UConn and Hockey East

[dbilmes]

This is a good column in today's Hartford Courant about whether or not UConn should join Hockey East. As a Connecticut taxpayer, I think it would be a waste of money to do so. In any case, I love the comments made by a prep school coach about Quinnipiac's program.

[Jim Hyla]

USCHO article on UConn and HE. Looks a lot closer. Here's The Boston Globe article on it. (Adam I got that link from the CHN page.:-D)

[billhoward]

From the Courant article: "College hockey is not a money-maker. Profits are rare. Of the 58 Division I schools — Penn State will make it 59 next year — only eight play football in a BCS league and Division I basketball. If UConn were to pull hockey off successfully, it would be in elite status. The bad news is the pro forma by Stafford Sports, which shows a current loss of $515,000 and a projected $2.2 million loss with a move to Hockey East. That includes scholarships."

[Josh '99]

From the Courant article: "... Of the 58 Division I schools — Penn State will make it 59 next year — only eight play football in a BCS league and Division I basketball. If UConn were to pull hockey off successfully, it would be in elite status..."

That would make them a rarity, but I don't see why it would make them inherently "elite" in any way.

[marty]

From the Courant article: "... Of the 58 Division I schools — Penn State will make it 59 next year — only eight play football in a BCS league and Division I basketball. If UConn were to pull hockey off successfully, it would be in elite status..."

That would make them a rarity, but I don't see why it would make them inherently "elite" in any way.

Losing money in college sports is in no way elite.  They could use a rich alum to step up and fill the $void.

[RichH]

Voted on today.  Looks as though it's all but formally announced.

http://themackreport.com/sources-hockey-east-to-accept-uconn/

That leaves the Alabama-Huntsville decision as the last domino standing from the whole BTHC fallout.

Edit: CHN filed this, same author: http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/20_hockey_east_votes_to_accept.php

[marty]

Voted on today.  Looks as though it's all but formally announced.

http://themackreport.com/sources-hockey-east-to-accept-uconn/

That leaves the Alabama-Huntsville decision as the last domino standing from the whole BTHC fallout.

Edit: CHN filed this, same author: http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/20_hockey_east_votes_to_accept.php

I missing something.  Alabama-Huntsville was odd man out before the whole shift and they are still out of any league.  So unless something happens to prop them up are they not still a fallen domino?

Is there speculation that they will be asked to join Atlantic Hockey in UConn's spot?

[RichH]

Voted on today.  Looks as though it's all but formally announced.

http://themackreport.com/sources-hockey-east-to-accept-uconn/

That leaves the Alabama-Huntsville decision as the last domino standing from the whole BTHC fallout.

Edit: CHN filed this, same author: http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/20_hockey_east_votes_to_accept.php

I missing something.  Alabama-Huntsville was odd man out before the whole shift and they are still out of any league.  So unless something happens to prop them up are they not still a fallen domino?

Is there speculation that they will be asked to join Atlantic Hockey in UConn's spot?

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/06_huntsville_pins_hopes_on_upcoming.php
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/14_wcha_says_meetings_productive.php

[Aaron M. Griffin]

Voted on today.  Looks as though it's all but formally announced.

http://themackreport.com/sources-hockey-east-to-accept-uconn/

That leaves the Alabama-Huntsville decision as the last domino standing from the whole BTHC fallout.

Edit: CHN filed this, same author: http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/20_hockey_east_votes_to_accept.php

I missing something.  Alabama-Huntsville was odd man out before the whole shift and they are still out of any league.  So unless something happens to prop them up are they not still a fallen domino?

Is there speculation that they will be asked to join Atlantic Hockey in UConn's spot?

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/06_huntsville_pins_hopes_on_upcoming.php
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/14_wcha_says_meetings_productive.php

As the first article states, most think that WCHA Lite is the only conference that might take on Alabama-Huntsville. Atlantic Hockey has indicated that its members with their smaller budgets for hockey cannot afford to have a team that far outside of their conference footprint because of financial reasons. However, why Air Force is a good fit at 1,659 miles from Rochester, NY and Alabama-Huntsville is not at a distance of 889 miles from Rochester, NY makes me question the sincerity of the financial argument.

