Things that make you go huh?

This is the latest shot across the bow... Not sure what the motivation is? Really!!! McLeod is kidding right, he isn’t sure what the motivation is? How confident are you in WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod if your school is one of the teams left behind in the WCHA when the B1G and NCHC kicks off?

Mick Hatten; SC Times --- “I just never thought we’d get here and I never thought we’d be like (Division I) football and basketball,” said Bruce McLeod, who has been WCHA commissioner since 1994. “You understand with those cases that there’s millions and millions of dollars involved.

“I’m not sure what the motivation is,” he said of hockey. “It’s turned into much more of a business — I need to take care of me. I’m just surprised we got here.”

There will be 59 schools that will compete in Division I hockey for the 2013-14 season. That’s minute compared to Division I men’s college basketball (335) and less than half of the number of teams in the Football Bowl Series (120).
That is part of why the shock may seem greater in hockey. It’s a pretty tight-knit sport and why people who have been around it a long time are having a tough time wrapping their heads around all the movement, including why five WCHA teams left to form the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
“No one can really explain why all this really happened,” said Craig Dahl, St. Cloud State’s Division I coach from 1988-2005. “I don’t think the coaches were all that fired up about it.

“For whatever reason, a couple schools decided the league wasn’t going to be big time enough for them and decided to move in a different direction, look sideways at the tradition of the league. They could care less about the smaller schools in the league. They’re only worried about their situation.”

Tuesday evening free for all

I have been reading a lot of comments from fans of the programs that weren’t invited to join the NCHC or the B1G. First off I understand the anger that some fans are experiencing. This is a scary time for college hockey and I believe all of the schools that are not in the B1G are nervous about their college hockey team’s future, I think that’s understandable.

I have to admit that I am nervous as well and like everyone else I am trying to make some sense out of all of this. First off, UND and DU fans seem to be getting a lot of undeserved flak from other college hockey fans, this anger is misdirected and the fans of these two fan bases are not culpable. I mean let’s be serious; the NCHC was formed by the athletic directors of the six charter member schools (UND, DU, UMD, MU, UNO, C.C.). To suggest that only UND and DU is driving this bus is misguided and wrong, why is it that the other schools aren’t receiving some blow back as well? Also, if you have a concern contact one of the AD’s from the various schools in the NCHC, let them know how you feel.

The day the WCHA and the CCHA died?

In my opinion, I also don't think that those schools were wrong to look into the prospects of the new league; I think the WCHA and the CCHA basically died the day the BTHC decided to make their own league, “WE” will never have what we once had. This is why we have the drastic changes that are happening right now. Let’s not kid ourselves it’s easy for a fan of one of the schools in BTHC to lecture the NCHC fans by telling us that the WCHA would have been fine and there was no reason to start another conference even though our schools are not going to be there. Does that not stink of elitism? Maybe, maybe not, I do think that mind set is short sighted to suggest one group of teams is OK to move forward and improve their lot in college hockey while the others are not and accused of ruining the college hockey landscape. I even read on line today that LSSU can blame UND for their plight, WTF? No I don’t think so.

That being said, I also don’t think it’s wrong to be just a little bit excited about the prospects of having our teams play in a new league as well. I am going to be honest here and say that I am torn, I love the WCHA in it’s “current” 12 team configuration, last season’s Final Five in Saint Paul, Minnesota was a blast, I enjoyed sitting in the press box of the Xcel Energy Center and reporting on the game, however, minus the Gophers and Badges the WCHA is just not as attractive of a league without the two Big Ten Schools. The CCHA looks even worse minus Michigan and Michigan State; I can see why Northern Michigan, Western Michigan and Notre Dame are looking at other options. All I can say is can we blame them and no one seems to be angry with them; at least right now.

Holding on to the status quo

I just don’t know how college hockey fans are supposed to process all of this and I do believe that there are going to be some hurt feeling when it’s all said and done. When I said that this stuff makes my chest hurt, I am being serious, there are too many variables out there, no one knows how this is going to end now that the proverbial genie is out of the bottle.

To a certain degree I believe that human being are afraid of change and want to hang on to the status quo as long as they can, I get that, I am the same way, I don’t want to lose the current WCHA either, so I guess I will have to enjoy the last two seasons before the seismic shift in the college hockey landscape.

