Big Ten vs. The Rest of College Hockey?

Adam Lambert of Puck Daddy has a really good article on the Big Ten's freshman proposal. This is what caught my eye. And I believe that Lambert is right, the big schools are tired of losing to the less prolific teams, that's it, the Big Ten teams don't like losing to Union, Providence, Yale and other like- minded schools.

That's it in a nutshell.

The proposal smacks of elitism. The high-profile teams are tired of losing to lessers fortunate schools that might have recruited a few older stronger players. Is that such a bad thing?

These same aforementioned schools don't have the advantages the high-profile teams have. They have to recruit players while the big high-profile schools can just select the players they want.

Ryan Lambert, Puck Daddy --- Which brings us back to Lucia, there was this Q&A with College Hockey News in which he basically said, repeatedly, that while he understands his opinion is not popular with his coaching peers, he also doesn't care because “they are looking out for their program, and I am looking out for mine.”

This is the kind of casual F-you attitude you can adopt if you have the political clout of the Big Ten — a big-money power conference in all sports, which makes it unique among college hockey conferences — and one you may necessarily feel must be adopted if your program is struggling for the second year in a row.

Ditto Michigan, which hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 2011-12. Ditto Michigan State, which hasn't cleared 20 wins since Obama got elected. Ditto Ohio State, which he been a .500 team just twice since 2009. Ditto Wisconsin, which has seven wins in its last 49 games. And ditto, I guess, Penn State, which is a new program but has the resources behind it to start attracting high-end players that others likely cannot.

If I had to guess the teams that are for this moronic proposal are UCONN (said as much in the article cited), BU, B.C., Notre Dame, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State (said as much on the TPS show).  Who's the other program?

Is the NCHC lacking name-recognition?

Chris Peters of the United States of Hockey has this little blurb on his blog today – it’s worth a look. I sure there will be NCHC fans will take issue with some of the things that he said. Or not!

In all honesty, the league didn’t have to do terribly much to seemingly come out ahead on realignment. By just letting things play out and adding Notre Dame, largely due to the league thanks to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (seriously, that’s as hard to type as it is to say) lack of foresight and possibly arrogance, Hockey East took another significant step forward by attracting UConn.

Meanwhile the NCHC has very little name-recognition, and therefore a second-rate TV deal, a second-rate tournament venue, but a high level of on-ice competition. From a hockey standpoint, it’s a fantastic league, but that’s where it ends. That might be enough for you as a fan, but it’s not enough to lead me or anyone else to believe it’s going to be a great business long term.

The Big Ten Hockey Conference will have good exposure on the Big Ten Network, but it’s still merely a six-team league. Until a few more Big Ten schools step up for hockey, and there’s nothing to indicate that will happen anytime soon, the conference’s size doesn’t make for a lot of variety and excitement, though the rivalries should remain intense. Still, the exposure and brand recognition resonates with the casual fan.

First off, is Chris Right? For disclosure – Chris was not a big fan of the re-alignment that took place last summer, he isn’t alone there are a lot of people that weren’t fans of last summer's re-alignment plan as well. It's not like we had a choice in the matter, said schools pursued this venture without any input from the fans.

That being said, do you agree with what he said? Right now, I am more concerned with what NCHC fans think than the B1G fans. It's obvious that the B1G has name-recognition.

Does the new NCHC has very little name-recognition? In my opinion; no! I am also not so sure how you can say that there is little name recognition with the teams that make up the NCHC. Teams like UND, DU, C.C. UMD have all won NCAA titles and have storied histories.

Add to the mix up and coming teams like Miami University and Western Michigan from the soon to be defunct CCHA and UNO and SCSU and you have the making of a very well balanced hockey league. The NCHC brings to the table 16 NCAA titles, only the B1G will have more NCAA titles (20), so were not talking about a second rate bunch of pathetic cupcakes here. We already know the title counts of all three leagues involved.

