College Hockey - 2011/2012

[solbes]

The surprising thing about the merger is the loss of an auto bid if this goes through. That had to be high on the list for WCHA/CCHA. After all is said and done, there will only be 1 less at large bid starting in 2013/2014. And we will still lose UAH, as they do not appear to be in anyone's plans. If you can add Bowling Green, you can add the Chargers.

You could not have predicted this weird shakeup even if someone gave you 100 tries.

[cbrooks]

.

You could not have predicted this weird shakeup even if someone gave you 100 tries.

Ain't that the truth. I'm still wandering what the heck Notre dame plans are...

[Shorelunch]

Ain't that the truth. I'm still wandering what the heck Notre dame plans are...

As much as it would be cool to have the Notre Dame name in the NCHC, part of me would like to tell them to pound sand . . . they can go independent and have a traveling trophy with Huntsville.

[cbrooks]

Whats up shore...you don't like Notre Dame or are you frustrated with how long its taking them to make there Decision?

I kind of think it will be a downer if they choose not to go to the NCHC. It could help with the TV rights with verus(thats the rumor anyway)

[scsavre]

No body watches notre dame now, why would they help any futue tv plans.

Tell em to pound sand. They have not earned all this attention they are getting. Just make a stinking decision aready.

That is tuff loosing the auto bid, I suppose we still have the same amount then. Loose 2 get 2 if u count cha.

[cbrooks]

]No body watches notre dame now, why would they help any futue tv plans.

Tell em to pound sand.

Somehow I'm not surprise that you would be on the "Go pound Sand" wagon .

I got to think Notre Dame will take the offer. Why wouldn't they? Why are they taking there sweet time? Thats whats driving me nuts. Can't make sense of it

[Shorelunch]

Whats up shore...you don't like Notre Dame or are you frustrated with how long its taking them to make there Decision?

I kind of think it will be a downer if they choose not to go to the NCHC. It could help with the TV rights with verus(thats the rumor anyway)

I don't mind ND, and I agree it would help the "brand awareness" of the NCHC. But this stringing out of "the decision" is ridiculous.

[scsavre]

I still have to wonder why do you care about a team with no attendance and revenue. Arent these the teams you are trying to get away from. Why not just stay in the WCHA at that rate.

[solbes]

More news on the realignment in '13/14. It appears that Lake Superior State, Alaska Fairbanks, and Ferris State have accepted their invitations into the re-expanding WCHA. This means the CCHA will be DOA come 2013. The option of 4 Atlantic Hockey schools joining the CCHA appears to have also died.

Now where do Notre Dame, Western Michigan, and Bowling Green go? Notre Dame has been discussed a lot. Western Michigan would like to follow them to NCHC or Hockey East. I'm assuming they would push for NCHC if Notre Dame goes Independent. There's a blog out there suggesting they would not join the new WCHA. Bowling Green has stated they would like to go NCHC, but this really doesn't make much sense. If only one of these teams joins NCHC, there would likely be a push to add another WCHA member, probably Saint Cloud. Saint Cloud has been in some closed door meetings with NCHC officials. Still no talks of any invitation for Alabama Huntsville.

Oh and NCHC is going to be based out of Colorado Springs. Not Grand Forks or Denver as many people had speculated.

[cbrooks]

Schlossman's link http://undhockey.areavoices.com/?p=88336

He figures that Notre Dame will make its decision after all the dominoes fall into place. I think it only makes sense for Notre Dame to join the NCHC. I just don't see them as a independent like they are in football and they have told there recruits this year they will be playing in the NCHC conference(example Mario Lucia).

[solbes]

Also read something interesting about the realigned WCHA. So far there are no D1 only schools in the conference. They need either Western Michigan or Bowling Green to join to keep their vote at the D1 NCAA table. Assuming Notre Dame joins NCHC, Western Michigan folllows them, suddenly Bowling Green becomes a wanted commodity for WCHA members. Kind of weird.

[Bear55]

Good info solbes, I nominate you our personal hockey detective.

[cbrooks]

Intersting point Solbes. It will be intersting if that plays into the decision

[solbes]

Still no decision from the Fighting Irish. I feel like my butt will be in a maroon or gold seat at Amsoil watching them play in early Oct before they will make up their minds.

With the college football shakeup going on, they may be waiting for more info. B10 is courting them again. Even with their NBC TV deal they have to be wondering how it will all shake out. Or they are waiting for a Vs hockey deal to be worked out.

Also heard that NCHC is having dicussions with WMU, Bowling Green, and SCSU. Maybe "what if" scenarios if the Irish join elsewhere? Only 6 teams so far and 8 would be better.

[Shorelunch]

Gopher fans . . . Gopher Puck Live podcast. It's getting closer . . . drop the puck!

[archerystud]

Sound like the NCHC got tired of waiting for Notre Dame. WMU and SCSU apparently joining the NCHC.

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2011/09/21_wmu,_st_cloud_to_join_nchc.php

[Bear55]

Not sure I like this move for St. Cloud, heck even for UMD. I understand why they are doing it but they could have been powers in the "new" WCHA and probably made the NCAA's most years. All the big schools in the new big conferences are going to beat up on eachother and that will leave plenty of room for these guys to slide into 16 team field similar to the way the ECAC teams do it.