Who do we really blame?

Moving forward there are two more years till the final Crescendo in the WCHA as we know it, two years are an eternity in college hockey a lot can still happen between now and then. I am hoping we can all get along and contrary to public believe there is a lot of blame to go around for why all these changes are happening, it’s short sighted to just blame UND and DU, there are more factors driving these changes than UND and DU wanting to improve their lot. DU and UND are just a small part of the equation, there are many other factors out there driving these changes in college hockey, there are teams in the breakaway five that unhappy with the WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod, there are also teams that aren’t all on the same page when it comes to vision on where they believe they want college hockey to go. There are other teams that aren’t as committed financially to college hockey as some of the other schools. Finally you can add the Big Ten Hockey Conference to this equation, there are all kinds of things going on.

I also think it’s funny that very few actually blame Terry Pegula and his act of kindness to donate 88 million dollars to Penn State University so that they could get the ball moving on Division I hockey. Also, I do remember something happening back during the summer of 2009 when a certain AD in the WCHA from Wisconsin was looking to improve his schools lot and wanted to play Michigan and Michigan State more in college hockey... s/t to Gandalf The Red and 60 Minutes...

There were several conference calls between the Big 10 schools w/ varsity hockey along w/ Big 10 commissioner Jim Delany to discuss the creation of a BTHC. There was support for the idea including UW in the form of UW senior associate athletic director Sean Frazier and AD Barry Alvarez. Joel Maturi (gopher AD) spoke out strongly against it, and for probably the only time in world history I agree w/ a ground squirrel.

So I wonder if some of these fans want to amend their statement and still say that it’s all UND and DU’s fault and that UND and DU are killing College hockey. It's more complicated than that.

That’s why I find it funny that no one is blaming Wisconsin A.D. Barry Alvarez and Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany for any of this mess, didn’t Barry Alvarez inquire two seasons ago about having a BTHC? Or are fans just to blinded by their hate for everything UND? I think the later might be true. What do you think?

WCHA commish has no guarantees for MSU Moorhead

Image via WikipediaBut of course!!! Maybe I am looking at this the wrong way but wouldn't it be better for McLeod to encourage MSU-M? Don't the powers that be want more teams in college hockey?

Ryan S. Clark, Forum Communications — If one thing has held true in college hockey lately, there are no guarantees.

That is the point Western Collegiate Hockey Association commissioner Bruce McLeod made Monday in regards to Minnesota State Moorhead’s attempt at starting a Division I ice hockey program.

“It is really tough to make a commitment … and if I could tell Moorhead in three years you’ll be in the WCHA I would, but in these circumstances, I cannot even come close to that,” McLeod said. “I cannot make promises, but at the same time I’d love to encourage that the Fargo-Moorhead area is really fine.”

McLeod used the WCHA as a prism to explain college hockey’s changing landscape with newly formed conferences coming into play — leaving current conferences to form a new shape.

Schools like MSUM could play a role if it is able to raise the money needed to fund a program.

MSUM officials said last Friday the school is hoping to raise $22 million in a self-imposed three-month window to fund Division I hockey for both men and women. The feeling has been for some time that if MSUM added hockey, its preferred destination would be the WCHA.

McLeod said he hasn’t been in contact with MSUM officials lately.

“We’ve had some contact via email,” he said. “And some direct phone calls, but I cannot tell you when but it has been a few months ago.”

Related articles

• WCHA: Shake up in college hockey (robertforto.wordpress.com)
• College Hockey: Reshuffling Blurs Picture, Jeopardizing Conferences (nytimes.com)
• Is The New National Collegiate Hockey Conference Good For College Hockey? (stupidhockey.typepad.com)

Sunday tornadoes bring college hockey links...

Image via WikipediaThere is a lot of news going on right now in the world of college hockey… I will try to keep up to date as much as I can.

If you haven’t listened to this interview;  [Click this link] to listen to athletic director Forrest Karr talk about the changes in college hockey...

In case you haven't seen it, Dave DeLand; the sports editor of the Saint Cloud Times wrote this column that was in yesterdays newspaper -> Huskies are left with only questions. Talk about doom and gloom article that has a theme of poor me. If you don’t believe me take a look for yourself, below is the crux of the article. The schools involved in the new conference have said that they are going to need to play the teams left in the WCHA. So I wouldn't cancel any renovations yet.

