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Update: WMU and SCSU Officially Accept Invitations to NCHC

Sep 22

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Well, that didn’t take long. 

After officially extending invitations to the schools on Wednesday, the NCHC became a reality for the Western Michigan Broncos and St. Cloud State Huskies on Thursday.  This brings the total schools welcomed into the NCHC up to 8, and gives Miami a conference rival of sorts in Western Michigan, having spent the last 31 years in the CCHA together (WMU has been in the CCHA since the 1975-76 season and Miami joined for the 1980-81 campaign).

Miami Athletic Director Brad Bates was present to welcome the Broncos with WMU director of Athletics Kathy Beauregard providing the big news to local media.

St. Cloud State University President Dr. Earl Potter announced the Huskies are joining the NCHC, and looks forward to “forming new partners with Miami and Western Michigan.”

As far as these two teams go, Miami has a slight 51-49-9 edge all time against Western Michigan, and a solid 7-1-1 record against the Huskies.

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Report: WMU, SCSU Expected to Join NCHC

Sep 21

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Curious…

That would be my immediate reaction to reports by both College Hockey News and USCHO that Western Michigan University and St. Cloud State University are expected to join the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference that will start play in 2013-14. According to reports, both schools will be invited by week’s end. Both websites cited separate sources with CHN naming the Grand Forks Herald and USCHO citing the Kalamazoo Gazette.

So, what does this mean for Notre Dame?

I think it means they are going to play as an independent while their administration very likely considers a new conference for their other sports as the dramatic changes in college athletics continue. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Notre Dame join either the Big 10 or the ACC for all sports. Of course, only the Big 10 helps the Irish (why Notre Dame gets away with using “Fighting Irish” and others like North Dakota are crucified for using “Fighting Sioux” is beyond me, but a story for another day) on the ice so things are going to be more difficult for them until the situation is resolved.

Notre Dame has committed to announcing a “decision” within 10 days.

As for the NCHC, the addition of Western Michigan makes all the sense in the world. Heavy commitment to hockey, Division I in all-sports, travel partner and MAC rival with Miami, Andy Murray at the helm, etc.

However, I’m perplexed by the addition of St. Cloud.

When the NCHC announced the formation of the conference, “like-mindedness” and a commitment to hockey were noted as key tenets that brought these schools together. I must confess I do not know a ton about St. Cloud as a university, but I know they aren’t a Division I school (though defending national champion UMD isn’t either), they aren’t highly regarded academically and I can only hope assume their ability to support hockey at this highest level is not a challenge for them financially. Plus, St. Cloud’s president went on the record saying the Huskies would not accept an invite to the NCHC as our pal Goon reported a few months back over at Goon’s World making him either a slick politician or an absolute hypocrite.

So, I’m wondering what SCSU brings that Bowling Green doesn’t?

It’s another Minnesota school which is a boon for recruiting, but Bowling Green is a Division I school and inviting them would have kept the three hockey-playing MAC schools together. If Notre Dame wasn’t (ever) going to accept the invitation, I wonder why the NCHC is going with a small non-Division I school over a program that has won a national title, has reaffirmed their commitment to hockey and is a three-hour drive from Oxford, Ohio?

More on this to come over the next few weeks I’m sure.

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Alabama-Huntsville’s Program in Jeopardy?

Sep 7

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College Hockey News is reporting the University of Alabama in Huntsville is in serious discussions about the future of their hockey program which includes the distinct possibility of dropping the sport altogether.

According to various sources, UAH’s athletic budget is under scrutiny and the school needs to raise at least $500,000 per year over the next three years in order to continue to support Division I hockey.

UAH has been without a conference since the demise of College Hockey America following the 2009-10 season and last year played as the only independent program in Division I. Currently, the Chargers are still without conference affiliation and, according to CHN, have not been included in any expansion discussions that have held the college hockey world’s attention this summer.

