new-to-nd-hockey

Option 7 - together with Notre Dame, petition to be affiliate members of the Big Ten for purposes of Hockey. Posters above seem to split on whether we have an obligation to help hockey, and yes, there is probably some morality to that cause. But as other posters have emphasized, we are a "big" school for hockey, and the University and the hockey program do gain prestige by the company we keep. Losing the Colorado rivalries will be sad, and they and the local, smaller Minnesota schools are still non-conference options. The Big Ten gains two great programs for hockey, one of which they are wooing for all sports, so it's easy to see them saying "yes" to affiliate status. The Big Ten Network gets better games, better competition, and we get 1/8 of that revenue. Being on the Big Ten Network means that we might actually get to watch a UND game when the game is out of town. It gives the Big Ten some clarity about how to deal with women's hockey - they would then have enough teams to also field a conference. It's plausible, such a move suggests an increase in UND's institutional status, it preserves the Gopher series (in spite of the logo issue), and it promises greater revenue. I hope that we think about it.