[RichH]

Done deal beginning in the 2014-15 season. Press conference on June 29, with UConn alumnus & Hartford Whaler Todd Krygier in attendance.  Home conference games will be played at the XL Center in Hartford (2 blocks from my apartment, I might add) and OOC games will be played at their dinky rink in Storrs.

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/062112aac.html

Pretty nice splash screen at http://www.uconnhuskies.com/ too.

[Aaron M. Griffin]

Done deal beginning in the 2014-15 season. Press conference on June 29, with UConn alumnus & Hartford Whaler Todd Krygier in attendance.  Home conference games will be played at the XL Center in Hartford (2 blocks from my apartment, I might add) and OOC games will be played at their dinky rink in Storrs.

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/062112aac.html

Pretty nice splash screen at http://www.uconnhuskies.com/ too.

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).

I like how they omit Penn State from that list.

[css228]

Voted on today.  Looks as though it's all but formally announced.

http://themackreport.com/sources-hockey-east-to-accept-uconn/

That leaves the Alabama-Huntsville decision as the last domino standing from the whole BTHC fallout.

Edit: CHN filed this, same author: http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/20_hockey_east_votes_to_accept.php

I missing something.  Alabama-Huntsville was odd man out before the whole shift and they are still out of any league.  So unless something happens to prop them up are they not still a fallen domino?

Is there speculation that they will be asked to join Atlantic Hockey in UConn's spot?

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/06_huntsville_pins_hopes_on_upcoming.php
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/14_wcha_says_meetings_productive.php

As the first article states, most think that WCHA Lite is the only conference that might take on Alabama-Huntsville. Atlantic Hockey has indicated that its members with their smaller budgets for hockey cannot afford to have a team that far outside of their conference footprint because of financial reasons. However, why Air Force is a good fit at 1,659 miles from Rochester, NY and Alabama-Huntsville is not at a distance of 889 miles from Rochester, NY makes me question the sincerity of the financial argument.

Air Force probably pays their travel like the Alaska schools. Also Army probably lobbied for them.

[ugarte]

Voted on today.  Looks as though it's all but formally announced.

http://themackreport.com/sources-hockey-east-to-accept-uconn/

That leaves the Alabama-Huntsville decision as the last domino standing from the whole BTHC fallout.

Edit: CHN filed this, same author: http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/20_hockey_east_votes_to_accept.php

I missing something.  Alabama-Huntsville was odd man out before the whole shift and they are still out of any league.  So unless something happens to prop them up are they not still a fallen domino?

Is there speculation that they will be asked to join Atlantic Hockey in UConn's spot?

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/06_huntsville_pins_hopes_on_upcoming.php
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2012/06/14_wcha_says_meetings_productive.php

As the first article states, most think that WCHA Lite is the only conference that might take on Alabama-Huntsville. Atlantic Hockey has indicated that its members with their smaller budgets for hockey cannot afford to have a team that far outside of their conference footprint because of financial reasons. However, why Air Force is a good fit at 1,659 miles from Rochester, NY and Alabama-Huntsville is not at a distance of 889 miles from Rochester, NY makes me question the sincerity of the financial argument.

Air Force probably pays their travel like the Alaska schools. Also Army probably lobbied for them.

Also, having one far-flung team is a burden, two is worse. Contractually they almost certainly can't kick Air Force out.

[dbilmes]

My local newspaper ran a poll: Did UConn make a good choice by accepting a Hockey East invitation for men's hockey?

• 64 percent said "Yes, it's a good fit for the Huskies."
• 12 percent said "No, it's going to be a money pit."
• 24 percent said, "Nobody cares about college hockey."

I was actually surprised that only 24 percent gave that third answer. I guess college hockey is more popular in the Waterbury, CT area than I had thought.

[RichH]

And the call from the loons in BC-land: "Our elite conference isn't elite enough. Having a sweetheart NBCSN TV exposure deal is the suck. Let's revolt again. 1983!!"

http://www.bcinterruption.com/2012/6/28/3110587/conference-realignment-hockey-east-uconn-notre-dame-boston-college