College Hockey Expansion

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

If I recall correctly Pac 12 network aired the series Air Force played against ASU last year. They could have an eye on being a founding member of Pac 12 hockey conference.

[Rebel_Sioux]

On 8/25/2017 at 5:44 PM, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

If I recall correctly Pac 12 network aired the series Air Force played against ASU last year. They could have an eye on being a founding member of Pac 12 hockey conference.

Perhaps. But that could take a decade or more to pan out as they need more actual PAC teams first. The other western conferences offer better opportunities in the near term.

[ArchyAlum11]

33 minutes ago, Rebel_Sioux said:

Perhaps. But that could take a decade or more to pan out as they need more actual PAC teams first. The other western conferences offer better opportunities in the near term.

That assumes that ASU sticks around that long, they wouldn't be the first school to have a program that folds. For being one of the largest Universities in the country, ASU still has no solid plans for an Arena and team facilities that would befit a D1 institution, they are still relying on the former clubs staff and have shown zero interest in recruiting a professional staff that will attract top talent to the new school. Additionally, they are still without a conference as the Big10, NCHC and the WCHA have all said no.  Far from being the boon to an expansion of college hockey, ASU could still become a cautionary tale of what happens when the schools try to enter the sport halfheartedly.

[SiouxVolley]

49 minutes ago, ArchyAlum11 said:

That assumes that ASU sticks around that long, they wouldn't be the first school to have a program that folds. For being one of the largest Universities in the country, ASU still has no solid plans for an Arena and team facilities that would befit a D1 institution, they are still relying on the former clubs staff and have shown zero interest in recruiting a professional staff that will attract top talent to the new school. Additionally, they are still without a conference as the Big10, NCHC and the WCHA have all said no.  Far from being the boon to an expansion of college hockey, ASU could still become a cautionary tale of what happens when the schools try to enter the sport halfheartedly.

ASU's Ray Anderson was just quoted two weeks ago that he strongly thinks an arena will be operational for hockey within two years.  Arizona St is not dropping hockey.

[ArchyAlum11]

5 minutes ago, SiouxVolley said:

ASU's Ray Anderson was just quoted two weeks ago that he strongly thinks an arena will be operational for hockey within two years.  Arizona St is not dropping hockey.

Thinks strongly huh? Wow, that's even stronger than really hopes. Until there are shovels in the ground and an actual professional coaching staff being hired I'm not going to hold my breath, neither will the prospective players that ASU wants or the conferences that ASU hopes to join.

 

[John W.]

"Hockey talent in NW Minnesota".....someone made a statement about the Gophers getting their first recruit from NW MN in 10 years...obvious shot at Gopher hockey.........talent pool is no longer within that territory....mostly small school levels of play there....Only Roseau, Bemidji and Moorhead play at the highest state classification in hockey from NW MN....Gophers main source is Jrs.  and double A high school levels....Sloppy reporting, but was 'fake news' anyway as main point was a shot taken at U of M, which was intent I'm sure....

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

3 hours ago, John W. said:

"Hockey talent in NW Minnesota".....someone made a statement about the Gophers getting their first recruit from NW MN in 10 years...obvious shot at Gopher hockey.........talent pool is no longer within that territory....mostly small school levels of play there....Only Roseau, Bemidji and Moorhead play at the highest state classification in hockey from NW MN....Gophers main source is Jrs.  and double A high school levels....Sloppy reporting, but was 'fake news' anyway as main point was a shot taken at U of M, which was intent I'm sure....

You sound upset, however you may be in the wrong place looking for sympathy for 'fake news' reporting against Gopher hockey 

 

 

 

 

Gophers Suck

[OgieOgilthorpe]

3 hours ago, John W. said:

"Hockey talent in NW Minnesota".....someone made a statement about the Gophers getting their first recruit from NW MN in 10 years...obvious shot at Gopher hockey.........talent pool is no longer within that territory....mostly small school levels of play there....Only Roseau, Bemidji and Moorhead play at the highest state classification in hockey from NW MN....Gophers main source is Jrs.  and double A high school levels....Sloppy reporting, but was 'fake news' anyway as main point was a shot taken at U of M, which was intent I'm sure....

