When I read this bravo sierra it makes my blood boil that the CCHA will let an established team like UAH twist in the wind but will extend an invitation to a team that doesn't even have a program yet. Hey Anastos; how can Penn State who doesn't an arena or an existing program be an attractive choice to the CCHA?
When Central Collegiate Hockey Association officials gather next week in Dearborn for annual meetings, they are expected to discuss the possibility of adding a 12th team to the league.
The target: Penn State.
"They are a very attractive choice -- very attractive," CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos told The Detroit News on Tuesday. "They're in a different market than we're in, more and more U.S. players are on college rosters, and there's tremendous growth of the sport in Pennsylvania."
The CCHA includes Michigan, Michigan State, Ferris State, Lake Superior, Northern Michigan and Western Michigan.
Anastos confirmed Tuesday the CCHA's interest in Penn State less than a week after the Altoona (Pa.) Mirror reported that the school is on the verge of making men's and women's hockey Division I programs. The newspaper attributed the information to a source.
Men's and women's hockey currently are club teams at Penn State.
Anastos said there is no timeline for extending an invitation to Penn State, but confirmed he has exchanged e-mails with Penn State president Graham Spanier on the topic. Anastos also said Penn State officials recently toured hockey facilities at CCHA member schools.
"Obviously there's some interesting dynamics," Anastos said. "Certainly there's some commonality."
Attempts Tuesday to reach Penn State athletic director Tim Curley were unsuccessful. Members of the school's board of trustees have not discussed the issue publicly in meetings. The trustees' next meeting is Sept. 16. [From The Detroit News]
This kind of stuff pisses me off, it's the CCHA commissioner acting like an elitist snob again. So lets make sure that I get this right; UAH not good enough, Penn State no existing program; but Penn State is good enough and an attractive option. I think college hockey owes it to UAH to find a home for the Chargers if an existing league is going to snub a team that needs a home for a team that isn't even on line yet.
I still think the WCHA could have taken UAH instead of Nebraska and solved this.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that if the CCHA takes Penn State, then UAH folds.
ReplyDeleteWhy should they stick around?
It's unbelievable that an otherwise nonexistent program can beat out an existent one. That Penn State can somehow bring more competition to the CCHA than UAH could. Well, it is Penn State.
Maybe they can get JoePa to coach them.
The CCHA is a joke and they will forever be the CupCake Hockey Association until they look more at preserve then expand rather than expand over preserve.