Yote 53

Well it looks like it worked out for Notre Dame. They play in the beautiful Compton Family Arena, are members of the Big Ten in hockey, made the Frozen Four in 2017 & 2018 and Big Ten titles in 2018 & 2019, and have their own deal with NBC Sports that gives them a national TV audience. They got everything they wanted.

What year is Trey Lance scheduled to graduate? 2023? Uh oh.

Iowa volleyball is using the new arena. No idea how a small club hockey team could afford to pay the rent on a building like Iowa Arena. I don't see how what a club hockey program does has any bearing on a varsity hockey program. If a school decides to go D1 they go D1, doesn't matter what the club situation is.

Roll the two years back to one year and there would be less "minor league" stuff going on as most freshman redshirt. One year should give players enough time to know if they made the right college choice or not and if a transfer is necessary.

Yep, lots of drawbacks to unhindered transfers and you guys have hit on a few of them. I would put some restrictions on transfers but otherwise make it a much easier and smoother process. I don't think it is good for the school, the program, or the student-athletes to allow unlimited, unhindered transfers. I cannot imagine the amount of pressure that would put on everybody involved in college sports, athletes, coaches, ADs, etc. - Sometimes kids just choose the wrong school. I would allow one transfer within the first two years of a student-athletes enrollment, no restrictions. - If there is a change in head coaches the student-athletes should be allowed to transfer, no restrictions. - If a player graduates they should be eligible to transfer, no restrictions. - If a player can show some sort of hardship that requires them to transfer to a school closer to home, this usually involves health/medical issues with the player's family. Those are just a few reasonable reasons that players should be allowed a free transfer.

No. Never happen.

Wouldn't it be ironic if D1 hockey took off in the SEC before it ever does in the PAC? With ASU going D1 we hear about other PAC schools kicking the tires, and hockey has really grown out West, but the PAC schools are hurting for money because of bad TV deals. The SEC is flush with cash and there are some ACHA club programs in the SEC with good followings. I could legitimately see some SEC schools starting D1 programs. You can only build so many football and baseball facilities. At some point you have to spend that money in order to keep your tax exempt status. I still think the Big Ten needs to really put some pressure on Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana to start D1 programs. All schools have facilities in place, under construction, or have plans for facilities in various stages.

Boise State is a completely overrated JUCO. I hope they do push the MWC and they kick them out because they'll quickly find out they have nowhere to go. They've really gotten a lot of mileage off that bowl upset of an unmotivated Oklahoma team a decade ago. Time for that bubble to burst.

Need to have conference champs get an autobid. Treat it the same way the NFL treats Division champs. If you want the regular season, and more games, to be meaningful and for every game to matter then you need to make conference races important. I disagree with the "every game matters" in the regular season crowd the way things sit right now. It's BS. Only a couple of games each season matter at all. In fact, I can list which games mattered this season: LSU v Alabama LSU v Auburn Alabama v Auburn Georgia v Florida Georgia v Notre Dame Georgia v LSU - CCG Oregon v Utah - CCG Oklahoma v Baylor Ohio State v Penn State Ohio State v Michigan Ohio State v Wisconsin - CCG That's about it. Clemson didn't play a meaningful game, at least not one where anybody reasonably expected them to be at risk of losing. Given the massive number of CFB games in a season the number of games that have an impact on the playoffs and the NC race is pitiful.

54,000 is the number for the entire Rocky Mountain District - Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Utah, and New Mexico. Hockey in Utah is still pretty weak. Numbers are getting better but still a struggle.

Probably right. SCSU administration is too dysfunctional and crappy at their jobs to move the program to D1. It's more likely that SCSU is in a downward spiral.

I happen to agree with Bisonville on this one. I think SCSU is going to angle to go D1. Why? Because D2 sports with their offerings is not financially viable. Once they cut football there is marginal costs in upgrading the rest of their sports but by doing so they gain more revenue opportunities in NCAA basketball money and just the ability to fundraise and increased profile of a D1 school. UNO laid out the blueprint. They were in financial distress and did the exact same thing and now they are doing much better as an athletic department. SCSU is also facing dropping enrollment. What better way to increase the school profile and reverse that trend than by going D1 and differentiating yourself from all the other D2 schools in Minnesota?

So they plan to apply to the Summit pending the St. Thomas outcome? Why not apply now? It's not like we haven't been hearing Augie to the Summit for years. Everybody knows the details at this point.

Don't blame the kid, blame the system. I'm sure he'd rather be at home playing hockey with his friends and sleeping in his own bed than billeting in Sioux Falls.

I was told a year ago by my friends in the Wisconsin hockey world, people who do actually know what is going on, that Eau Claire was going D1 hockey. After reading this article I question that. This quote says a lot: “Blugold student-athletes see higher retention and graduation rates than non-athletes,” Schmidt said. “And frankly, the costs of a Division III sports program are incredibly low by comparison to our sister institutions at DI and DII.” It appears they are adding athletic programs as a way to increase enrollment. A typical D3 school move.

Seeing as how SDSU AD Justin Sell is on the committee studying D3 to D1 move-ups, I would say the Summit has plenty of inside info and some "guarantees" the result will be positive. Douple also said the Summit would be willing to wait 10 years for UST though too. I took that as grandstanding and a vote of confidence for UST that they are worth waiting for. I don't think he would say that about any other school.

Bumping this thread as the NAHL has expanded again. New franchise in Wichita Falls, TX next season. Also, earlier this year rumors of a team in Kansas City , the Scouts, that will play out of the new arena they are building in Olathe, KS. Don't know if that is "official" yet but I would almost guarantee something will happen as Lamar Hunt Jr. is involved. He owns the Topeka franchise so it could be a relocation? Anyways, dovetails into this thread because with recent expansion in New Mexico and Maine, now in Wichita Falls, possibly in KC, the odds get longer that there would be expansion into East Grand Forks or Marshall. Maybe an MJHL team is a possibility? There is a thread here earlier about the possibility of the MJ expanding south of the border into the US. SIJHL? Probably eager to expand after shutting down the Iron Rangers and only being at 6 teams right now.

UST isn't getting invited anywhere unless they win in the conference. They have to not only move up but also succeed. Do you see any of the Dakota schools just handing the conference over to them? I don't. We didn't hand it over to Denver and we won't hand it over to UST. Welcome addition but they have to prove it.

Gotcha. The joke works better if we're lampooning Gopher football. Actually, the joke works well for Gopher hockey as well.

Untapped? Gopher basketball has a pretty good following, but I admit there is room for another D1 on the Eastside.

Well, seeing as how Saban was a mediocre coach at Michigan State I would agree with you. Spartans were about a .500 team for 4 years under Saban when he finally broke out a 9-2 record in 1999, those 2 losses being beat downs by Purdue and Wisconsin. Quickly used that season's result to get out of the Big Ten and find himself another job and landed at LSU. Point is, the Big Ten takes a lot of heat nationally as not being as good as the S-E-C but the conference is a meat grinder and even God-like Saban himself couldn't win in the conference. So no, I think he would be a failure at Rutgers too.

Moobs at 36 seconds. Somebody needs to hit the weight room.

Latest article on Illinois D1 hockey. LINK

I don't think you guys want to go down that road of wanting another puppet master pulling the strings. Of course, that might make for an interesting battle between REA and Sanford for control.

Augustana was not a charter member of the NCC. They didn't join until the 1940's. One of the many things you were incorrect about in your post.