Opponent and other news and results 2025-2026

[BearLover]

https://x.com/mikerodak/status/2021599214493405336?s=20

Relevant to discussions about revenue sharing. It has become a popular talking point that schools without major football/basketball will be able to commit a higher portion of revenue to hockey. That never really made any sense, because profits are negative outside of football and basketball.

Does "profits are negative outside of football and basketball" apply to schools where hockey is the biggest sport?

NoDak in particular, but also Denver, Colorado College, pretty much all the Minnesota schools except probably U of M, and some of the Hockey East schools maybe.

NoDak I'd guess is the only school in the country (1) without big-time football/basketball and (2) with a hockey program materially in the black. Highly doubt CC or the non-flagship Minnesota schools profit. Denver maybe breaks even.

It's true that without football, certain schools won't have as much revenue, so at the end of the day, football or no football, a school like Providence or Denver will have the same "hockey budget" as, say, Michigan. However, without the runaway costs of football, and need to feed that beast, it may make giving hockey teams a certain budget more palatable. I suspect Denver's "hockey budget" will be about $1 million in rev share at the end of the day. I may know more soon on that.

That would be a massive number for an athletic department that loses money on ~every sport and has to try to compete in basketball.

I searched for "how much does denver university spend on hockey", and I discovered this:

https://nil-ncaa.com/

I have no idea how good a source this is, but if you scroll about 3/4 of the way down, it does compare revenue sharing by sport. Above that, shows the average net operating loss for FBS schools.

There's also an interesting quote from Troy Aikman. Basically, he wrote a check for a specific kid at UCLA, and the kid left after a year. Aikman said he's done with NIL.

Two things:
It is only power 5 schools included in the "estimates"
These numbers can vary greatly year to year, as you alluded to from the Aikman quote

For example, if Penn State is really paying McKenna 700K (as is rumored), that would itself massively affect the numbers but will change from season to season.

[Trotsky]

It's not hard to find stories about how a lot of NIL is off the books.

Even when the payoffs are legal, the factory schools still love to lie and cheat.  They just like it.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Weder]

From that link:

Code Select Expand

Athletic Department Annual Expenses

              FY 2024       FY 2023        FY 2022        2-year % Increase                
Yale          77,124,108    72,430,360     66,265,805     16%
Penn          56,137,691    46,277,380     44,747,142     25%
Princeton     47,797,015    44,300,839     37,118,165     29%
Harvard       43,636,552    39,568,660     32,850,494     33%
Brown         42,236,049    36,265,052     29,892,746     41%
Cornell       40,756,322    36,227,301     36,812,888     11%
Dartmouth     40,640,949    38,642,041     35,022,406     16%
Columbia      40,185,323    38,335,736     32,521,946     24%

The hell is Yale spending so much on?

This led me down a rabbit hole, and Yale managed to spend nearly $25,000 on a handful of sports in 1886. (Nearly $900,000 in 2025 money, according to one calculator.)

[BearLover]

On this week's CHN podcast, when talking about Ethan Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac freshman leading the country in scoring (and it's not even close), Adam Wodon mentioned that "all of his family played at Cornell." I don't know what this means exactly (parents? cousins?) and I can't find anything at all on the internet about this kid's family, but if true you have to wonder if the Cornell coaches totally missed him or if he was a horrible student. He's from Roslyn, Long Island, btw, a town that produces more Cornell kids per capita than maybe anywhere else on earth.

[pfibiger]

On this week's CHN podcast, when talking about Ethan Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac freshman leading the country in scoring (and it's not even close), Adam Wodon mentioned that "all of his family played at Cornell." I don't know what this means exactly (parents? cousins?) and I can't find anything at all on the internet about this kid's family, but if true you have to wonder if the Cornell coaches totally missed him or if he was a horrible student. He's from Roslyn, Long Island, btw, a town that produces more Cornell kids per capita than maybe anywhere else on earth.

