College Hockey Expansion

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

29 minutes ago, SiouxVolley said:

Like the only news you qualify as starting or interested in DI hockey is when the AD announces it.  Everything else is fake news.  High Point U is a prime example, as it's president announced DI hockey and an arena in a speech, but you still claim that is fake.  Pretty narrow minded.

Penn St and ASU topped out in NCAA DI, so in the least he was misleading and wrong.  But you support that spin of errors because it undermines what I said and that a successful spin on your part in your mind.  Why did that state of Iowa spend nearly $100 million?

High Point has a $60 million endowment. They shouldn't add D1 hockey even if they want to; they aren't in a financial position to build a successful team for the long term. The president saying that is undoubtedly a Kennedy type, using it as a stepping stone to a better gig.

[SiouxVolley]

9 hours ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

High Point has a $60 million endowment. They shouldn't add D1 hockey even if they want to; they aren't in a financial position to build a successful team for the long term. The president saying that is undoubtedly a Kennedy type, using it as a stepping stone to a better gig.

High Point U is going to spend $1 billion on their next phase of.growth.  Their President.was.recently named a mover and shaker in NC.  Don't know how they afford.all those projects except by gifts.  Just finished a nice basketball arena and a convention cener.  They are remaking themselves as a northeast private, only warmer, as most of the students come from the Northeast 

High Point athletics needs a signature sport.  Basketball in NC has so many good teams.  Football in DI NC is too expensive.  Hockey would give it a major chance of being relevant in NC as there isn't another team.  There also have baseball and lax, but winning takes time 

[mikejm]

14 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

High Point U is going to spend $1 billion on their next phase of.growth.  Their President.was.recently named a mover and shaker in NC.  Don't know how they afford.all those projects except by gifts.  Just finished a nice basketball arena and a convention cener.  They are remaking themselves as a northeast private, only warmer, as most of the students come from the Northeast 

High Point athletics needs a signature sport.  Basketball in NC has so many good teams.  Football in DI NC is too expensive.  Hockey would give it a major chance of being relevant in NC as there isn't another team.  There also have baseball and lax, but winning takes time 

Eight years ago High Point's bonds were rated junk by Moody's. $700 million worth of campus buildings were constructed using debt.

[SiouxVolley]

2 hours ago, mikejm said:

Eight years ago High Point's bonds were rated junk by Moody's. $700 million worth of campus buildings were constructed using debt.

That is excellent info.  Too used to UND where debt isn't allowed.  Knew they constructed luxury dorms too.  They are remaking themselves as a high end school with stuff the kids want .

Their new arena was named after alum and current coach Tubby Smith, who gave a million to it.  Just assumed other gifts were a big part of it.

Debt financing doesn't work if the bonds are rated junk or lower.  But HPU continues to grow.

The next recession, HPU probably goes bankrupt.

[SiouxVolley]

High Point U has impressively transformed itself, more than tripling it's enrollment and elevating it's academics.  It was smaller than Augie at the time.

https://info.higheredfacilitiesforum.com/blog/inside-the-facilities-fueled-transformation-of-high-point-university

It just needs a bigger name for itself in athletics.

[SiouxSherm94]

3 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

High Point U has impressively transformed itself, more than tripling it's enrollment and elevating it's academics.  It was smaller than Augie at the time.

https://info.higheredfacilitiesforum.com/blog/inside-the-facilities-fueled-transformation-of-high-point-university

It just needs a bigger name for itself in athletics.

Their President, Dr. Nido Qubein, was the keynote at a higher ed tech conference that I attended in Orlando last summer. I'm having a difficult time locating the picture he used in his presentation about the constructive expansion (likely not public-facing), but man, it is INSANE. The main theme was around building a community and driving inclusiveness. Their campus culture has improved incredibly and he said that every facet of modernizing their campus was done with students of all backgrounds in mind. Athletics is high on the priority list for expansion, but I can tell you that, at least at the time, hockey was not a priority. Maybe things have changed now that they've officially announced the $1B investment. Excited to see what the future of that institution will bring. Qubein is genuine and very charismatic.

[Yote 53]

On ‎2‎/‎25‎/‎2020 at 9:35 PM, SiouxVolley said:

The USA hockey youth have gone up over 230%, but the number of college hockey teams have stayed about the same.

https://frntofficesport.com/college-hockey-expansion/I

This is important.  Lack of opportunities down the road is a disincentive to get involved, stay involved, or continue to  pursue a higher level of hockey for players who show some promise.  Right now a player has to delay college for 2-3 years and play Juniors with a tough shot at making a D3 roster, let alone a D1 roster.  If you use USA Hockey's own Long Term Athletic Development Model  (ADM) it has 8 steps and players don't even reach the Train to Compete stage until Stage 6 at U20.  Most players wash out before even getting to this point due to a lack of a realistic opportunity that any of this will go anywhere.  The percentages say you're better off just going to college and not pursuing Juniors, or just choose a different sport long before you get to this point if you are a good athlete.  There are more opportunities to play football, basketball, and baseball at the D1, D2, D3, and NAIA levels.  Until more NCAA college hockey opportunities are opened up it creates a bottleneck, and effectively a cap on the number of participants taking up the sport.  Eventually it is going to hurt youth numbers, or at best cap them, as people come to this realization

 

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

I"m hearing, U Mn - Crookston has and will have a large pool of players to choose from. New coach is excited.