[archerystud]

It's all about recruiting. The better recruits want to play in the better conference and get more recognition. Also, I'm sure SCSU will like not having to travel to Alaska once or twice a year.

Agreed that they should have spent most years near the top of the new WCHA and they will spend some years in the cellar in the new conference.

On the flip side I'm hoping that FSN picks up college hockey for the NCHC and maybe I can start seeing my home team on cable here once in a while.

[solbes]

I'm glad SCSU will be in the new conference. I will still be able to go to games up Hwy 10 and see the Bulldogs play. I agree both the Huskies and Bulldogs have better chances of making NCAA's if they stayed. But balancing that a little bit is the recruiting (agree with Archery). Also unless you play the best teams week in and week out, you have less shot of ever making it to the F4, much less the championship (see Union, Yale, etc).

WMU, well I would have rather had Notre Dame. It seems more and more likely that Notre Dame will hinge it's future based on the football shakeup, and hockey will come a long for the ride. Probably about a 200 to 1 ratio of money and interest generated between the 2 sports. Still a possibility that the Irish join, but it seems smaller now.

[scsavre]

This just makes me again wonder what the point of this new conference was. The whole thing is done. What about the like minded hockey program theory. They sould just call the new conference the wcha, at this point it has more teams. St cloud is not making a smart choice. I don't see a big difference this will make for them in recruiting. If anything its worse. They can be the mankato or mich tech of the new league. Players would rather go to a winning team that can make playoffs, then go to a bad team in a good conference. Dumb move.

[archerystud]

] Players would rather go to a winning team that can make playoffs, then go to a bad team in a good conference.

[scsavre]

St cloud state may now be the mankato or anchorage of the new conference. Two teams who have long been in the best league who have never come close to being good teams. They are labeled as weak programns due to their innability to crack the top half of the league and their inability to ever make a ncaa regional. If they ever get a good recruit it is due to being lucky. St cloud might just becomethat for this new league. Denver,nd are almost always strong. Cc is usually in the mix. M ohio is a new program that looks to be getting more good players. Omaha, I'm not convinced they will turn into much yet. Then there's wmu and cloud.

Hopefully it works for them, I just really don't like the seperation of the mn schools just to get this new confernce and the whiners in it more members.

And when notre dame joins the big 10, I could careless and would rather have duluth and cloud.

[Bran32]

I don't understand why Miami of ohio and western mich. were not invited to just join the wcha in the first place!! You would still have a 12 team conference and your so called cupcakes to beat up on!! THis has become an absolute joke, I hope the beavers steam roll into another frozen four after these new conf. take off!! Just another sports money grab!!

[archerystud]

I do hate how all the conferences are shifting (also in football). Part of what made college sports great were the rivalries.

[solbes]

More big changes in college hockey. I'm trying to track this nonsense in my head, and this is what I came up with:

1) Some goober up in Penn has too much money on his hands, so he decides to fund a new D1 hockey program at his alma mater. Mr Alvarez at Wisconsin sees $ signs in his head and pledges his support for a new B10 hockey conference. The rest of the B10 follow suit, without any real options really.

2) Not to be outdone, some proud WCHA hockey schools feel like they need to take matters into their own hands and form their own SUPER conference. 5 out of the 6 members are from the best hockey conference in the nation, meaning the WCHA now is left without it's biggest 7 programs.

3) CCHA is in trouble, big trouble. WMU has pledged that it wants out, making a case online for the NCHC. Notre Dame seems interested in almost every conference but the CCHA.

4) WCHA now has problem of losing it's autobid. So they extend invites to the remaining CCHA schools. NMU, Ferris State, Alaska Fairbanks, and Lake Superior accept invite giving WCHA 9 members.

5) Notre Dame, paging Notre Dame...

6) Western Michigan and Saint Cloud accept invites to NCHC. NCHC now has 8, WCHA back down to 8. THE NCHC has 6 teams of 10 recent teams from WCHA and arguably the best excluding MN and Wis.

7) Bowling Green can't figure out where it might go, but really wants NCHC or wherever the Irish go. Still no buzz from the Irish. Maybe they do make ammends and join the B10 for football reasons.

8) WCHA considers invite to 4 Atlantic schools. Atlantic schools would benefit because they could add 6 scholarships up to the NCAA limit. If these teams accept, the WCHA would span 7 in the North West including 2 Alaska schools. If Bowling Green comes along for the ride, it would make 6 in the south/east pretty much encompassing the entire continent. The smaller WCHA schools did not want to pay for additional travel when discussing matters with the old members, and now look at it their matchups! Don't forget Air Force either, they will probably now want to join WCHA. Gotta throw a Colorado school into the travel itinerary.

9) Still no invite for Alabama Hunstville. They must really be feeling the love as 80% of teams have seemingly accepted invites to the the WCHA, invited and turned down the WCHA, or left the WCHA.

10) Decisions from Notre Dame and Bowling Green are still in play, which may cause further change. Atlantic was not strong to begin with, and now may have 8 remaining members.

And it all started with one large financial gift.