»SCSU is getting ready to start a $28.8 million renovation project at the National Hockey Center. Is that even needed now that the building’s primary tenant is headed for a significant league downgrade — and, in all likelihood, an attendance downsizing?

» How does the WCHA implosion affect fundraising for the NHC renovation? Funds for the initial $14 million stage are in hand, but part of the funds for the $14.8 million second stage are supposed to come from future revenue — and that will almost certainly be diminished by the conference’s breakup.

» How do you sell naming rights for the arena of a team in a third-tier conference? In 2013-14, that’s exactly what the WCHA will be.

» How do you sell tickets for conference games against Alaska Anchorage, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech and MSU-Mankato instead of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth?

» How much will recruiting suffer? St. Cloud State has always been able to sell its elite WCHA schedule to recruits, but that advantage disappears when you’re playing conference games against Michigan Tech instead of Minnesota and North Dakota.

» The remaining WCHA schools keep pointing out that they’ll still play nonconference games against the Gophers and Sioux and Bulldogs, but will they play them at home? Or, will St. Cloud State just play road games at NCHC schools — sort of like the lower-rung cupcakes that the Gophers import during the nonleague portion of their football schedule?

Another aritcle from the same newspaper -> College hockey: 'It's a tough day for the WCHA'

There was sentiment from multiple schools that WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod needed to step down.

When the discussion turned to schools possibly pulling out of the WCHA, one of the small-school athletic directors made a motion that called for a six-figure fine to be imposed on all defectors, a point confirmed Wednesday by Faison. The sanction idea was supported by another small-school AD but subsequently withdrawn.

I keep seeing this same topic pop up over and over again in the various blogs and newspapers, and after thinking about it for a while I must ask; are the five schools leaving the WCHA the "only" schools that were in favor of getting rid of WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod?

The next question that I must ask is, are the other schools not in the mix of joining the new conferene; are you happy with the status quo in the WCHA under the leadership of Commissioner Bruce McLeod? I think these are legitimate questions that need to be asked, it would be interesting to see how they would answer that question if they could. Obviously they are still in the league and don't want to bite the hand that feeds them.

I have also read where some SCSU fans think that the reason the Huskies weren’t asked to join the NCHC because of their former president Roy H. Saigo and his stance on the Fighting Sioux logo… I highly doubt that was a reason for SCSU not being invited to join the NCHC... If that was a reason that SCSU was not asked to be in the NCHC, that would be very petty reason in my opinion... Also, the schools involved in this new league are very professional organizations and I can’t see this being a factor because UND AD Brian Faison UND President Robert O. Kelley are both on record as wanting to move forward away from the Fighting Sioux logo and the controversy that surrounds the historic nickname.

Moving forward does the WCHA (those schools that are left) really want Bruce McLeod as the face of their league if he is such a polarizing figure? If in fact one of the reasons these five power schools left the WCHA was because of Brue McLeod (it does appear to be one of the reasons) then maybe the league might want to consider getting rid of him even if it means spending some money to buy his contract out.

Another topic that keeps coming out is some of the AD’s in the WCHA said that they didn’t see this move coming. Yet the head hockey coach for BSU knew this conference was in the works for some time.

Eric Stromgren; Bemidji Pioneer --- When the National Collegiate Hockey Conference became a reality Wednesday, it was an announcement Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore saw coming.

“We knew this was probably going to happen,” Serratore said. “It has been in the fold for a few months and we’ve had time to digest this. Basically what we just need to do now is move on. We’re still in the WCHA.”

So I have to ask, if BSU knew about the new conference forming, how did the UAA AD Steve Cobb not know that this new college hockey conference was coming down the pike? Does he not have the Internet, email and a telephone/cell phone. Cobb said earlier this past week; "I blame everybody for being less than honest with their own league members. It's a really sneaky back-door deal." Again, I must ask where is the communication between member schools in college hockey. Do they not talk to each other? It would appear that they do not. I am going to call shenanigans on this one because I am just not buying it.

