After a great time visiting my Alma Mater this weekend and getting to see a lot of friends that make me miss the city of Columbus so much. I had to sit down this morning and read about the terrible situation going on with the program down in Huntsville Alabama. In case you don't know. The University of Alabama at Huntsville had recently become an independent in hockey and was desperately looking for a new conference to call home. Recently the threat to end the hockey program has become near certain.
In a last ditch effort, many former players have started to raise money for the program and looked to have $600,000 to be given to the program over the next 3 years. A large amount but not half of what the program needs to survive. They are looking to the community of Huntsville for support to try and bridge the gap even further. From what I read on USCHO.com, the University is just looking for a reason to end the program in main part because of their going independent last year. Many people saw a ray of light and a hope for joining a conference when Penn State went Division I and caused all the realignment. This is where I again demand a little urgency from certain programs.
Recently I gave some criticism to Notre Dame for dragging out their decision making process and causing a lot of stress to the college hockey world. This is just another example of why a decision needs to be made. The college hockey world does not need to be losing programs. Everyday the Irish wait to decide where they will move, the closer UAH comes to distinction. Let me be clear, I am not putting the fate of UAH on Notre Dame. Notre Dame could make a decision tomorrow and it may workout that no conference wants to add UAH, but if it doesn't happen soon. UAH may never even get the chance to find out if they could land a conference and survive.
It has been months since the ball has been in Notre Dame's court. I understand that they want to do their do diligence to find the best spot for their program but it is time to make that decision. College hockey needs to expand not detract and time is running out!
Speaking of expansion, and I know I am getting a little ahead of myself but hey, it's never to early to think forward. I was mulling about the new Big Ten Conference and who would be a good fit to expand the conference from the starting 6 teams to either 8 or even 10. But lets just say we are looking for the two best candidates for now. For me, the number one candidate is the newest member of the Big Ten, Nebraska. I know some people might see that and say huh? But those people, for one don't realize the passion for hockey in the state of Nebraska and two that they already have facilities ready to house a team.
I played 3 years of junior hockey in Omaha Nebraska and played in front of 6,000 plus fans a night every game. Down the road in Lincoln, their junior team has sold out almost every game since they became a franchise in 1996. The fans are there and that's without figuring in the student body support.
Probably the biggest reason why I say Nebraska would be the best fit is that they have an arena available to them. The Lincoln Stars arena seats just over 5,000 people a game, which is an ideal size for college hockey. It would be easy to share the building with the junior team and buy the University time before they possibly build a facility for the basketball and hockey teams to share. So that is my number one candidate for expansion, so who will be number 2? I am going to say the University of Illinois.
I have a couple of reasons why I think they are a good candidate and they are completely different from why Nebraska would succeed. The first is that they already have a great hockey program in Champiagn. I know, I know it's not a Division I program but it is one of the most successful club programs in the country, much like Penn State was before they made the jump. They already have a great following from their fellow students and draw crowds in the thousands for club hockey, imagine if they were Division I and the Wolverines were coming to town.
The second reason would be the ability to recruit home grown hockey players from the state of Illinois. The talent level in the Chicago land area has never been higher and the University of Illinois would be able to land top level talent who would rather stay close to home for their college careers. It wouldn't take long for them to build a winner in Champaign. The only obstacle for them and why I chose Nebraska as the top candidate is the need for a facility. While what they have is good enough for a club hockey team, it falls short of what it would need to carry a Division I team. I see that as a major obstacle for many of the Big Ten schools of which hope to land a hockey program. What may help, and I have heard some rumors, is that some schools are looking to build new basketball arenas and would possibly consider sharing it with a hockey team Ala Ohio State and Wisconsin. Definitely a lot of wait and see when you talk about that idea.
Well, I have said enough. Good nite ya'll!!!
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