COLLEGE HOCKEY: UND weighing hockey league options

Brad Schlossman the beat writer for the Fighting Sioux hockey team has a very interesting article in today's Grand Forks Herald. It would seem as if the dominos are beginning to fall as the formation of the Big Ten Hockey Conference approaches… I think a lot of fans are wondering what is going to happen to the college hockey landscape especially in the CCHA and the WCHA minus the B1G teams… Stay tuned.

Brad Schlossman; Grand Forks Herald --- UND is having formal discussions about pulling out of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and joining several other schools in creating a new power hockey league, multiple sources have told the Herald.

The move would blow up two of college hockey’s major conferences and vastly change the landscape of the sport for the 2013-14 season.

That’s when the Big Ten Hockey Conference will form, plucking Minnesota and Wisconsin from the WCHA and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The possible new conference would combine remaining powers from the WCHA and CCHA.

The new league is not a done deal, but sources say that the talks have progressed beyond preliminary stages.

“Several institutions have been looking at the college hockey landscape and different possibilities that might be out there,” said UND athletic director Brian Faison, who declined to name other institutions. “At the end of the day, we have to do what’s in the best interest of UND hockey and that’s what we’re going to do. It’s an emotional decision. It’s a business decision.”

The reason for the move would be for UND to align itself with schools that have similar philosophies about their hockey programs and are willing to invest in them and create new media opportunities.

It is believed that eight teams are involved in the talks to some degree. Nebraska-Omaha, which recently dropped its football program and will put its focus on hockey, is likely one. Omaha athletic director Trev Alberts didn’t return a phone message.

Colorado College athletic director Ken Ralph said his school is examining its current status.

“It’s pretty clear that the formation of the Big 10 is causing folks to look closer at alignment,” Ralph said. “We’re in the same boat. We’re really being thoughtful at how we’re looking at our league. We’ve done a tremendous amount of researching over the last three months. We’re trying to figure out what that research is telling us.”

CCHA members that fit the bill include Notre Dame, Miami and Western Michigan. League commissioner Fred Pletsch didn’t return a phone call.

Though rumors persist about a Hockey East team also being involved in the talks, league commissioner Joe Bertagna said he has “no reason to believe those reports.”

WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said he’s aware of the ongoing discussion about the new conference.