dakotadan Posted April 5, 2011 Posted April 5, 2011 WSC hockey likely to begin in 2011-12 Williston State College Athletic Director Hunter Berg and President Dr. Raymond A. Nadolny announced the school has officially added men's hockey as the fifth team for the junior college at a press conference on Monday "It's a great opportunity for our college to expand our athletic programs and continue our tradition of excellence in a sport that is very much followed in the community of Williston," Berg said. In addition to hiring a coach, a roster has to be put together, a home arena picked and a schedule finalized. Berg said the plan is to have the team play 28 games. The obstacle will be finding teams to play. With the addition of Williston State, there are just nine junior college men's hockey teams in the country. Seven of the teams are located out east with Williston State and Dakota College at Bottineau being the other teams. "The other club teams in North Dakota in college hockey are Minot State and North Dakota State so we will play those teams very frequently," Berg said. In addition to the other college teams in the area, Berg said Williston State will try to schedule some of the junior hockey teams from Canada, Montana and Wyoming. Quote
MattC Posted April 5, 2011 Posted April 5, 2011 WSC hockey likely to begin in 2011-12 As a WSC alum, I hope this program all the best but I find it to be an interesting move. I don't see them playing in the 11-12 season either, there is simply too much work that needs to be completed. I know there is talks of the Parks and Recreation building a new wellness center so maybe an arena would be built specifically for WSC, I think the Agri would be too small and the current Raymond Community center is much too small. Quote
star2city Posted April 5, 2011 Posted April 5, 2011 No word on how they are financing this, but Williston businesses are practically rolling in dough now. Sounds like some major retail is moving into Williston too. For a sport "nobody" cares about, sure shows a lot of commitment. Strange how Williston State can afford this, and even Minot State is considering DI hockey, but NDSU can't. Quote
Tsiouxnami Posted April 5, 2011 Posted April 5, 2011 No word on how they are financing this, but Williston businesses are practically rolling in dough now. Sounds like some major retail is moving into Williston too. For a sport "nobody" cares about, sure shows a lot of commitment. Strange how Williston State can afford this, and even Minot State is considering DI hockey, but NDSU can't. Oil money? Quote
dmksioux Posted April 5, 2011 Posted April 5, 2011 No word on how they are financing this, but Williston businesses are practically rolling in dough now. Sounds like some major retail is moving into Williston too. For a sport "nobody" cares about, sure shows a lot of commitment. Strange how Williston State can afford this, and even Minot State is considering DI hockey, but NDSU can't. Do Junior colleges have to abide by Title IX. I know Minot State isn't a Junior College, but just curious... Quote
star2city Posted April 5, 2011 Posted April 5, 2011 Do Junior colleges have to abide by Title IX. I know Minot State isn't a Junior College, but just curious... Any school that receives federal funding (such as student loans) has to abide by Title IX, so yes. Minot State's program is currently at the club level, which isn't as strictly regulated. If (or when) Minot State takes hockey to the varsity level, it will have to be serious about Title IX implications. Quote
star2city Posted April 7, 2011 Posted April 7, 2011 For Title IX balancing, looks like Williston St will add softball to offset men's hockey. Williston St adding softball, too Quote
Skillet Posted April 8, 2011 Posted April 8, 2011 No word on how they are financing this, but Williston businesses are practically rolling in dough now. Sounds like some major retail is moving into Williston too. For a sport "nobody" cares about, sure shows a lot of commitment. Strange how Williston State can afford this, and even Minot State is considering DI hockey, but NDSU can't. You have to wonder where those schollies would come from for the women due to Title IX. They could add women hockey, drop a men's sport, or add some other women's sport. I don't know what other womans sport would make sense though. Would you honestly like to see NDSU with hockey? I don't. Montana or Montana State makes more sense. Quote
star2city Posted April 8, 2011 Posted April 8, 2011 You have to wonder where those schollies would come from for the women due to Title IX. They could add women hockey, drop a men's sport, or add some other women's sport. I don't know what other womans sport would make sense though. Would you honestly like to see NDSU with hockey? I don't. Montana or Montana State makes more sense. Williston is adding softball to partially compensate for hockey scholarships. It's interesting that Minot State now lists their men's and its newly formed women's club hockey teams on their main varsity athletic page: Minot State athletics. That's very unusual, and possibly indicates Minot's intentions. With all the oil money pouring into Minot, wouldn't be at all surprised if they add DI hockey once they gain full DII membership. As far as NDSU hockey, their fans and administration will never go for it because they know they could never get to UND's level. That's fine by me. But what they fail to see is that hockey gives UND major inroads to the Fargo-Moorhead market, even among non-UND alumni. The school-age kids there instantly recognize that UND hockey is really the only top level program around, and want to be part of that. By converting the kids to being Sioux hockey fans, it also opens the door for them to be Sioux fans in everything else. NDSU wouldn't even need to start women's hockey to compensate for Title IX, as they can just move their women's equestrian program to varsity status. With Scheel's Arena, the business potential is better than NDSU admins ever admit, but they have too many problems raising money for basic DI facility needs. I wouldn't mind Moorhead State getting hockey, but only if they get in like a lower-level league (like what's left of the CCHA when Notre Dame likely leaves). Montana and Montana State really don't have a DI hockey facility, so it would take huge amounts of money. To get hockey in the West, it would almost take multiple schools starting hockey simultaneously, which is basically impossible. Maybe if UBC moves to the NCAA, that may be a game changer. The miniscule chance of a Big Sky school ever starting hockey probably lies with Eastern Washington, as they have an on-campus arena and could play home games in Spokane's larger arena. Quote
IrishSiouxFan Posted April 8, 2011 Posted April 8, 2011 As much as I love the WCHA, I can't help but wonder if starting a new exclusive conference might not be just in our best interest but the best interest of college hockey in general. If UND, Denver, CC, Air Force, Miami, Notre Dame, UNO, and UBC started a league we could not only increase the exposure of the sport (by securing a Denver and Canadian media market) but open up a spots for teams like Moorhead. Plus we could leave spots open for large West Coast teams as well as a possible Montana team. I don't feel like the leadership and lack of vision in the WCHA is going to be healthy for the bigger schools like North Dakota and Denver who will soon have the responsibility of selling tickets for the rest of the WCHA. Quote
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