Let's take a look at the financials. Historically, the NCHC teams have been successful on the ice as well as financially; if you look you will see that five of the future NCHC teams make about 3.2 million off of their Division I hockey programs as opposed to the reconfigured Hockey East which loses about $395,000 a year of their hockey programs. Only Denver and Western Michigan have lost money with their hockey programs.

I am not here to disrespect Hockey East or (Chris for that matter) because Hockey East is a very good hockey league and has piled up an impressive four NCAA titles during the 2000’s, however, it’s only been two teams that have won the NCAA titles during that time period ( BU and B.C.) – besides the three power schools currently in the Hockey East no other really stands out in that conference, except maybe the University of New Hampshire.

If anything I think that the two leagues are on equal footing as far as name recognition goes in college hockey.

I think historically speaking people are just as familiar with BU and B.C. as they are with DU, UND when it comes to college hockey.

Adding Notre Dame to the Hockey East was a good move but what exactly have they accomplished during their hockey existence? Yep! You will be able to watch your team play Notre Dame when they play their Hockey East foes, but the rest of the league is not going to benefit financially from that television deal.

Breaking it down further – outside of the power schools Boston College, Boston University, Maine and UNH who else in the current Hockey East stands out and packs fans in the stands? Maybe Notre Dame when they get to Hockey East in 2013-14.

Are University of Connecticut hockey fans going to suddenly realize that they have a college hockey team and fill the XL center when it’s 30 miles from their campus? This isn’t the UCONN Men’s or Women’s Basketball teams.

This is a very different animal, the UCONN Huskies hockey team with very little history that is currently a member of the AHA conference, that’s not to say that they can’t evolve into a power house hockey team. Let’s call UCONN a work in progress.

Here is the part that I do agree with Chris with. If the Target Center which is exclusively a Basketball venue doesn’t improve after the 100-150 million dollars improvements Target Center is going to be a second rate tournament venue. That’s really not debatable; the Target Center has its work cut out for it.

The central location of the Target Center does make it an attractive venue and the majority of the fans that have the most rabid fan bases are all driving distance away.

Finally, I am not so sure we can call the deal with CBS Sports a second-rate TV deal, before we even see how it turns out.

Besides the Notre Dame TV deal with NBC Sports Net, how is the rest of Hockey East doing when it comes to games being televised? I have watched a few of the games on NESN via my DirecTV Satellite Dish but I don’t see a lot of UMASS Lowell or Amherst games on the dish.

There are a lot of unknowns going forward – no one knows how this deal is going to shake out – I would say at least give the NCHC a chance before we bury them and kick dirt on a conference that hasn’t even played a collegiate hockey game as of yet.

I also think that it’s too early to declare winners and losers – with college athletics none of this stuff stays static – things change constantly. Who knows, maybe there are more moves in the re-alignment phase before the 2013-14 season kicks off.

Lastly, I know there are a lot of unhappy people with the NCHC Television deal, I gathered this by reading the reactions of the fans over on Brad Schlossman’s blog. Due to the size of UND’s fan base there are a lot of fans that live outside of the Midco.net foot print and watch UND hockey on DirecTV or FTA Satellite dishes. After the upcoming season, many of them are worried that they will no longer be able to watch all of UND’s home games. I too wonder if I need to re-subscribe to Midco.net myself?

In conclusion, there is also no reason to panic just yet because there is a whole year left to work out the details. As we get closer to the kickoff of the NCHC more details will emerge and we will get a better idea what is going to transpire. I also don't think that the NCHC will lack name-recognition.

UConn Men's Ice Hockey To Join Hockey East for the 2014-15 season

STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut has been offered and has accepted an invitation to join the Hockey East Association in the sport of men's ice hockey in a joint announcement made on Thursday. Connecticut will join the league for men's ice hockey in 2014-15 and is already a member of the league in women's ice hockey.