I scanned that article earlier and I don't remember it being a shot at gopher hockey whatsoever. Maybe I have to read it again but how is that a shot at MN hockey? If anything it could be seen as a shot at NW MN for not having as elite of hockey as they did in the past...maybe...but no. Seems more like he was just pointing out that NW MN and the Gophers just haven't connected on players as much recently as they have in the past. 

I can compare this to saying Schloss was taking a shot at UND for saying they haven't had a commit from Fargo in however long. Which again, could maybe been seen as a shot at Fargo...but again it wasn't at all. 

I don't get where you're coming from at all John W. Unless we are taking about different articles? 

[OgieOgilthorpe]

8 minutes ago, InHeavenThereIsNoBeer said:

You sound upset, however you may be in the wrong place looking for sympathy for 'fake news' reporting against Gopher hockey 

 

 

 

 

Gophers Suck

If he wants to be upset about anything, he should be upset about how mediocre that commit seems to be. As a sophomore forward he had 8 goals and 15 assists in 22 games last season. Being 6th on the team in scoring for a 16-9 HIGH SCHOOL hockey team doesn't really jump out at me. 

[Rebel_Sioux]

9 hours ago, ArchyAlum11 said:

That assumes that ASU sticks around that long, they wouldn't be the first school to have a program that folds. For being one of the largest Universities in the country, ASU still has no solid plans for an Arena and team facilities that would befit a D1 institution, they are still relying on the former clubs staff and have shown zero interest in recruiting a professional staff that will attract top talent to the new school. Additionally, they are still without a conference as the Big10, NCHC and the WCHA have all said no.  Far from being the boon to an expansion of college hockey, ASU could still become a cautionary tale of what happens when the schools try to enter the sport halfheartedly.

NeutralZone rated their recruiting class as 9th best. ASU doesn't want WCHA if they can avoid it. I think Big wants to snipe an NCHC team for their 8th member and both conferences are waiting to see if that happens. 

Scenario A: NCHC team leaves for Big, ASU fills vacant slot in NCHC

B. No NCHC teams leave, ASU joins Big

C. NO NCHC team leaves, ASU and one WCHA team joins NCHC, Big stays at 7.

[cberkas]

13 hours ago, ArchyAlum11 said:

That assumes that ASU sticks around that long, they wouldn't be the first school to have a program that folds. For being one of the largest Universities in the country, ASU still has no solid plans for an Arena and team facilities that would befit a D1 institution, they are still relying on the former clubs staff and have shown zero interest in recruiting a professional staff that will attract top talent to the new school. Additionally, they are still without a conference as the Big10, NCHC and the WCHA have all said no.  Far from being the boon to an expansion of college hockey, ASU could still become a cautionary tale of what happens when the schools try to enter the sport halfheartedly.

The only person that has ties to ASU club team is the head coach, everyone else has D1 or NHL experience (playing).

For the most part it looks like the hockey arena will get built where the fraternities use to be next to Wells Fargo Arena. 

[chicofelipe]

22 minutes ago, cberkas said:

The only person that has ties to ASU club team is the head coach, everyone else has D1 or NHL experience (playing).

For the most part it looks like the hockey arena will get built where the fraternities use to be next to Wells Fargo Arena. 

Stop clouding the issue with facts. We want rampant speculation and conspiracy theories!

[ArchyAlum11]

7 hours ago, cberkas said:

The only person that has ties to ASU club team is the head coach, everyone else has D1 or NHL experience (playing).

For the most part it looks like the hockey arena will get built where the fraternities use to be next to Wells Fargo Arena. 

Okay I stand corrected, However I would have to say that one of the assistant coaches, Mike Field , seems to be the only one there who is really "qualified" to be the head coach as he has 4 seasons experience as an assistant in the USHL. I'm a little suprised that ASU hasn't tried to poach a Head coach from the USHL or an assistant from another NCAA program, also wonder if they tired to entice Gwozdecky to come back to the college level, although that might be hard to do with no solid plans for an arena.

