NorthDakotaHockey Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 If a national scope, the travel budgets will begin killing these teams. A "media deal" isn't going to be a long-term panacea for airfare and hotels while half filling mid-sized arenas. Heck, even the NHL cannot sell a big media deal for the Stanley Cup. The number of folks truly interested in college hockey is about ten times the number of members of this board. Get ready for another big price bump at the turnstiles. The big heads are exploding with megalomania. Not going to pan out. Quote
Wilbur Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 I agree and from everything they have said they want nothing to do with leaving their current conference. I never understand why Air Force always gets brought up on this board as this great hockey team that should be invited into power conferences. I don't see any reason why they would ever want to join a conference where finishing anywhere but last would be a good season for them. They have had a few decent seasons recently but would be Michigan Tech like in a normal conference. I guess I've never really understood the love fest for them on this board. Maybe I'm missing something. I think there is a bit of a love fest because some of the North Dakota/Minnesota connections that they have. They are coached by Frank Serratore (Bemidji), and just off the top of my head some local players on their teams include the likes of Jacque Lamoureax (Grand Forks), Paul Weisgarber (Fargo), Chad Demers (Grafton) will be joining them next season, Matt Becker (Moorhead), and Jason Fabian (Roseau, obviously everyone knows his brother). I disagree with them being like a Michigan Tech in a normal conference. They are well coached and have had success against some highly ranked teams in the past couple of years, like beating Yale last year before losing in OT in the NCAAs. Two years ago they beat #1 seed Michigan in the NCAA's and were an OT goal away from beating Vermont and having a chance to play in the Frozen Four. Also, if you look at comparisons with top end WCHA teams, they always play CC and Denver tough year in and year out in their non-conference schedule. I look forward to them being in Grand Forks for the ice breaker tournament. I think they will represent themselves very well. Quote
IrishSiouxFan Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 If a national scope, the travel budgets will begin killing these teams. A "media deal" isn't going to be a long-term panacea for airfare and hotels while half filling mid-sized arenas. Heck, even the NHL cannot sell a big media deal for the Stanley Cup. The number of folks truly interested in college hockey is about ten times the number of members of this board. Get ready for another big price bump at the turnstiles. The big heads are exploding with megalomania. Not going to pan out. Your'e a "glass if half empty kinda guy" aren't you? This conference is going to be very exciting and is going to take the wind right out of the Big 10's sail. It sounds like they're building a strong foundation and have retained the services of the best consulting firms to help put a big media deal together. There is still a few cards left to be played but rest assured when it's all said and done we will be playing the highest level of hockey in the NCAA and everybody will pay notice. Cheer up, you're on the winning team! 3 Quote
fargosioux Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 Saint Cloud should be a solid contender for admission. Northern Michigan as well. Notre Dame and WMU are nothing programs. The new powers that be could have given some more thought to the new conference name. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Really? Pretty damned lame. Of course it is a collegiate conference. No need to so state. And it is hardly national, at least in terms of geographic reach. What is done is done. Now let's just retire the name and the logo and we can start the whole world anew. Thank God I've already a foot and a half out of the canoe. I'll be watching most of what unfolds with Ralph. If St. Cloud is a solid contender for admission, wouldn't you think they would have been included in the original plans? Quote
The Sicatoka Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 I keep hearing "travel budgets" ... OK ... UND already has to travel to UMD, DU, CC, and UNO. No change. In terms of distance Miami is further than Tech, but is probably logistically easier to get to. Cost is probably higher. And then there's Anchorage. And not travelling there. That's a savings (because they stopped paying travel costs for conference mates a couple years ago). And honestly, I expect UND will become somewhat like the UMs (Minnesota and Michigan). UND has the big rink. UND probably will not travel as much non-conference unless someone makes it worthwhile for UND. Not many have the wherewithall to do that. Quote
IrishSiouxFan Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 I keep hearing "travel budgets" ... OK ... UND already has to travel to UMD, DU, CC, and UNO. No change. In terms of distance Miami is further than Tech, but is probably logistically easier to get to. Cost is probably higher. And then there's Anchorage. And not travelling there. That's a savings (because they stopped paying travel costs for conference mates a couple years ago). And honestly, I expect UND will become somewhat like the UMs (Minnesota and Michigan). UND has the big rink. UND probably will not travel as much non-conference unless someone makes it worthwhile for UND. Not many have the wherewithall to do that. Excellent post! Quote
dmksioux Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 SCSU brings nothing to the table that UMD doesn't already. This type of move is about "media footprints" and there's no sense in duplicating it. Notre Dame brings national name recognition. I'm not sold on WMU either. They had one good year and lost that coach already. They're calling it NATIONAL College Hockey Conference. Oxford, OH, to Denver, CO, really isn't "national". I wonder ... Perhaps they are calling it National due in part to a media/television contract? NBC sports (National Broadcast Company)/Versus...wishful thinking on my part, definitely but you never know... Quote
The Sicatoka Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 Faison said that the conference is formed on four key values of each school: competitiveness, an institutional commitment to hockey at the highest level, national exposure and history and tradition. Read more: http://www.uscho.com/2011/07/13/new-league-national-collegiate-hockey-conference/#ixzz1S1asXh38 Quote
IrishSiouxFan Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 Perhaps they are calling it National due in part to a media/television contract? NBC sports (National Broadcast Company)/Versus...wishful thinking on my part, definitely but you never know... Personally, I thought they were doing it so that they don't give it the appearance of a regional conference. I think they want to leave the doors open to expand with schools from around the US and possibly Canada (UBC maybe someday) as time goes by. Just my opinion. Quote
