The Chargers had applied to the CCHA because College Hockey America, which UAH helped form in 1999, is folding at the end of the upcoming season. Of the CHA's four members - UAH, Bemidji State, Robert Morris and Niagara - only UAH hasn't found a new home after this season.
And UAH has received overwhelming support from all corners of the college hockey world. Athletic Director Jim Harris said he had calls and e-mails from his peers and coaches.
"Overall, I'm disappointed and disappointed for Huntsville," said Niagara athletic director Ed McLaughlin, who also serves as commissioner of the CHA. "There's a lot of hockey tradition there. We were hopeful all four teams would find a home."
"It bums me out," said coach Tom Serratore of Bemidji (Minn.) State, UAH's top rival.
The vote by the CCHA Council was by acclamation, and bylaws prevent the final tally from being revealed. To be accepted, an applicant must receive at least 9 votes to join the 12-team league. Each school has one representative on the council, but the University of Nebraska-Omaha representative did not vote because that school is leaving the league to join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association at the end of the 2009-10 season.
"I can't discuss how the vote went," said Alaska-Fairbanks Athletic Director Forrest Karr, a member of the council. "But, I've been a main advocate for Huntsville throughout this process."
What next? [al.com]
There does seem to be a glimmer of hope or a life line from the LSSU coach. You can actually listen to the interview right here. I also think that it is a load of crap that we can't read how the vote went. What is the CCHA hiding?
The Chargers would be battling scheduling and recruiting difficulties and would be the only Dvision I independent team among the NCAA's 58 D-I programs.
"It's not what we want," Cole has said. "It would be a year-to-year existence."
College hockey scheduling is like college basketball: The October-December games are mostly non-conference while January and February are conference games. If a team is not in a conference, it's difficult to schedule games in January and February - especially at home, which brings in revenue for the team. An option some schools use is scheduling games on Wednesdays or Thursdays, but, that wouldn't work here.
"Since Huntsville is so far away (from other programs), it would be hard to schedule midweek games," said Serratore.
But Karr, the CCHA council member from Alaska-Fairbanks, said there would be a chance some CCHA teams could help an independent UAH schedule games. With just 11 teams in the league next season - Nebraska-Omaha is leaving to join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association - there should be dates available in January and February 2011.
"We have to fill out our schedule with non-conference games to reach our 34 games," he said. "Hopefully, we can work Huntsville in there.
I think it would behoove the other CHA teams to schedule games with Huntsville every year. Bemidji will no longer have its mandated WCHA series and they should be playing UAH twice every year, since they are rivals.
ReplyDeleteThe CCHA should have AT LEAST provided a scheduling agreement the way that the WCHA did with Suckmidji.
It sounds like that is what is going to happen. If you listen to the link with the LSSU coach it would appear that they have a chance of still getting into the CCHA as well...
ReplyDeleteGoon,
ReplyDeleteWhat about a UAH move to Atlantic Hockey?
Following the CCHA raiding of a team from that league.
I have to wonder sometimes if there is eventually going to be a tweak to college hockey and division realignment to make it even more regional. Personally don’t want to see UAF and UAA in the same division though. You wonder if there is some kind of a solution coming soon. The discussion of the meeting has been pretty close to the vest. The actual voting numbers were not released and no one is talking, at least not yet...
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the AHA they are like not a full scholarship league they have like 11 or 12 scholarships and the CHA was an 18 scholarship league and NU and RMU actually have to drop down to join the AHA. I know this because Moose and Scott covered this one of their last podcasts of the hockey show this spring during the CHA tourney. I am not sure that is an option.
I truly believe that UAH is committed to being an 18 scholarship team and playing in one of the big four conferences or they wouldn’t have expressed an interest in the CCHA , UAH also inquired about membership in the WCHA but didn’t submit an application.
so the ccha says we'll travel to uah and play them in january and february in order to round out our 34 game schedule, but we won't allow them into our league where we can split the revenue from those games?
ReplyDeletenon-sensical.
this only lends more evidence to the theory that the whole denial of membership was simply the result of hurt feelings by ccha members over losing uno. i'm guessing that once they have time to get over themselves, they'll re-visit the uah vote.
Goon, thanks for your extensive coverage of this. Us in Huntsville are still trying to figure out whose cornflakes we apparently peed in.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing that I haven't seen pointed out yet is that UAH is one of the relatively few Div I schools where hockey isn't competing against bigger sports. UAH doesn't play football, and the basketball team never amounts to much. Hockey was the top dog in UAH atheletics even back in the club days; when I was an undergrad in the early '80s, the club team routinely drew 4,000 to watch them beat up the likes of Tennessee-Martin. Back then, we could only dream of the days when we'd be Div I and playing the likes of Notre Dame.
So being in Div I has been a dream come true. Or at least it was. Fortunately, I think the program will be able to survive for a couple of years as an independent, provided that we can schedule enough games. Hey, then maybe we can apply to the WCHA! Go Chargers!