If this is the case, it’s time for the WCHA teams/schools that are not in the NCHC to start having more frequent communications with their fellow conference members. I mean; come on!!! Everyone and his brother knew that there was a very "big possibility" that the new “NCHC” was going to form. When I say "big ossibility” I mean there was a lot of unofficial talk that was out there and someone at UAA must have actually seen some of it, it’s not like it was a really big secret.

Where are the Irish going?

With the CCHA disintegrating before our very eyes and with NMU announcing that they are going to the WCHA pending final approval because of a legal issue, which should be resolved this up coming week.

WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod told ESPN 970-AM's Casey Ford Friday morning that 75 percent of the league would have to accept NMU, but the bylaws are unclear whether that applies only to the current 12-team WCHA or the 2013-14 five-team WCHA, as well.

League lawyers are expected to resolve the issue soon and "formal approval of Northern Michigan's application for membership in the WCHA will occur next week," according to Friday's WCHA statement.

Holding all of the cards at a poker game, the $64,000.00 question remains where are the ND Fighting Irish going. Mike McMahon from the Eagle Tribune seems to think that ND is going to Hockey East...

Word around the league is that Notre Dame, one of the leftovers in the wake of the Big 10 formation, is currently deciding whether to join the new NCHC or Hockey East, which it has connections to with other Catholic colleges (Merrimack, Providence and Boston College) as well as the fact that all of the Irish sports besides football compete in the Big East.

According to what I've been told by multiple sources within the league, if Notre Dame wants to join Hockey East, they would be welcomed with open arms.

Related articles

• WCHA: Shake up in college hockey (robertforto.wordpress.com)
• College Hockey: Reshuffling Blurs Picture, Jeopardizing Conferences (nytimes.com)
• Is The New National Collegiate Hockey Conference Good For College Hockey? (stupidhockey.typepad.com)
• New hockey conference for DU, CC named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (denverpost.com)

The truth will set you free...

Image via WikipediaI have said all along there is a common denominator starting to surface... I have said for a long time that Bruce McLeod has to go and should be removed as commissioner of the WCHA. Andy Baggot's latest revelation kind of reveals what is driving this new conference.

Andy Baggot; Madison.com --- Five Western Collegiate Hockey Association schools -- Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota -- joined forces with Miami (Ohio) out of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association to form a new allegience starting in 2013-14 that was revealed last week.

One of the biggest questions has to do with how the proud and powerful WCHA allowed this to happen. Why would these premier members abruptly abandon a recognized 12-team brand to begin anew?

A college hockey source may have provided it Wednesday morning a couple hours before the presidents, athletic directors and coaches from the six schools took questions.

The source said that officials at Denver and North Dakota strongly questioned the direction of the WCHA during the annual American Hockey Coaches Association convention in Florida in May. There was sentiment to force long-time commissioner Bruce McLeod to step down, but the source said that while people from multiple schools inched up to that line, "no one crossed it.''

When the notion came up of schools possibly seceding from the WCHA instead, it was met with the threat of six-figure fines per institution.

Obviously, that didn't go over very well.

Related articles

• College Hockey's Seismic Shift Begins Today in Colorado Springs (pikespeaklife.wordpress.com)
• New league for DU, Colorado College hockey (denverpost.com)
• College Hockey's New 'Super Conferences': Are They Good Or Bad For The Game? (sbnation.com)
• NCAA hockey shake-up: Six top schools set to form 'super conference' in 2013-14 (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)

It's Official: New League Starting 2013-14 + Redwing77's Musings Part One (Updated)

Countdown to 2013-2014

Brad Schlossman confirmed what he essentially broke: There is the new conference going to go down the first year the BTHC is in existence. Here's the story:

The full statement:

We are pleased to announce that six top NCAA Division I ice hockey programs will become founding members of a newly formed hockey conference, which will begin competition for the 2013-14 season. The six institutions are Colorado College, University of Denver, Miami University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of North Dakota.

We understand and appreciate the widespread interest in developments relating to the formation of the new hockey conference. More information will be provided about the initiatives that have been undertaken, as well as the next steps involved, at a news conference in Colorado Springs this Wednesday, July 13. Our programs look forward to continued associations with our current leagues, the WCHA and CCHA, for the next two seasons.

Additional information about Wednesday’s news conference will be forthcoming in the next few days. There will be no further comment from athletic directors, coaches or other officials from any of the institutions until Wednesday’s news conference.