Connecticut's membership in the men's league will put the conference at 12 teams for the 2014-15 season, including: Boston College, Boston University, Maine, Merrimack, UMass-Lowell, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Notre Dame (beginning in 2013-14), Providence and Vermont.

The Huskies will continue to compete in the Atlantic Hockey Association for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

"This is a historic day in the history of the University of Connecticut and its Division of Athletics," said Director of Athletics Warde Manuel. "Hockey East is the premier men's ice hockey conference in the country and we are proud to say that the Huskies are now part of it. I would like to thank Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna and the Athletic Directors at the institutions that comprise Hockey East for providing us this special opportunity.  We are committed to developing a men's ice hockey program that can and will perform successfully on the national level and compete for Hockey East and NCAA championships.

"I would also like to recognize Commissioner Robert DeGregorio and our fellow Atlantic Hockey institutions for their support during this decision making process."

The Hockey East Association was founded in 1984 and league teams have won eight NCAA championships in the past 20 years. Hockey East teams have made 37 appearances in the Frozen Four and 21 appearances in national championship games in the 28-year history of the league. Since 1999, Hockey East has won six NCAA Championships and has placed 20 teams in the Frozen Four, along with 53 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Thirty-two Hockey East alums have won the Stanley Cup with their respective NHL teams.

"This is one of the most historic and significant days in the history of our conference," said Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna. "We have enjoyed a terrific relationship with the University of Connecticut for more than a decade through our involvement with its women's hockey program. Today we start a new chapter in this relationship and we couldn't be more pleased.

"Warde Manuel and his staff did a commendable job in preparing for this moment and I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the role played by the state's biggest hockey fan, Governor Dan Malloy. Our directors have always said that we would welcome growth through any institution that brings value to our conference. No other school was better positioned to do this than the University of Connecticut."

UConn plans to play its home Hockey East conference games at the XL Center in downtown Hartford and will continue to play non-conference games in Storrs at the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum. The XL Center is the longtime off-campus home of both the UConn men's and women's basketball teams.

"The State of Connecticut is very excited that UConn is joining Hockey East and will be bringing the passion of college hockey to downtown Hartford," said Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy. "I have been a longtime fan of college hockey and believe that this is an incredible opportunity for the University. It is also a great opportunity to bring more top-flight events to the XL Center and further enhance the quality of life in downtown Hartford."

"We are thrilled with the University of Connecticut's decision to join Hockey East," said Chuck Steedman, AEG Management CT/XL Center Senior Vice President and General Manager. "AEG is extremely excited about the opportunity to play host to UConn Hockey at the XL Center and will support UConn's program in a variety of areas.

"We commend the forward-thinking vision of both the University of Connecticut and Governor Malloy, as Hockey East represents a major win for the state of Connecticut and the capital region will see the direct impact of these games being played downtown."

Connecticut currently does not offer athletic scholarships in men's ice hockey, but plans to elevate to the NCAA maximum of 18 scholarships as a participant in Hockey East. UConn will also add additional athletic scholarships to women's sports to ensure compliance with gender equity regulations.

UConn joins an elite group of seven other schools that compete on the national level as a member of the BCS Conference in football and play college basketball and college hockey in a national elite conference. Those other schools with their future conference hockey affiliation are: Boston College (Hockey East), Michigan (Big Ten), Michigan State (Big Ten), Minnesota (Big Ten), Notre Dame (Hockey East), Ohio State (Big Ten) and Wisconsin (Big Ten).

"It is a very exciting time to be part of the University of Connecticut and the joining of Hockey East is a reflection of the continuing efforts to advance our great university," said President Susan Herbst. "UConn is one of the top 20 public research institutions in the country, and our athletic prowess has been a terrific part of our overall success.  I would like to thank Governor Malloy for his support of our membership in Hockey East.   I am also extraordinarily grateful to the leadership of Hockey East, and to the university presidents of the league.  We are honored to stand alongside such excellent institutions and look forward to meeting them on the ice." 

