Penn State leads expanding college hockey footprint

[FormerWildcat]

Interesting article, but it's almost impossible to not have an impact if you have $100 million to spend like Penn State had to startup their hockey program.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/296003651.html

 

[haydenfrye]

Let's see how Arizona State does in 2 years when they bring their club team to the NCAA ranks

 

[EagleFan]

PAC 12 and Big 10 schools ALL ought to move towards D 1 hockey.

 

[FormerWildcat]

PAC 12 and Big 10 schools ALL ought to move towards D 1 hockey.

It's interesting you mention that. I took a look at the University of Illinois website seeing if they were making a move towards NCAA DI hockey, and it doesn't look like they are, which is a shame.

However, I also noticed that the ACHA championships were in Strongsville this past season. I had no idea. I wonder how good that hockey is.

http://achahockey.org/files/uploaded_documents/2439/M1_nationals_bracket_10.pdf

I can't figure out why a school like Illinois can't get it together to have a NCAA DI hockey program.

 

[Bennies'01]

As far as college club sports go, hockey is played at a very high level. I believe that a number of players playing club could very easily be playing at the NCAA DIII level. The ACHA has actually had their championships in Cleveland on several occasions now. Gilmour's ice rink has hosted it in the past as well.

In regards to Big Ten hockey expansion, Illinois would make the most sense, but perhaps a school like Nebraska (whose "branch" in Omaha already has a team) might also be a possibility.

 

[EagleFan]

I just don't think it needs to be limiting. All Big 10 schools should just put in place the plan to move to Varsity status.

 

[Bennies'01]

I just don't think it needs to be limiting. All Big 10 schools should just put in place the plan to move to Varsity status.

Hockey's just one of those sports where there's limited priority for school's on fielding varsity teams.

 

[Auggie]

The issue with the B1G schools are those still left, with a couple exceptions, are they fall under the corn belt stigma that do not have a strong connection to the sport. Indiana, Purdue, Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska are not located in areas that anyone would confuse as hockey markets. I guess the DC area is not much of a hockey hot bed but it is in a major metro market so the transplants can help support college hockey at Maryland. $s have to be the reason that Rutgers and Northwestern do not have hockey. Rutgers I get because they just entered the B1G and have not been living on that big cash infusion the conference gets from TV and BCS bowls but Northwestern is in a great hockey city and on top of that it is located in an affluent area that I could see making games a must see attraction in the northern 'burbs of Chicago. Maybe they jump start the woeful hoops program with a new area that also has ice?

But I actually think it might be Title IX that is holding back hockey at many of these schools, how many scholarships does men's hockey have on the books?

 

[Bennies'01]

The issue with the B1G schools are those still left, with a couple exceptions, are they fall under the corn belt stigma that do not have a strong connection to the sport. Indiana, Purdue, Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska are not located in areas that anyone would confuse as hockey markets. I guess the DC area is not much of a hockey hot bed but it is in a major metro market so the transplants can help support college hockey at Maryland. $s have to be the reason that Rutgers and Northwestern do not have hockey. Rutgers I get because they just entered the B1G and have not been living on that big cash infusion the conference gets from TV and BCS bowls but Northwestern is in a great hockey city and on top of that it is located in an affluent area that I could see making games a must see attraction in the northern 'burbs of Chicago. Maybe they jump start the woeful hoops program with a new area that also has ice?

But I actually think it might be Title IX that is holding back hockey at many of these schools, how many scholarships does men's hockey have on the books?

DI schools can give out 18 scholarships for both mens and womens hockey.

 

[cpc5304]

Honestly, with the emergence of lacrosse in many of these areas, I wouldn't be surprised to see resources go there before hockey. There is much more of a legitimate female presence in that sport for Title IX compliance, also.

 

[FormerWildcat]

Honestly, with the emergence of lacrosse in many of these areas, I wouldn't be surprised to see resources go there before hockey. There is much more of a legitimate female presence in that sport for Title IX compliance, also.

Good point. I would also think that Illinois would be interested in expanding men's volleyball to DI varsity status before hockey as well. There's a ton of boys volleyball high school talent in the State of Illinois that the UofI could tap into pretty quickly if it had a legit DI program.