Big Ten Hockey Conference

[Josh '99]

Miami can't afford the travel costs of the WCHA...

Don't forget that Oxford is in the southwestern corner of Ohio, near Cincinnati.  It's a 10 hour drive from there to Ithaca, further to everyone else in the current ECAC.  I don't think that's a bus trip that they're going to sign up to do every other weekend for the duration of the league calendar, and if they're going to be flying every weekend then they may as well join the WCHA.  As far as travel expense go, they'd be way better off if the CCHA picked up the western NY and western PA schools.

[css228]

Miami can't afford the travel costs of the WCHA...

Don't forget that Oxford is in the southwestern corner of Ohio, near Cincinnati.  It's a 10 hour drive from there to Ithaca, further to everyone else in the current ECAC.  I don't think that's a bus trip that they're going to sign up to do every other weekend for the duration of the league calendar, and if they're going to be flying every weekend then they may as well join the WCHA.  As far as travel expense go, they'd be way better off if the CCHA picked up the western NY and western PA schools.

Yeah I'd forgotten exactly where Oxford was. Guess it doesn't make as much sense as I thought. You're probably right that the CCHA will make a run at RIT, Robert Morris, Mercyhurst, Niagra or Canisius. I just don't know if those schools (RIT excepted) would make for a good competitive fit in the CCHA, though with the big schools leaving the CCHA, what is competitive will totally be redefined.

[MattS]

Miami can't afford the travel costs of the WCHA...

Don't forget that Oxford is in the southwestern corner of Ohio, near Cincinnati.  It's a 10 hour drive from there to Ithaca, further to everyone else in the current ECAC.  I don't think that's a bus trip that they're going to sign up to do every other weekend for the duration of the league calendar, and if they're going to be flying every weekend then they may as well join the WCHA.  As far as travel expense go, they'd be way better off if the CCHA picked up the western NY and western PA schools.

Yeah I'd forgotten exactly where Oxford was. Guess it doesn't make as much sense as I thought. You're probably right that the CCHA will make a run at RIT, Robert Morris, Mercyhurst, Niagra or Canisius. I just don't know if those schools (RIT excepted) would make for a good competitive fit in the CCHA, though with the big schools leaving the CCHA, what is competitive will totally be redefined.

I think CCHA will for certain try to get Niagara, Mercyburst, Canisius, and RoMo to join. I know that Niagara was not pleased about losing scholarships when they joined the AHA and the other three probably weren't too high on it either and they just make sense geographically for travel partners. I doubt RIT will move since it would be very tough for them in the CCHA without scholarships for such a young DI program.

[jtwcornell91]

Looking around college hockey, the only even somewhat reasonable scenario I can see for the ECAC expansion is if (1) AF goes to the WCHA and (2) Navy goes D-I then (3) the ECAC might invite Army and Navy to join. Otherwise I don't see a reconfiguration.  We should work on the schedule limits -- that's the only direction there might be any slack on.

14 teams is pretty inconvenient, though.  If we're going to expand, we ought to make the leap to 16 and split into divisions with extra crossover games for the Ivies.  Assuming someone like Navy or Penn doesn't restart, it's hard to come up with four new teams.  RIT, Army, Sacred Heart, and ...?

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Looking around college hockey, the only even somewhat reasonable scenario I can see for the ECAC expansion is if (1) AF goes to the WCHA and (2) Navy goes D-I then (3) the ECAC might invite Army and Navy to join. Otherwise I don't see a reconfiguration.  We should work on the schedule limits -- that's the only direction there might be any slack on.

14 teams is pretty inconvenient, though.  If we're going to expand, we ought to make the leap to 16 and split into divisions with extra crossover games for the Ivies.  Assuming someone like Navy or Penn doesn't restart, it's hard to come up with four new teams.  RIT, Army, Sacred Heart, and ...?

Holy Cross

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Looking around college hockey, the only even somewhat reasonable scenario I can see for the ECAC expansion is if (1) AF goes to the WCHA and (2) Navy goes D-I then (3) the ECAC might invite Army and Navy to join. Otherwise I don't see a reconfiguration.  We should work on the schedule limits -- that's the only direction there might be any slack on.

14 teams is pretty inconvenient, though.  If we're going to expand, we ought to make the leap to 16 and split into divisions with extra crossover games for the Ivies.  Assuming someone like Navy or Penn doesn't restart, it's hard to come up with four new teams.  RIT, Army, Sacred Heart, and ...?

Holy Cross.  They're Patriot league in everything else, which means they already have scholarship limits like the Ivies.  They can be Sacred heart's travel partner.

[Trotsky]

Looking around college hockey, the only even somewhat reasonable scenario I can see for the ECAC expansion is if (1) AF goes to the WCHA and (2) Navy goes D-I then (3) the ECAC might invite Army and Navy to join. Otherwise I don't see a reconfiguration.  We should work on the schedule limits -- that's the only direction there might be any slack on.

14 teams is pretty inconvenient, though.  If we're going to expand, we ought to make the leap to 16 and split into divisions with extra crossover games for the Ivies.  Assuming someone like Navy or Penn doesn't restart, it's hard to come up with four new teams.  RIT, Army, Sacred Heart, and ...?

16 with home and home is 30 conference games.  Even if we all moved to 34 RS games that would only leave 4 NC (2 for Harvard plus their Beanpot).  OTOH, home and home in division and one game out of division (i.e., a return to the three division ECAC of the early 80's) would be 22 RS, same as now.