[NoiseInsideMyHead]

1 hour ago, Yote 53 said:

This is important.  Lack of opportunities down the road is a disincentive to get involved, stay involved, or continue to  pursue a higher level of hockey for players who show some promise.  Right now a player has to delay college for 2-3 years and play Juniors with a tough shot at making a D3 roster, let alone a D1 roster.  If you use USA Hockey's own Long Term Athletic Development Model  (ADM) it has 8 steps and players don't even reach the Train to Compete stage until Stage 6 at U20.  Most players wash out before even getting to this point due to a lack of a realistic opportunity that any of this will go anywhere.  The percentages say you're better off just going to college and not pursuing Juniors, or just choose a different sport long before you get to this point if you are a good athlete.  There are more opportunities to play football, basketball, and baseball at the D1, D2, D3, and NAIA levels.  Until more NCAA college hockey opportunities are opened up it creates a bottleneck, and effectively a cap on the number of participants taking up the sport.  Eventually it is going to hurt youth numbers, or at best cap them, as people come to this realization

 

In addition to the structural deficiencies (inefficiencies) of USA Hockey and ADM, youth hockey suffers from a lack of clear information and guidance for players and their parents. There are so many "paths" that it's darn near impossible to know which way is forward. Sure, you can listen to 'scouts" and "advisers" at camps all over the country, but good luck getting a straight answer about (1) whose interests are really being looked after, and (2) where the line falls between permissible "advising" and receiving services that jeopardize NCAA eligibility.

Junior hockey can be a confusing morass, and parents are left wondering whether they'll be throwing money away by going all in with no meaningful chance of a scholarship, or whether they can help their child recognize any good opportunities at all.

It's no secret (or surprise) that a lot of talented players simply fall through the cracks or never fall into the right pipeline, but I suppose that's why and where collegiate club and rec hockey thrives.

[nodak651]

3 hours ago, Yote 53 said:

This is important.  Lack of opportunities down the road is a disincentive to get involved, stay involved, or continue to  pursue a higher level of hockey for players who show some promise.  Right now a player has to delay college for 2-3 years and play Juniors with a tough shot at making a D3 roster, let alone a D1 roster.  If you use USA Hockey's own Long Term Athletic Development Model  (ADM) it has 8 steps and players don't even reach the Train to Compete stage until Stage 6 at U20.  Most players wash out before even getting to this point due to a lack of a realistic opportunity that any of this will go anywhere.  The percentages say you're better off just going to college and not pursuing Juniors, or just choose a different sport long before you get to this point if you are a good athlete.  There are more opportunities to play football, basketball, and baseball at the D1, D2, D3, and NAIA levels.  Until more NCAA college hockey opportunities are opened up it creates a bottleneck, and effectively a cap on the number of participants taking up the sport.  Eventually it is going to hurt youth numbers, or at best cap them, as people come to this realization

 

If this is the case, people need to readjust their priorities.  In MN at least, aren't most kids just focused on making their HS team and getting to state?  Sad if kids are only playing so they can get scholarship money for college, but I don't think that's the case.  Sorry if I missed the point.  Could maybe see this is this case for some of the ridiculous travel youth teams or aaa high school teams that have kids from across the country, but that would probably be a good thing IMO.  

[Yote 53]

I think you missed my point.  

Players and parents don't get into the game for the purpose of getting a scholarship.  If that were the case you could take all the money spent on youth hockey put it in a 529 and pay for an Ivy League school.  If you are a good athlete and good at a sport there should be a legitimate pathway to play collegiately, with a relative number of available spots, and we shouldn't be prematurely washing potential hockey players out of the system because there are so many barriers to reaching that level, that's my point. 

It doesn't take too many years (those pre-HS Bantam years is one point) before "choices" are made about what sport(s) are pursued in HS and if there isn't legitimate opportunity available then the choice to continue or drop a sport becomes easy.  I've seen this with kids I know that dropped basketball and focused on baseball, so it's not just a hockey thing, but they were looking at the entire picture and their opportunity to play a sport in college.  Just so happens these boys are being offered in baseball in the GPAC.  Another kid I know dropped football to focus on wrestling and now he's going to a D1 wrestling school.  If you look at the sport of hockey and see so few opportunities the choice to drop the sport and focus on another becomes easy.

