[NU Sports] PENN STATE TO START VARSITY HOCKEY; BIG TEN TO FOLLOW?

[Joe Thiegs]

I disagree that increased level of competition would be a concern.  Right
now, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the Big Ten teams in the WCHA (in which
Omaha also plays), and Michigan, MSU, and tOSU are the Big Ten teams in the
CCHA (Notre Dame also is in that league).  The Gophers have had a few down
years in a row, in which they've been about the third best team in the state
(Minnesota has five D-I programs--the U, UMD (U of M-Duluth), St. Cloud
State U, Bemidji State U, and Minnesota St.-Mankato).  In terms of level of
competition, Minnesota and Wisconsin already play each other, and trading a
few of the non-Big Ten teams in the WCHA (take your pick--North Dakota,
Colorado College, University of Denver, UMD, etc.) for Michigan, MSU, tOSU
would be a wash at worst, and probably a step down.  The New England schools
tend to be really good too--the Boston schools, Maine, New Hampshire, and
Vermont--but outside of New England and Michigan/Minnesota/North
Dakota/Wisconsin, there really aren't too many states with really good
programs, with the exceptions of Colorado and perhaps Alaska and Ohio.

My recollection is that for a long time men's hockey has been the University
of Minnesota's second-largest revenue sport, trailing men's basketball but
ahead of football (I believe that has changed now that there is an on-campus
stadium again).

Since 2000, Men's Frozen Four appearances have been:

Boston College (7)  3 national championships, 3 runner-up finishes
North Dakota (6)  1 NC, 3 RU
Maine (5)  2 RU
Michigan (4)
Minnesota (3)  2 NC
Denver (2)  2 NC
Wisconsin (2)  1 NC, 1 RU
Michigan State (2)  1 NC
Miami U (2)  1 RU
New Hampshire (2)  1 RU
Boston U (1)  1 NC
Notre Dame (1)  1 RU
Bemidji State (1)
Colorado College (1)
Cornell (1)
Minnesota-Duluth (1)
Rochester IT (1)
St. Lawrence (1)
Vermont (1)

See http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/6History/frozen_four.htm

Of these appearances, 16 are from the WCHA, 16 are from Hockey East, 9 are
from the CCHA, and three one-time participants (Cornell, RIT, and St.
Lawrence) are from other conferences.  Of the teams that have won national
championships in that span (BC (3), Denver (2), Minnesota (2), BU (1),
Michigan State (1) North Dakota (1), and Wisconsin (1)), six are from the
WCHA, four are from Hockey East, and one (MSU) is from the CCHA.  Of the
runners-up, six are from Hockey East, four are from the WCHA, and, again,
one (Notre Dame) is from the CCHA.  Thus, combining champions and runners-up
since 2000, the WCHA and Hockey East each have had 10, and the CCHA has had
two.  Thus, I think switching to a Big Ten league would be a step down in
competition overall for Minnesota and Wisconsin, even though Michigan and
MSU have had some very good teams over the years.  It seems Michigan and MSU
would see an uptick in competition, though, as the next-best teams in their
league aren't historically at the same level as Minnesota and Wisconsin.

-Joe



> BTW, I posed the question of the Huskers starting to play ice hockey on
> the Husker List, below is what Mike Jaixen, a hockey enthusiast, said.
>
> The general consensus is that there probably isn't a suitable facility
> in Lincoln yet, though there is supposed to be an ice rink attached to
> the new downtown arena that they will be building in Lincoln.  (The
> Huskers will be moving their mens and womens basketball games to that
> venue when it is completed, it seems likely that the women's volleyball
> team may move to a redesigned Bob Devaney Center, the current BB facility.)
> --
> Mike Nolan
>
> Mike Jaixen (http://huskermike.blogspot.com/) wrote:
>
> On my blog, I cover UNO's D-1 hockey program as well, and I've wondered the
> same
> thing over the years. I'm skeptical that the Big Ten is going to sponsor
> hockey.  Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Michigan State are traditional
> hockey powers who make the NCAA tournament year after year.  I don't see
> those
> schools wanting to compete with each other in conference play and possibly
> risk
> an NCAA tournament berth with extra losses.  In college hockey, strength of
> schedule does mean something in setting the post season, but a Big Ten
> hockey
> conference with those six schools likely mean one of those traditional
> powers
> wouldn't make the tournament each season.
>
> _______________________________________________
> nwu-sports site list
> nwu-sports at tssi.com
> http://romaine.tssi.com/mailman/listinfo/nwu-sports
>



-- 
*_____________________________
Joseph K. Thiegs, J.D.
Associate Director of Advancement
University of Minnesota Law School
321 Walter F. Mondale Hall
229 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota  55455
612.626.5363 (p)
612.626.2002 (f)
thiegs at umn.edu
http://www.law.umn.edu/giving
_____________________________
*