College Hockey Expansion

[gfhockey]

22 minutes ago, nodak651 said:

Would be cool to see a little hotbed in the SW form someday with ASU, Arizona, NAU, UNLV.  There's potential at least.  Could see Grand Canyon throw money at it as well.

Arizona is cutting sports currently 

[fightingsioux4life]

NAU used to have hockey. I remember UND kicking the crap out of them during the 1980's.

[nodak651]

4 minutes ago, gfhockey said:

Arizona is cutting sports currently 

Their coach over the summer said that there have been no current talks about D1, so that could actually be a good thing in the long run, say 5 years from now.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

4 minutes ago, nodak651 said:

Their coach over the summer said that there have been no current talks about D1, so that could actually be a good thing in the long run, say 5 years from now.

ASU beating them to a pulp in a exhibition probably set them back a few years, haha.

Tucson has a new ice complex coming that would suffice for D1, not sure where it is in relation to campus though. And the Roadrunners ice would work for bigger games.

[nodak651]

41 minutes ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

ASU beating them to a pulp in a exhibition probably set them back a few years, haha.

Tucson has a new ice complex coming that would suffice for D1, not sure where it is in relation to campus though. And the Roadrunners ice would work for bigger games.

Yeah, the convention center is sized perfectly for games like that.  Would be similar to UConn in a way. 

Looks like is about 4.3 miles from campus on side streets https://www.google.com/maps/dir/32.229998,-110.9441054/32.1716908,-110.9433705/@32.1970474,-110.9538794,8973m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e0?entry=ttu

Their baseball stadium is about 2.6 miles from campus

[The Sicatoka]

15 hours ago, gfhockey said:

Arizona is cutting sports currently 

UA has school-wide problem.
Their funding model was only off by a quarter BILLION dollars. 

https://tucson.com/news/local/education/college/university-of-arizona-tucson-budget-cuts/article_1dd77a46-7d96-11ee-ac38-ef7fe0919160.html 

[Blackheart]

41 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:

UA has school-wide problem.
Their funding model was only off by a quarter BILLION dollars. 

https://tucson.com/news/local/education/college/university-of-arizona-tucson-budget-cuts/article_1dd77a46-7d96-11ee-ac38-ef7fe0919160.html 

[The Sicatoka]

@Blackheart, quarter billion here, quarter billion there, soon you're talking @gfhockey money. 

[cberkas]

Simon Fraser Angling for D-I Hockey Status : College Hockey News

Looks like next season they will play only NCAA and Canadian universities. 

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

46 minutes ago, cberkas said:

Simon Fraser Angling for D-I Hockey Status : College Hockey News

Looks like next season they will play only NCAA and Canadian universities. 

Having a team in Vancouver has so much upside for college hockey.

[cberkas]

 

[cberkas]

UNC with the Cans style jerseys tonight vs NC State.

[cberkas]

The UNC/NC State game was sloppy but the last 2 minutes was exciting, UNC 5-3

[nodak651]

On 11/19/2023 at 6:31 PM, cberkas said:

Simon Fraser Angling for D-I Hockey Status : College Hockey News

Looks like next season they will play only NCAA and Canadian universities. 

Disappointed in Mike and CHN... doesn't appear there is any original reporting there and this news is half a year old.  They already have two separate teams and Simon Fraser is playing 7 D1 games this year rather than 6.  He copied this video basically: 

 

[cberkas]

I watched half the game since I was bored, and it was pretty loud for only lower bowl of the arena.

The PNC Arena is shared by both the Hurricanes and NC State men's basketball, and NC State's club team does use the Canes practice facility in in Morrisville. If NC State did make the move to go NCAA D1, they could work out a way with the Canes to have NC State hockey games and NC State men's basketball games. PNC Arena is too big for NC State to have hockey there, but I think it really could work. 

[SIOUXFAN97]

7 hours ago, cberkas said:

I watched half the game since I was bored, and it was pretty loud for only lower bowl of the arena.

The PNC Arena is shared by both the Hurricanes and NC State men's basketball, and NC State's club team does use the Canes practice facility in in Morrisville. If NC State did make the move to go NCAA D1, they could work out a way with the Canes to have NC State hockey games and NC State men's basketball games. PNC Arena is too big for NC State to have hockey there, but I think it really could work. 

 that venue might be "too big" but.........how many more seats would you sell if the upper bowl tixs were 1 dollar and the food options were both very very good and relatively cheap and affordable?

i know it's an nhl sized arena but its in a large metro area...D1 would draw more than club .......