Minnesota high school is the anomaly, not the rule when it comes to hockey in the USA.  But even MN Hockey experiences talent loss to Junior and AAA programs, and some of the best (or at least talented) North Dakota hockey players leave HS hockey to pursue AAA or Junior hockey all due to the ongoing changes in the development path of players.  I just need to read the ND State Hockey Tournament thread to see that.  Used to be if you were good enough they will find you.  For the top 1-5% of players that is probably still true, but for the other 95% they have a tougher road because there are so many talented players today with so limited spots available.  So they feel compelled to take what some believe are "extreme" measures in order to achieve their goal.

I'm just saying the road can be very hard for what amounts to minimal opportunities because college hockey growth has been stagnant relative to youth hockey growth the last 20 years. 

[cberkas]

Kyle Cannillo

@KyleCannillo

Developing story: New Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren says hockey is his priority. Many sources saying the University of Illinois is “very close” to announcing their Division I men’s ice hockey program. Could be more information in coming days. Amazing news for

@B1GHockey!

 

https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/1966962/breaking-university-of-illinois-is-set-to-announce-a-division-i-hockey-program-per-buccigross

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

32 minutes ago, cberkas said:

Kyle Cannillo

@KyleCannillo

Developing story: New Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren says hockey is his priority. Many sources saying the University of Illinois is “very close” to announcing their Division I men’s ice hockey program. Could be more information in coming days. Amazing news for

@B1GHockey!

 

https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog/1966962/breaking-university-of-illinois-is-set-to-announce-a-division-i-hockey-program-per-buccigross

No actual college hockey media is saying anything about it. Someone played Bucci for the fool we all know him to be.

[cberkas]

Just now, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

No actual college hockey media is saying anything about it. Someone played Bucci for the fool we all know him to be.

Idk, haven't heard anything on the arena other then a couple people replying to Bucci saying its a done deal.

I've heard that Illinois is added hockey for the last two years with dates even given. Time to wait and see.

[SiouxVolley]

Posted this before:

https://frntofficesport.com/college-hockey-expansion/

Really feel there will be new teams soon, like the following using mostly practice facilities:

Nashville:. Austin Peay U but using Clarksville new arena

St Louis:. Lindenwood

Tampa/Miami:. FGCU using existing arena

Anaheim:. UC Irvine

Las Vegas:. UNLV

Islanders:. LIU

San Jose:. San Jose St

Detroit:. Oakland using new arena

Pittsburgh:. Pitt

Philadelphia:. Penn using Penn's old arena

NJ Devil's:. Rutgers using new arena

Capitals:. DC school

Vancouver:. Simon Fraser

[SiouxVolley]

The ice arena is going up and Austin Peay wants recruits.

https://www.ncsasports.org/mens-ice-hockey-recruiting/tennessee/clarksville/the-middle-college--austin-peay-state-university

[cberkas]

College Hockey News

@chnews

Pandemic Puts Illinois Hockey on Hold, AD Says - https://collegehockeynews.com/news/2020/04/20_Pandemic-Puts-Illinois-Hockey.php…

2:19 PM · Apr 20, 2020

Quote

According to CHN sources, there was another institution close to announcing the formation of a new hockey program, besides Illinois. That is now on hold as well. CHN has been unable to verify which school that is.

 

[SiouxVolley]

21 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

The ice arena is going up and Austin Peay wants recruits.

https://www.ncsasports.org/mens-ice-hockey-recruiting/tennessee/clarksville/the-middle-college--austin-peay-state-university

A North Alabama poster says UNA is looking to add a team and arena to compete in a southern league against UAH and Austin Peay.

[MissSioux85]

Long Island University has announced it will be adding men's hockey

https://www.liuathletics.com/news/2020/4/30/liu-announces-addition-of-mens-ice-hockey.aspx
 

[northernraider]

1 hour ago, MissSioux85 said:

Long Island University has announced it will be adding men's hockey

https://www.liuathletics.com/news/2020/4/30/liu-announces-addition-of-mens-ice-hockey.aspx
 

and starting next season, so seems this was in the works for awhile. The press release did not mention an area, any idea where they will play? They have two campuses, one in Brooklyn and one in Brookville

[SiouxVolley]

1 hour ago, MissSioux85 said:

Long Island University has announced it will be adding men's hockey

https://www.liuathletics.com/news/2020/4/30/liu-announces-addition-of-mens-ice-hockey.aspx
 

Women's was added to the Brooklyn side this year and men's to the Nausau side.  The Islander's practice arena is large enough.

[WiSioux]

This is so weird. Per the other thread the season starts in 160 days... They have no coach, no team, no schedule... How???

[sioux rube]

Read on uscho that they won’t play until the 21-22 season 

[brianvf]

I can't imagine that their transition will be as "easy" as ASU and PSU.  Do they even have a club team? 
Starting from scratch is going to take a long time to get up to speed with even the bottom tier teams.

[sioux rube]

19 minutes ago, keikla said:

The press release from the college says "immediate recruitment and competition to begin in 2020-21."  It'll likely be an abbreviated season with games against club teams.

That could be