The Ivies would insist on being in one division.  Clarkson-SLU, Union-RPI, and Army-Navy should paired be together.  Colgate probably belongs with Union-RPI.  Put Quinnipiac with Yale for a city rivalry.  Holy Cross is in Worcester which is somewhat near Albany; and Sacred Heart is in Fairfield which goes well with the CT schools.  So:

Brown
Cornell
Dartmouth
Harvard
Princeton
Qunnipiac
Sacred Heart
Yale

Army
Colgate
Clarkson
Holy Cross
Navy
RPI
St. Lawrence
Union

As long as we're dreaming, have Penn revive their program and then same table above with the Quakers replacing SH.  And have Columbia step up so we can let QU defect to Hockey East.  That would give us Boston, NYC, Philadelphia and Baltimore-DC as primary markets with Albany, Bridgeport, Hartford and Providence as secondary markets.  Should be able to sell the broadcast rights to that to somebody.  Maybe even The Ocho.

[Josh '99]

Miami can't afford the travel costs of the WCHA...

Don't forget that Oxford is in the southwestern corner of Ohio, near Cincinnati.  It's a 10 hour drive from there to Ithaca, further to everyone else in the current ECAC.  I don't think that's a bus trip that they're going to sign up to do every other weekend for the duration of the league calendar, and if they're going to be flying every weekend then they may as well join the WCHA.  As far as travel expense go, they'd be way better off if the CCHA picked up the western NY and western PA schools.

Yeah I'd forgotten exactly where Oxford was. Guess it doesn't make as much sense as I thought. You're probably right that the CCHA will make a run at RIT, Robert Morris, Mercyhurst, Niagra or Canisius. I just don't know if those schools (RIT excepted) would make for a good competitive fit in the CCHA, though with the big schools leaving the CCHA, what is competitive will totally be redefined.

I could see Mercyhurst possibly making a push to get their men's team to be as competitive as their women's team, I guess.  Overall you're right, those schools are a big step down from Michigan and Michigan State, but so is anybody the CCHA could realistically pursue as a replacement.

[marty]

I think an argument can be made for the left out CCHA schools joining the WCHA - after which the WCHA would be split into two divisions.  Each year the schools would have a "normal series" with teams in there own division.  They would play the teams out of division on alternating years.
::twak::

Take that, Big Ten - BHMHL (or Big however many hockey league).

[Jim Hyla]

I think an argument can be made for the left out CCHA schools joining the WCHA - after which the WCHA would be split into two divisions.  Each year the schools would have a "normal series" with teams in there own division.  They would play the teams out of division on alternating years.
::twak::

Take that, Big Ten - BHMHL (or Big however many hockey league).

Hey, let's keep expanding the leagues as everyone suggests. Then there won't be any out-of-conf games left for the Big 10 to schedule. They can just play among themselves. I thought of an emoticon for here, but decided against it.

[Scersk '97]

Leaving aside my wacko pro/rel angle but incorporating the notions of landing Notre Dame and Miami, decimating Atlantic Hockey, and "saving" Alabama-Hunstville, here's another dream scenario:

Code Select Expand


Ivy East   West
===============================================
Dartmouth Quinnipiac Miami
Harvard RPI Notre Dame
Brown Union Robert Morris
Yale Colgate Mercyhurst
Princeton SLU Canisius
[Penn] Clarkson Niagara
Cornell RIT Alabama-Huntsville


Home-and-home within division, one game out = 26 league games.  (Harvard could keep playing in its precious Beanpot.)  (I'd be perfectly happy to accept a three-game OOC schedule if it meant playing such a breadth of teams, including Notre Dame and Miami, every season.)  (Before the Penn renaissance, it would be a five-game OOC schedule.)  8-team playoff, so those left out could save on travel...  Division champs seeded #1, #2, #3 based on an intra-league KRACH, the rest chosen and seeded based on the same ranking.  (Division champs would be chosen based only on the results of the intra-division round robin, of course.)  Three weeks of 2-of-3s at the higher seed to determine the champion.  Or hold a championship weekend in Buffalo or Rochester.  Or in Niagara Falls for all I care.  (They've got the required casinos, after all.) Get used to it and like it.

Travel partnerships are by twos as listed.  I haven't worked it out, but I'm guessing that RIT, Cornell, and A-H might be able to form some sort of collective travel partnership to fulfill schedule requirements, with teams forced to play matches at both Cornell and A-H in a particular year scheduling those games ad hoc.  (Teams forced to play at CU and RIT in the same year would just treat it like any other weekend.)  One-offs between the "collective travel partner" teams could also be scheduled whenever.

Even better, the NCAA tournament could get rid of this foolish "if you're a puny 6-team conference you get an autobid" rule and hand out a number of autobids based on league size.  For example, the 21-team league above would get 21/6 = 3.5 autobids per year.  (Only one autobid for you, Big Six!)  Give them to all the semifinalists one year and let the consolation matchup determine who gets left out the next.

[Trotsky]

let the consolation matchup determine who gets left out the next.

Pffft.  Another lousy soccer import -- bids based on prior year's performance.  ::yark::


And yes I realize you were joking.

[css228]

Question, if we're going to be the Big East of College Hockey, shouldn't all 21 teams make the conference tournament?

[Trotsky]

Question, if we're going to be the Big East of College Hockey, shouldn't all 21 teams make the national tournament?

FYP

[Scersk '97]

let the consolation matchup determine who gets left out the next.

Pffft.  Another lousy soccer import -- bids based on prior year's performance.  ::yark::


And yes I realize you were joking.

Actually, I wasn't joking, I was just being horrendously unclear.

I meant that the league (21/6 = 3.5) would receive alternately three or four autobids.  In year one, all the semifinalists would receive autobids; in year two, the finalists would receive two of the autobids, and a consolation matchup would be played to determine the third.  Repeat.