[cberkas]

https://scottywazz.com/2017/09/05/on-the-topic-of-ncaa-expansion/

I expected him to bring up more then two teams.

[stoneySIOUX]

19 minutes ago, cberkas said:

https://scottywazz.com/2017/09/05/on-the-topic-of-ncaa-expansion/

I expected him to bring up more then two teams.

Navy, cool. I haven't heard much about them. Love the built in rivalry. This stood out:

That said, I wholly expect that the next team to get funding to see if their program is viable for NCAA D1 status will be the Naval Academy. You can bet that the NHL and NHLPA will announce that during the Stadium Series weekend in Annapolis, as well.

If this happens, that's great pub for our game.

[cberkas]

5 minutes ago, stoneySIOUX said:

Navy, cool. I haven't heard much about them. Love the built in rivalry. This stood out:

That said, I wholly expect that the next team to get funding to see if their program is viable for NCAA D1 status will be the Naval Academy. You can bet that the NHL and NHLPA will announce that during the Stadium Series weekend in Annapolis, as well.

If this happens, that's great pub for our game.

Someone on the tweet about the article said Navy cut funding for the club hockey team.

[stoneySIOUX]

6 minutes ago, cberkas said:

Someone on the tweet about the article said Navy cut funding for the club hockey team.

Dang. Well, hopefully this guy knows more about it and that Navy got some funding elsewhere.

[ScottyWazz]

3 hours ago, cberkas said:

https://scottywazz.com/2017/09/05/on-the-topic-of-ncaa-expansion/

I expected him to bring up more then two teams.

In my eyes, those are the two teams that are in D1 club hockey that could make the move and get the support from the student body and get the prospects to field a somewhat competitive team. Of course, I grew up in the mid-Atlantic, so those are two teams who's club teams have been held up to a bigger standard in that area. They are long-standing club teams, in the vain of ASU and Penn State and could bring up a variety of players from areas close by. 

As far the funding being cut, that seems to be across the board when it come to club programs. University of Maryland has had setbacks in funding, Navy in the same way, as well. I don't think that'll affect what I was suggesting in that the NHL and NHLPA doing the research like their doing with the University of Illinois to see how viable a team is there. If they were to get some kind of NCAA status, I'm sure Navy will change their tune when it comes to funding the team because it is a varsity sport rather than just a club team. 

Outside of Arizona being put into the conversation (which could work with Tucson having an AHL team there and those two sharing an arena), those are the two teams the NHL and PA should look to as a serious expansion. California club teams are growing, as are the teams in the PacNW-- so they're not in the equation just yet. Maybe if people think UW-Stevens Point is going to be able to pull from the other NCHC/Big Ten schools in the vicinity-- they could be a contender to expand-- but it's a very longshot. 

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

15 minutes ago, ScottyWazz said:

 

Both are schools that should explore the possibility, since they serve major metros that support hockey but don't have a nearby college team. But Maryland and Penn are more likely candidates in each metro.

[SiouxVolley]

3 hours ago, ScottyWazz said:

In my eyes, those are the two teams that are in D1 club hockey that could make the move and get the support from the student body and get the prospects to field a somewhat competitive team. Of course, I grew up in the mid-Atlantic, so those are two teams who's club teams have been held up to a bigger standard in that area. They are long-standing club teams, in the vain of ASU and Penn State and could bring up a variety of players from areas close by. 

As far the funding being cut, that seems to be across the board when it come to club programs. University of Maryland has had setbacks in funding, Navy in the same way, as well. I don't think that'll affect what I was suggesting in that the NHL and NHLPA doing the research like their doing with the University of Illinois to see how viable a team is there. If they were to get some kind of NCAA status, I'm sure Navy will change their tune when it comes to funding the team because it is a varsity sport rather than just a club team. 

Outside of Arizona being put into the conversation (which could work with Tucson having an AHL team there and those two sharing an arena), those are the two teams the NHL and PA should look to as a serious expansion. California club teams are growing, as are the teams in the PacNW-- so they're not in the equation just yet. Maybe if people think UW-Stevens Point is going to be able to pull from the other NCHC/Big Ten schools in the vicinity-- they could be a contender to expand-- but it's a very longshot. 

