Rumors on ECAC expansion

[KeithK]

The New Haven register is reporting that Q has been recommended to join the ECAC.  HC has also been tentatively recommended, based on a commitment to upgrade it's women's program.

http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12331695&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7592&rfi=6

(The article requires registration: uscho/uscho).

There's been a bunch of talk on the USCHO board about this.  From the article I'm not convinced that it means what it might seem to.  It's not clear to me that a decision has been made.  Does recommended mean that both are accepted?  Or does it just mean that they haven't been rejected like MC, NU, and SH?

We'll have to wait and see...

[Greg Berge]

According to the article, it means that the Committee made the recommendation but "(t)he recommendation must first be approved by the ECAC’s policy committee, which is expected to meet in August."

[KeithK]

The article makes it sound like the decision has been made to accept both schools.  "...the process is not completed until the policy committee signs off on the recommendation â€" or, in the unlikely event that it radically amends it..." The author or his sources are saying that it's very unlikely that the recommendation will not be accepted.  This may all be true.  But if this was essentially a done deal why wouldn't the league announce the decision considering that we're already two weeks past the original deadline?  If you need to get the policy committee to meet, why not schedule an ad hoc meeting to get the issue settled?

Based on the info we have, I prefer to remain skeptical.

[Tom Pasniewski 98]

The USCHO piece is reporting that Quinnipiac has been recommended and that the Policy Committee could meet imminently.  They are also reporting that Holy Cross was denied admission because it would not commit the same level of scholarship monies to its womens program as its mens program.  Not that gender equity in sports is not a very important issue but it sounds like they were really looking for some way to say yes to one and only one school.

[kaelistus]

Holy Cross commits $0 in scholarship monies for the men's program. I find it hard to believe the womens program can't match that.

[KeithK]

[q]Holy Cross commits $0 in scholarship monies for the men's program. I find it hard to believe the womens program can't match that.[/q]The USCHO article says that HC wasn't willing to commit to the same kind of financial aid packages for women as for men.  That indicates that HC has preferrential aid for athletes even if they don't have full rides.
Later it also says "not willing to commit the same kind of resources" which could also refer to team budget, travel expenses, recruiting expenses, coaches salries, etc.

[kaelistus]

HC supposedly has no preferrential aid. So I would guess that that part of the article is a mistake. I can definitley believe the later resurces part.

[ugarte]

[Q]KeithK Wrote:Later it also says "not willing to commit the same kind of resources" which could also refer to team budget, travel expenses, recruiting expenses, coaches salries, etc.[/q] Am I supposed to believe that the budgets for M and W hockey are the same at Cornell?

[peterg]

Budgets?  No.  But financial aid is apparently the issue.

[KeithK]

Well, it's official now.  Q is in starting in '05.  Check USCHO for the (non-)story.