NorthDakotaHockey Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 Your'e a "glass if half empty kinda guy" aren't you? This conference is going to be very exciting and is going to take the wind right out of the Big 10's sail. It sounds like they're building a strong foundation and have retained the services of the best consulting firms to help put a big media deal together. There is still a few cards left to be played but rest assured when it's all said and done we will be playing the highest level of hockey in the NCAA and everybody will pay notice. Cheer up, you're on the winning team! Naw, am not a "glass half empty" guy. Just hate to see the other teams in the WCHA take the back stabbing. Best consulting firms? Big media deal? There is no "big media deal" in hockey, especially college hockey. Very few people care, and those that do spend their money at the turnstiles. North Dakota may withstand the travel budgets, at least for awhile, but will the others? If Hockey Least holds things together, it will become the premier college hockey league in the land. Playing the teams in the new league does not wet my whistle anymore than a Gopher fan's whistle is wetted playing a full one-third of the season against OSU, PSU, and MSU. Quote
tnt Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 If you call yourself the "National" Conference, it allows you to brand yourself as such and not have to change your name when growth inevitably happens. If they want to add a big name school out east or in California or such, they are already set. If hockey did grow like that, then most likely the dollars would have made it worthwhile for some big name schools to add themselves to the mix, thus the extra travel dollars might be offset by College hockey becoming bigger financially. People always ask why they didn't make the Ralph bigger, and I tend to wonder why they didn't at least design it for future growth, but the fact that the new league is branding itself as national can only allow it to grow as college hockey does. And if college hockey does grow, do you think the same people blaming UND for the demise of college hockey will give UND the credit for growing college hockey? Quote
tnt Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 If a national scope, the travel budgets will begin killing these teams. A "media deal" isn't going to be a long-term panacea for airfare and hotels while half filling mid-sized arenas. Heck, even the NHL cannot sell a big media deal for the Stanley Cup. The number of folks truly interested in college hockey is about ten times the number of members of this board. Get ready for another big price bump at the turnstiles. The big heads are exploding with megalomania. Not going to pan out. So the athletic department can afford to haul the football team, men's and women's basketball all over the west and east coasts, but they can't afford shorter trips for the team that pays a lot of the bills? Quote
jodcon Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 Naw, am not a "glass half empty" guy. Just hate to see the other teams in the WCHA take the back stabbing. Best consulting firms? Big media deal? There is no "big media deal" in hockey, especially college hockey. Very few people care, and those that do spend their money at the turnstiles. North Dakota may withstand the travel budgets, at least for awhile, but will the others? If Hockey Least holds things together, it will become the premier college hockey league in the land. Playing the teams in the new league does not wet my whistle anymore than a Gopher fan's whistle is wetted playing a full one-third of the season against OSU, PSU, and MSU. Quote
Wookie#12 Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 So is MSU-M in this and UNO out? Nice banner with the wrong logo!! Any one esle catch the error? Someone better tell the new hire there is a difference. Someone used the MSU-M logo in Red instead of the UNO Maverick logo. Nice to see the Sioux used. Quote
siouxweet Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 So is MSU-M in this and UNO out? Nice banner with the wrong logo!! Any one esle catch the error? Someone better tell the new hire there is a difference. Someone used the MSU-M logo in Red instead of the UNO Maverick logo. Nice to see the Sioux used. is it just me or is it really weird to see DU and UND stading hand in hand in this whole process considering all that has happened with the two programs the past several years? 1 Quote
Cratter Posted July 13, 2011 Author Posted July 13, 2011 So is MSU-M in this and UNO out? Nice banner with the wrong logo!! Any one esle catch the error? No, because they used the right logo. You might want to catch up with the times. 1 Quote
charliefunny Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 Here's some intel on ND's leaning http://www.mlive.com/broncos/index.ssf/2011/07/top_recruit_says_notre_dame_ho.html. ND might watch both the NCHC & Big 6 (they cant be 10 with 6 teams! LOL) to see which league they want to join. Whatever they choose, they want 7, but if that league goes under 6 they lose the NCAA autobid. A fine line. Quote
charliefunny Posted July 13, 2011 Posted July 13, 2011 So is MSU-M in this and UNO out? Nice banner with the wrong logo!! Any one esle catch the error? Someone better tell the new hire there is a difference. Someone used the MSU-M logo in Red instead of the UNO Maverick logo. Nice to see the Sioux used. UNO's logo IS a red bull (not the drink! LOL). http://www.omavs.com/sports/2011/7/12/MHOCKEY_0712113116.aspx Quote
dmksioux Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 So is MSU-M in this and UNO out? Nice banner with the wrong logo!! Any one esle catch the error? Someone better tell the new hire there is a difference. Someone used the MSU-M logo in Red instead of the UNO Maverick logo. Nice to see the Sioux used. I think you might be the one who made the error. I believe they used the logo that is in this link... http://www.unomaha.edu/logo/ Quote
Sioux-cia Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 Read more: http://www.uscho.com.../#ixzz1S1asXh38 And we Quote
siouxweet Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 My guesses are ND, WMU, a Canadian University, (based on the use of the word 'National' in the new conference name, i.e. NHL), and Bemidji. Given Potter's public statement, I don't believe SCSU is a contender, Quote
upeastman Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 Ok, this is just a coincidence I'm sure, but the typeface they're using for the new conference on Facebook is the same one used by NBC Universal after its recent rebranding and takeover by Comcast. Quote
burd Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 It will never happen, of course, for many reasons, including location. But Maine would be a great program to have in a super conference. Quote
upeastman Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 Ok, this is just a coincidence I'm sure, but the typeface they're using for the new conference on Facebook is the same one used by NBC Universal after its recent rebranding and takeover by Comcast. Even the same color...hmmm. Quote
Sodbuster Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 That's eerie! I was thinking of the same movie line! Quote
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