I guess you're technically correct. No one in an official capacity from the WIAC asked SNC formally. My sources have told me so. Northland leaving was probably indeed a good decision for Northland. My point all along is that for CSS, Finlandia, SNC or anyone else it's probably not a good idea. If CSS is trying to get into the MIAC, it's not a good move. If Finlandia had a bad experience (I emphasize IF) when they were an affiliate member of the WIAC in soccer, they won't think it's a good idea either. Just because the folks at Northland think it's a good idea for someone else to leave with them doesn't mean the people at the other schools think it's a good plan.
Sir Nubs -- Again, you're welcome to believe what you want about what I've offered here but, I assure you that my souces (more than one) are solid. That doesn't mean your contention that whoever reached out to SNC was "clueless", may not be true.
Finally, Northland's decision to move is very much about reducing costs as the school is facing very significant budget issues. Last spring the school dropped both the men's and women's cross country and golf programs, as well as closed the campus radio station. They also forced all staff and faculty to take a 7.5% pay cut while the vice-presidents took a 10% cut and the school president took a 12.5% cut. They have a much smaller endowment than the average private school and, in talking to some of the people involved, there is a real concern about the long term future of the school if they can't improve their ability to raise funds in a significant manner. Whereas Scholastica has recently added football and doesn't seem to have any issues with whatever travel expenses are incurred being in the NCHA. Here is a link to the Duluth News Tribune article from last may that outlines the concerns:
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4272582-northland-college-making-big-cuts
If St. Norbert was approached at all it was probably done in a very informal manner, probably by another school looking to leave. Like Northland. If that qualifies, I guess you're technically correct. No one in an official capacity from the WIAC asked SNC formally. My sources have told me so. Northland leaving was probably indeed a good decision for Northland. My point all along is that for CSS, Finlandia, SNC or anyone else it's probably not a good idea. If CSS is trying to get into the MIAC, it's not a good move. If Finlandia had a bad experience (I emphasize IF) when they were an affiliate member of the WIAC in soccer, they won't think it's a good idea either. Just because the folks at Northland think it's a good idea for someone else to leave with them doesn't mean the people at the other schools think it's a good plan.
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Re: WIAC adds Northland
The WIAC never had an AQ berth to begin with so I'm fairly certain they'd need to be at 7 for two full seasons before getting an AQ in the same fashion that the UCHC (nee ECAC-W) is going through now.
The other piece to consider is IF the WIAC can convince one more team to join, that puts them at 7 teams and, if I recall correctly, returns their automatic NCAA birth? If not, I'm sure someone can correct me on that.
The WIAC never had an AQ berth to begin with so I'm fairly certain they'd need to be at 7 for two full seasons before getting an AQ in the same fashion that the UCHC (nee ECAC-W) is going through now.