[nodak651]

Huge report on the viability of Simon Fraser Football, and athletics in general.  Really interesting.  Basically they will be creating a new strategic plan and will be restructuring the athletic department.  Huge budget issues.  If hockey ever happens, it's likely it will have to wait until this plan is complete.  Seems hockey would be more viable than resurrecting FB, IMO. 

https://athletics.sfu.ca/news/2023/9/18/statement-on-special-advisors-report-on-football.aspx

Statement on Special Advisor's Report on Football
 
September 18, 2023
 
Bob Copeland, Senior Vice-President of McLaren Global Sport Solutions, appointed by SFU as an independent special advisor to explore options for a sustainable future of football at the university, has made his findings public today. The report can be found here: https://www.mclarenglobalsportsolutions.com/pdf/SFU-SpecialAdvisorReport-9-18.pdf 
 
The report is extensive. The findings confirm that SFU has no place to play football in the NCAA or in the United States. The report highlights that opportunities for SFU football in Canada need careful consideration. An application to U Sports would be a significant investment with no guaranteed outcome. Further, the matter of dual membership in two leagues would add new challenges. 
 
The university acknowledges that a key finding of the report is that we must develop a strategic plan for Athletics and Recreation that will guide decision-making as we strengthen supports for varsity programs. Some of the recommended changes are already underway, but it will take time to thoughtfully review the report and determine next steps as its suggestions impact the entire program, which includes 16 varsity teams and nearly 300 student-athletes.
 
"On behalf of the entire SFU community, I would like to thank Mr. Copeland for the depth and thoroughness of his work, including his extensive engagement with student-athletes, coaches and staff, as well as football alumni and industry experts," says SFU President Joy Johnson. "I recognize that the findings of this report may not be what the football community had hoped for, but Mr. Copeland has made clear that our starting point now must be setting the right foundation for Athletics and Recreation." 
 
"Our dedication and support for SFU student-athletes remains our priority," says Rummana Khan Hemani, SFU Vice-Provost, Students and International. "The report is based on more than 240 interviews that shed light on areas that require a deeper look. As we work through these findings with our student-athletes, coaches and staff, we will keep the community updated. We are committed to creating a stronger Athletics and Recreation program for our students and the SFU community."

[cberkas]

Not men's hockey but women's and that's a start to possibly have them add a men's team later on.

[cberkas]

Looks like it will be on the other side of Chapel Hill from UNC.

[nodak651]

20 hours ago, cberkas said:

Looks like it will be on the other side of Chapel Hill from UNC.

Great article by the head of the booster club.  Putting down roots...

Architect needs to get some help with arena experience... plans look questionable lol.

https://chapelboro.com/news/development/unc-club-ice-hockey-shares-early-designs-vision-for-20-million-arena-project-in-chapel-hill

[siouxfaninseattle]

3 hours ago, nodak651 said:

Great article by the head of the booster club.  Putting down roots...

Architect needs to get some help with arena experience... plans look questionable lol.

https://chapelboro.com/news/development/unc-club-ice-hockey-shares-early-designs-vision-for-20-million-arena-project-in-chapel-hill

Doesn't make sense to build a 2,000 seat arena. You would think they are thinking of going D1 eventually.

[cberkas]

3 minutes ago, siouxfaninseattle said:

Doesn't make sense to build a 2,000 seat arena. You would think they are thinking of going D1 eventually.

They talk about going NCAA D1, but even then that’s still too small of an arena. 5k should be the size they should want. There are people saying this will get them in B1G. 

[nodak651]

https://www.collegehockeyinsider.com/p/362-did-we-just-get-a-glimpse-of

The Ivy League schools severed a 100+ year relationship with the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association this week in favor of playing under an Ivy League championship, creating a new auto-bid to the NCAA wrestling tournament in the process.

Could the Ivy League universities do the same in hockey? No one has said yes or no, but it might make sense, and they have enough teams for an auto-bid.

[cberkas]

 

[cberkas]

These ACHA/UAA teams do have nice jerseys. Tennesse with a Pat Summit jersey.