With athletic budgets under increasing scrutiny across the country, neither Atlantic Hockey, nor the WCHA, seem willing to incur additional expenses to add the Chargers to their conference. This even as the WCHA has been decimated by the departures of seven of their twelve members and has backfilled with leftovers from the CCHA. And, though the NCHC would seem to have no concern over travel costs, their “like-minded” commitments to hockey are probably not a fit for UAH who has been an afterthought throughout the program’s 32 year history.

With just 59 schools sponsoring Division I hockey in 2011, it would be a shame for the sport to lose even one program. However, UAH is the only school south of the Mason-Dixon line playing college hockey at the highest level and they have always been a bit of an outlier. In short, it’s going to be tough for UAH to continue to support the program without a conference home. Here’s hoping either Atlantic Hockey or the WCHA give them a shot.

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Bowling Green Close to Accepting WCHA Invite?

Aug 31

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Looks like the Bowling Green State University Falcons are inching closer to accepting the WCHA’s invitation to join the conference beginning with the 2013-14 season. Frankly, I’m not sure what the hold-up is.

If the Falcons try to wait out the NCHC for an invite, they could do themselves a disservice by turning off their benefactors with open arms — even if the man behind the invite, WCHA commissioner Bruce “Not Some Kind of Merger” McLeod has made it clear the CCHA teams are now subordinate to the WCHA.

Again, I like that Miami and Bowling Green are conference mates and in-state rivals in every other sport. And, it’s been fun beating up on the Falcons over the past ten years as they’ve ignored their once proud hockey program. But in saying that, I just don’t see what BG provides the NCHC, especially as they offer non-qualifiers, even if Notre Dame declines to join the league and they invite Western Michigan. I think it would be better for the NCHC in the near term to go with seven teams and keep searching for an eighth before I’d invite the Falcons in their present state. That in no way precludes the league from later extending an invitation to Bowling Green should their circumstances dramatically change.

For me, offering NQ’s right now wasn’t a smart move by former Miami captain and assistant coach, Chris Bergeron.

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More on WCHA/CCHA Merger

Aug 26

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Matt Wellens of the Mining Journal in Marquette, Mich. had a few more tidbits on the invite from the WCHA to the remaining five CCHA schools. Neither Western Michigan nor Bowling Green have accepted the invitation yet and both Lake Superior and Ferris State were, unsurprisingly, asked to update their aging hockey facilities. However, both Alaska-Fairbanks and Lake Superior accepted the WCHA’s invitiation yesterday to join the league starting with the 2013-14 season.

If the NCHC were to add Bowling Green, as much as I think it would be good for Miami, and for the league to have a doormat, it would be quite ironic that these teams would break from their current conference affiliations, finish the work the Big 10 started by destroying the CCHA and add a program like Bowling Green which seems it should be a program these “like-minded” schools wanted to distance themselves from.

If Notre Dame goes independent or to Hockey East I could still support the addition of Western Michigan, but I’m just not certain about Bowling Green. Right now, I don’t see the benefit for the NCHC to do so, and frankly, it seems a bit hypocritical if they were to add the Falcons.

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The day the CCHA died

The CCHA was laid to rest today

Though the Big 10 officially announced its intention to start a hockey conference on March 21, 2011, today was the day the patient called the CCHA finally succumbed to its mortal wounds.

The news came earlier this afternoon the CCHA’s left-behinds Bowling Green, Alaska-Fairbanks, Lake Superior, Ferris State and Western Michigan were extended an invitation to join the WCHA beginning with the 2013-14 season. That means, the 40 year old league will in all likelihood conclude play with one final Mason Cup Tournament championship in March 2013.

It appears the only things left in the air are whether Bowling Green and Western Michigan actually accept the WCHA’s invitation. While Western is more likely than Bowling Green to receive an invitation to the newly formed NCHC, neither or both could be invited pending “The Decision” from Notre Dame on where their hockey future lies — with the NCHC, Hockey East or as an independent.

College Hockey News has the latest.

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