The University of Connecticut first fielded a varsity men's hockey team in 1960-61. UConn elevated its program to Division I status in 1998-99 as a founding member of both the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and Atlantic Hockey in 2003-04.

"The entire UConn men's ice hockey family is very excited about this announcement," said UConn head coach Bruce Marshall. Marshall is a 1985 UConn graduate and former men's ice hockey student-athlete. He has been the head coach of the program since 1988 and is the winningest coach in program history as he enters his 25^th season in 2012-13. "We are very grateful to the administration of the University and to the entire state for bringing Connecticut into Hockey East. From our current student-athletes to our dedicated hockey alumni base, there is great anticipation about this move. I believe that there is a strong appetite for this level of college hockey here in Connecticut and that Husky fans will embrace our entry in Hockey East."

UCONN to Hockey East

Hockey East Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It would appear that the Huskies of the University of Connecticut will probably be leaving the AHA and moving to Hockey East, it has been thrown around a bit the past couple of months. One of the interesting things that I found in this article was that Hockey East actually wanted to add the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Miami University Redhawks. It almost appears that the UCONN Huskies were the third choice of Hockey East. 

Allen Lessels, New Hampshire Union Leader --- Talks between Hockey East and UConn officials have heated up in recent months and both sides have been studying the feasibility of teaming up. While no formal invitation has been extended to the Huskies yet, it's clear that — barring any last-minute hitches — it's only a matter of time before one will be.

“Right now, we're looking very closely at UConn,” said Marty Scarano, the director of athletics at UNH. “I think it's safe to say that it's very close to being consummated.”

Hockey East started out as a seven-team league for the 1984-85 season and added Merrimack for the 1989-90 season, Massachusetts (1994-95) and Vermont brought it to 10 teams in 2006-07.

A major overhaul of the college hockey landscape — including the creation of Big 10 hockey for 2013-14 that will include Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin — led to Notre Dame coming to Hockey East.

“Once we made the move to 11, we had to make the move to 12,” Scarano said. “We knew that. We had talked to Notre Dame and Miami of Ohio and when Miami elected not to join us, we had to cast our attention elsewhere.”

So with an extra spot in AHA Hockey - there's an open slot as well in the WCHA - does one of these two  conferences step up and offer the University of Alabama Huntsville Chargers a spot in their conference? The Chargers still need a conference to call home. I get the feeling that all of the movement we have seen the last two summers might not entirely be over yet. Or is it?  

Related articles

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• UCONN exploring move to Hockey East

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• Hockey East Focusing On Recruiting UConn To Join Conference

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• Hockey East Commissioner Says Conference Is Targeting University of Connecticut in Expansion

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Some from Hockey East not embracing Fighting Irish Move.

I found this article in the Lowell Sun to be interesting and also a bit over the top, I guess not everyone is excited about having the Fighting Irish in Hockey East. I also agree with Mike Machnik because there will be more opportunities for non conference games with the formation of the Big Ten and NCHC conferences.

Chaz Scoggins; Lowell Sun --- If you're one of Hockey East's elite programs, like BC, Boston University, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, that shouldn't be much of a problem. Those schools have wanted to have the latitude to play more than seven non-league games for awhile now, and those are teams every other school in the country wants to play.

But if you're not one of the elite programs, if you're UMass Lowell, UMass Amherst, Providence, Merrimack, and Northeastern, trying to find 14 worthy non-league opponents is going to be a major headache.

Sure, those schools could schedule a flock of games against Atlantic Hockey teams like UConn, Bentley, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. But scheduling and beating those teams only hurts you if you're trying to earn an at-large berth for the NCAA Tournament.

The notorious pairwise rankings are a major factor in determining at least 12 of the 16 NCAA berths, and a big part of the pairwise formula is strength of schedule. It doesn't do the River Hawks much good if they win 25 games but nine or ten of those victories are against ACHA schools, while Vermont might have won only 21 games but had a handful of wins over perennial national powers like North Dakota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.