If Navy adds DI hockey, have been expecting Liberty to add it too.  Liberty has made major improvement to its rink, like something bigger is happening.  Liberty has plenty of money and would relish playing Navy and AHA schools just for their academic credibility.  Delaware seems like it has a lesser chance, as it's facilities seem to need an improvement and I see it wanting FBS before hockey.  An outside chance could be West Chester St in PA, a DII school, that would have a lot to gain in the Philly area by going DI in hockey.

Six schools on the east coast have made club hockey a major deal with the ESCHL and suspect each of them have eventual DI plans.  Those six schools are Delaware, West Chester, Rutgers, Liberty, Stony Brook and URI, but each of them have different ideas on when they are going DI.

[ScottyWazz]

On 05/09/2017 at 9:03 PM, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said:

Both are schools that should explore the possibility, since they serve major metros that support hockey but don't have a nearby college team. But Maryland and Penn are more likely candidates in each metro.

Considering what I've heard from the plight of Maryland's teams at the D2 level, it'll be hard to get a competitive team. They need to get to D1 in club first before getting to a NCAA. The school cut their funding and made them buy new jerseys just because they got rid of the certain "Terps" script they used on their white jerseys. They had a GoFundMe that fell a couple hundred short, but got a lot of stuff paid for. Penn is interesting because of their Ivy League status and having the money. 

 

22 hours ago, SiouxVolley said:

If Navy adds DI hockey, have been expecting Liberty to add it too.  Liberty has made major improvement to its rink, like something bigger is happening.  Liberty has plenty of money and would relish playing Navy and AHA schools just for their academic credibility.  Delaware seems like it has a lesser chance, as it's facilities seem to need an improvement and I see it wanting FBS before hockey.  An outside chance could be West Chester St in PA, a DII school, that would have a lot to gain in the Philly area by going DI in hockey.

Six schools on the east coast have made club hockey a major deal with the ESCHL and suspect each of them have eventual DI plans.  Those six schools are Delaware, West Chester, Rutgers, Liberty, Stony Brook and URI, but each of them have different ideas on when they are going DI.

Liberty has a lot of talented coaches there, so I would say they're  big outlier, but definitely would spend to the hilt in order to get some more publicity. Them getting into NASCAR will certainly jump their profile more and attract more, which D1 hockey would. 

West Chester is definitely a good choice and could steal some interest from the D3 program in Neumann for hockey kids....maybe....doubtful. 

[SIOUXFAN97]

bet the ad at minny and all the others in the big 10 with half empty arenas saw how quickly the und/um tickets sold...faison still playing hardball with the big10...just waiting them out.

[BarnWinterSportsEngelstad]

51 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

bet the ad at minny and all the others in the big 10 with half empty arenas saw how quickly the und/um tickets sold...faison still playing hardball with the big10...just waiting them out.

The problem here as I see it is the B1G ad's have more time and money than UND. It's not that their MH makes lots of money, but that their athletic departments have so much more money.

Presidents need to get more involved.

[AlphaMikeFoxtrot]

5 hours ago, ScottyWazz said:

Considering what I've heard from the plight of Maryland's teams at the D2 level, it'll be hard to get a competitive team. They need to get to D1 in club first before getting to a NCAA. The school cut their funding and made them buy new jerseys just because they got rid of the certain "Terps" script they used on their white jerseys. They had a GoFundMe that fell a couple hundred short, but got a lot of stuff paid for. Penn is interesting because of their Ivy League status and having the money.

Maryland's fate is like Oregon, all it takes is Under Armour (or in the Ducks' case, Nike) wanting a team and it'll happen.  Does UA own a hockey brand a la Nike/Bauer or Adidas/Reebok?  Some East coast college hockey teams have UA jerseys. BC is the only one I can think of.

[Yote 53]

I've seen more UA stuff in hockey recently.  Hockey socks, hockey apparel, etc.  No protective equipment or anything like that, but that's not their business either, they are more apparel.