Looks like Ethan's dad and two brothers all went to Cornell. I saw an article that talked about one of the brothers scoring for the JV squad:

https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=prre19921102-01.1.19&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------

It's a bummer to look back at stud legacies like Wyttenbach and Mark Jankowski and wish they'd come to Cornell, but for an upper middle class family that tuition/aid gap between Cornell and Q is no joke. Lot of reasons he might have made a different choice.

[BearLover]

On this week's CHN podcast, when talking about Ethan Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac freshman leading the country in scoring (and it's not even close), Adam Wodon mentioned that "all of his family played at Cornell." I don't know what this means exactly (parents? cousins?) and I can't find anything at all on the internet about this kid's family, but if true you have to wonder if the Cornell coaches totally missed him or if he was a horrible student. He's from Roslyn, Long Island, btw, a town that produces more Cornell kids per capita than maybe anywhere else on earth.

Looks like Ethan's dad and two brothers all went to Cornell. I saw an article that talked about one of the brothers scoring for the JV squad:

https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=prre19921102-01.1.19&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------

It's a bummer to look back at stud legacies like Wyttenbach and Mark Jankowski and wish they'd come to Cornell, but for an upper middle class family that tuition/aid gap between Cornell and Q is no joke. Lot of reasons he might have made a different choice.

Nice find, though considering his uncle appears to be a law firm partner and he's from Roslyn, I'm going to guess that finances weren't the deciding factor in his decision.

What did JV squad mean at that point (early 90s)? Freshmen were part of the varsity team by then; I didn't realize there was a varsity/junior varsity distinction? Did JV just mean club team?

[BearLover]

Also notably I don't see any Wyttenbachs listed on any Cornell roster in the 90s.

[RichH]

On this week's CHN podcast, when talking about Ethan Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac freshman leading the country in scoring (and it's not even close), Adam Wodon mentioned that "all of his family played at Cornell." I don't know what this means exactly (parents? cousins?) and I can't find anything at all on the internet about this kid's family, but if true you have to wonder if the Cornell coaches totally missed him or if he was a horrible student. He's from Roslyn, Long Island, btw, a town that produces more Cornell kids per capita than maybe anywhere else on earth.

Looks like Ethan's dad and two brothers all went to Cornell. I saw an article that talked about one of the brothers scoring for the JV squad:

https://www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=prre19921102-01.1.19&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------

It's a bummer to look back at stud legacies like Wyttenbach and Mark Jankowski and wish they'd come to Cornell, but for an upper middle class family that tuition/aid gap between Cornell and Q is no joke. Lot of reasons he might have made a different choice.

I have a feeling that recruiting at Q is a little different than the Ivy experience. Maybe they have cheerleader-led recruiting visits that can have an impact.

[JasonN95]

What did JV squad mean at that point (early 90s)? Freshmen were part of the varsity team by then; I didn't realize there was a varsity/junior varsity distinction? Did JV just mean club team?

Cornell had a men's JV team -I know as I had a brief stint with it as one its goalies for what was it's last half season. It was shut down midseason over winter break between fall '94 and spring '95. A couple of times a recuperating varsity player skated with us in practice; they made most of the JV guys look like they were stuck in quicksand.

[stereax]

Are Colgate and Union... okay?

[adamw]

It's true that without football, certain schools won't have as much revenue, so at the end of the day, football or no football, a school like Providence or Denver will have the same "hockey budget" as, say, Michigan. However, without the runaway costs of football, and need to feed that beast, it may make giving hockey teams a certain budget more palatable. I suspect Denver's "hockey budget" will be about $1 million in rev share at the end of the day. I may know more soon on that.

That would be a massive number for an athletic department that loses money on ~every sport and has to try to compete in basketball.

I know you like to keep doubting this, and apparently no amount of me trying to convince you will help - even though I talk to coaches and ADs regularly who all tell me the same thing. Mike McMahon discusses this as well in his latest column for us today

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2026/02/13_This-Week-in-College-Hockey.php

Just about every school loses money on sports. It doesn't stop them from spending on it. I'm not sure why you think it's a factor that Denver "loses money on sports" ... overall, maybe they do - but it always has. It won't stop them. They'll just come up with the money in more creative ways. As will anyone else who wants to compete.