I guess it has been pretty hashed out. But here's the major themes I've been seeing in comment sections:

1. BTHC started the dominoes falling. The Big Ten Hockey conference, in my opinion, did set all of this up by completely changing the landscape of college hockey from the traditional league and divisional mindset to more of a modern business perspective where TV deals and $$$ mean more than tradition and balance. Yes, there are aspects involved that make sense for the conference, but it seems like the pros don't outweigh the cons unless you are a supporter of a Big 10 team.

2. The WCHA disintegration is largely due to the WCHA leadership (or lack thereof). Goon and many others seem pretty dead set on this, but I'm STILL not sold (even after Goon called me to tell me that my perspective on this is wrong!). McLeod didn't come across as being very strong in the face of apparent crisis. I agree. He hasn't looked good many times in the past as well (I seem to recall the member schools basically bludgeoning him into admitting BSU and UNO). Greg Shepherd is just a stooge and meaningless in this case but I throw his name into this because he's a buffoon just like McLeod. In any case, my view is this: If the member schools really didn't like McLeod, they could have simply canned him. They didn't even after a bunch of bad things happened. My view is this: UND, CC, UMD, and DU didn't care much for McLeod and essentially wanted him gone. The other schools, especially the smaller schools like UAA and MTU, disagreed with the other schools. So... "the big four" couldn't garner the votes or whatnot to give McLeod the boot. So they walked and took UNO with them.

But I maintain that the WCHA administration is just one nail in the coffin. The major issue is, of course, money. The BTHC (I prefer the Big Ten Conference of Hockey so I can call it the BTCH.. lovin' that) teams are looking out for themselves and that forces other teams to do the same or flounder in mediocrity. These teams bolted for the same thing. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure it is going to be as lucrative as they expect. Likewise, sticking around wouldn't have been any better. So, it was a lose lose situation.

3. It's all UND's fault. I think it is going to be UND's fault because UND is the biggest name (despite DU being just as notable in the DI college hockey world) in the collegiate niche sport associated with the "Super League." No one will blame Miami or UNO or CC or UMD. They're all relatively small fish. That leaves DU and UND. I always thought DU and McLeod got along famously. After all, Gwoz or the DU AD had VERY easy access to McLeod. DU is a small school in a big city. That doesn't mean alot in this issue but it's all I can dream up. I'm not quite certain why, despite all of the schools that are splitting being pivotal in this process, DU isn't given the share of scrutiny that UND is being given.

4. This is the end to some of the programs. I can't much argue with this. I think most will survive but I still can't help but believe that financially strapped programs such as BGSU, LSSU, and perhaps Ferris State and Northern Michigan may end up in hot water over this. Hot water on ice usually produces a sinking feeling... And unless there's a lot of under the table secrecy that is unheard of in the days of information freedom, there's not a whole lot of schools looking to add DI Hockey. I feel that, if we're still at 59 DI hockey teams in 2016, it will be a miracle. If we increase, then Paul Kelly and College Hockey, Inc. should be deified.

5. There is going to be some mighty hard feelings even without the blame game. This is going to be the reality. I'd love to blame the BTCH (I'm rolling with it. Sue me) for this, but when Penn State announced they were going DI, I don't think anyone was surprised at the formation of the BTHC so it is a sad departure and one fraught with some bitterness, but not all that much animosity. Everyone knows what the Big 10 stands for so this is par for the course, even though the scale was a bit bigger. However, the CHSL's formation comes with a lot of mystery behind the closed doors of the WCHA meetings, some apparent built up angst certainly between some schools and the league office and perhaps even between the schools themselves... It's just not an amicable split. It's simply going to be a rough 2 years ahead of us with unknowns galore. With McLeod being rather untrustworthy to begin with, does he act professionally towards the 5 departing teams or does he throw bones to those who chose to stay? As terrifying as these conspiracy theories may be to those who believe in them, the best way to find out is to watch how the officials treat UND, DU, UMD, UNO, and CC this next two years. If any other WCHA teams, such as BSU, get the invite, throw their name into that hat as well.

More from McLeod...