And yes McKenna is getting $700,000 -- however, it's not necessarily from the school. Much of that is NIL - though I don't know the breakdown. Also not sure if his recent issues will cause any problems there.

Players are regularly getting $50,000 left and right to transfer from smaller schools to bigger ones. Just for one example. This is the new reality. Doubting it or denying it is silly at this point.

[CU2007]

Dartmouth tying bottom feeder Yale must have helped us out in the Ivy race

[stereax]

Dartmouth tying bottom feeder Yale must have helped us out in the Ivy race

Harvard ties Brown too (though they lose in SO). Northeastern takes down Providence as well, which is good for the NPI chase.

[BearLover]

It's true that without football, certain schools won't have as much revenue, so at the end of the day, football or no football, a school like Providence or Denver will have the same "hockey budget" as, say, Michigan. However, without the runaway costs of football, and need to feed that beast, it may make giving hockey teams a certain budget more palatable. I suspect Denver's "hockey budget" will be about $1 million in rev share at the end of the day. I may know more soon on that.

That would be a massive number for an athletic department that loses money on ~every sport and has to try to compete in basketball.

I know you like to keep doubting this, and apparently no amount of me trying to convince you will help - even though I talk to coaches and ADs regularly who all tell me the same thing. Mike McMahon discusses this as well in his latest column for us today

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2026/02/13_This-Week-in-College-Hockey.php

Just about every school loses money on sports. It doesn't stop them from spending on it. I'm not sure why you think it's a factor that Denver "loses money on sports" ... overall, maybe they do - but it always has. It won't stop them. They'll just come up with the money in more creative ways. As will anyone else who wants to compete.

And yes McKenna is getting $700,000 -- however, it's not necessarily from the school. Much of that is NIL - though I don't know the breakdown. Also not sure if his recent issues will cause any problems there.

Players are regularly getting $50,000 left and right to transfer from smaller schools to bigger ones. Just for one example. This is the new reality. Doubting it or denying it is silly at this point.

You and McMahon say this all the time, yes, but neither of you have yet to provide a single specific example, with the exception of Mckenna getting $700K (which I've seen disputed, including by his own coach).

There's nothing about specific teams, or specific players. Nothing about how the money is getting paid, or how it's allocated amongst the roster. The reporting is totally vague and wishy-washy.

Quoting for example the link you posted, we can see just how unspecific any of this is:

"On the high end, some programs are already operating in the $700,000 range for combined revenue sharing and NIL."

So, $700K combined revenue share and NIL is the "high end" "range." How many programs is this? Which ones? Also, does that mean Penn State is giving $0 to everyone else on their team combined, given McMahon previously reported one guy is getting 700K?

"If you're competing in the NCHC, Big Ten, or Hockey East, you likely need to be closer to $250,000 just to stay competitive — and even that won't put you near the top of the spending curve."

So you "likely" need to spend "closer" to $250,000 "just to stay competitive." I have absolutely no idea what that even means. By the way, $250,000 is less than $10,000 per roster spot.

"Within five years, it wouldn't be surprising to see the top programs pushing toward $1 million annually."

So "within five years" (which is forever), it "wouldn't surprise" McMahon to see "top programs" "pushing toward" $1 million.

Man, I'm sorry, but none of this even means anything.

I appreciate McMahon's coverage but on this topic it's completely lacking in specificity. There's nothing to go off of. Be specific, cite sources (no, you don't have to reveal the specific source). Please stop with the conjecture. By the way, ask the Cornell coaches what they think the state of NIL is right now in college  hockey and you'll get a different answer.

[BearLover]

Not the worst night for the NPI given BC and Providence lost and Dartmouth tied Yale. Looking like 55.00 NPI is gonna be about the cutoff for an at-large bid.