Image via Wikipedia

s/t to USCHO's Todd Milewski as he interviewed WCHA Commissoner Bruce McLeod on Tuesday, it's kind of becoming more clear isn't it? Seriously, look at some of the stuff he is saying...  I think it's time for Bruce McLeod to go.

Todd D. Milewski USCHO ; --- But in the course of a phone interview with WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod on Tuesday, one in which he said he hoped to be able to keep the league at 10 teams after the departure of Minnesota and Wisconsin in 2013, I asked whether there would need to be some fence mending done for that to even be possible.

As it turns out, it’s a moot point, but McLeod’s response might give some more insight into the behind-the-scenes climate of college hockey today.

“I’ve always believed that we were going to end up staying together as 10 and building from there,” McLeod said. “My tack was to keep the erosion of what we have to a minimum. We’ve had a couple of [athletic director] calls where the calls have been to some degree contentious, and I’ve always tried to mitigate that tension that’s going on with the hope that in the long run that erosion of what’s taken so long to build would be kept to a minimum.

“As time goes on and circumstances like this arise and it’s clear that the impetus is coming from a couple of schools in the WCHA — they seem to be driving this train and pushing it down the track — the erosion of what we’ve had, the erosion of the relationships that we’ve had and the erosion in the trust that we’ve had in one another gets to be more apparent. That is one of the concerns in the long run, even if we don’t stay together.

“There’s going to be some awful, awful hard feelings, and that will be reflected in scheduling prerogatives for all of the institutions involved, et cetera. So it’s not going to be an easy road here for the next couple of years, that’s for sure.”

Another WCHA breakup imminent blog post :)

WCHA

Roman Augustoviz beat writer for the Star Trib (Formerly Goal Gophers) has a blog post that talks about the possible impending doom facing the WCHA/CCHA, there has been about a 100 of them as of late... Looking at this blog post does anyone see anything that sticks out or makes them scratch their head?

When the Big Ten Conference announced it was going to form its own hockey league last March, rumblings started about what the aftershocks might be.

The BTC will start play in 2013-14, with the Gophers and Wisconsin leaving the WCHA and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State leaving the CCHA to join newcomer Penn State in a six-team league.

At the time, WCHA commission Bruce McLeod said his 10-team league would be fine if everybody stuck together. He is probably looking for some super glue right about now.

North Dakota, UMD and Nebraska Omaha are all hinting they are looking for what is best for them. Notre Dame and Miami (Ohio) of the CCHA also could be looking for a stronger league to be part of when the Big Ten Conference starts up.

Those five schools, plus maybe Denver and Colorado College of the WCHA, and maybe Western Michigan of the CCHA, are the teams most often mentioned for a new "super conference".

This could be a summer of big changes in college hockey if it happens.

Doh! Or is it Duh?!? Wow!!! Looking at some of the puzzling comments that have come out of Bruce McLeod’s mouth as of late; make me want to scratch my head and wonder what the hell is going on in this guy’s mind right now? I have to ask other college hockey fans if McLeod’s comments as of late give you a any reason to believe that maybe the is the wrong person to be sitting in the WCHA Commissioner’s chair? I do! It's time to strike while the iron it hot and get rid of this clown.

Why WCHA fans should be concerned...

Image via WikipediaUSCHO has an excellent article today on the proposed CHSL {click to read article)... According to the blog post this new league could be announced in the next two weeks. What should concern my fellow WCHA fans is the comments made by WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod.

WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said his league has studied different scenarios that have been floated in an offseason full of speculation about college hockey’s future. But he said this proposal seems to have more momentum.

“I’m not sure why or whatever; I’m not privy to those conversations. I’ve never had a conversation with North Dakota or Denver about their plans that they’re pushing,” McLeod said. “At this point, I haven’t thought about Plan B at all. I’m still working on the assumption that we’re together as 10 [teams after Minnesota and Wisconsin leave for the Big Ten] and, as unanimously directed by the group in Florida [at league meetings in April], can consider extending an invitation to anybody that could strengthen the league. And that’s our plan.”

Athletic directors at Denver and North Dakota could not be reached for comment

Wow! Those comments by McLeod doesn't give me a lot of confidence in his leadership, a good commissioner would have been more forward thinking and would have been in contact with their member schools, trying to gauge what the other remaining schools were thinking. It's time for McLeod to go