Vermont to Hockey East?

[Jay Fisher]

Just saw this at USCHO:

The University of Vermont has initiated talks with Hockey East on moving its membership in men's and women's hockey there, and out of the ECAC. This was done through a letter of inquiry. No timeline or format for discussions has been announced. There is not yet any further comment from Hockey East or Vermont at this time. Continue to follow USCHO for further developments.

Implications if it happens?

Jay Fisher '90

[Tub(a)]

If UVM does leave, does the ECAC then try to draw someone like Mercyhurst or Quinnipiac in?

And why would Hockey East want UVM?

[ugarte]

Grant MacIntyre '05 wrote:
And why would Hockey East want UVM?

Why wouldn't Hockey East want UVM?  They are a New England team with a tradition, a following (they still have a following, right Christine?) and a Division-I sports program.  Even though they stink right now, they are probably the most attractive ECAC program to HE (if HE is looking to expand).

[rhovorka]

Well, that's good, since they're obviously dominating the ECAC, moving to Hockey East is the next logical step.  The health of their program is as strong as it's going to be here.  ::rolleyes::

More than anything, this smells like a case of New Hampshire envy...

[atb9]

This actually sounds very logical to me.  UVM is a state school and many teams in HE are state schools.  UVM has a strong hockey tradition and I believe they are looking into building a new arena.  HE fans want Harvard but there is no way Harvard would split from the Ivy League.  Is there a better school to take the HE to a 10 team format?  If there is any time for Vermont to go, it is now.  This season, they are one of the most defeated teams in the country!  :-)  The ECAC can take in Holy Cross -- even if they don't win many games, they're still doing as well as Vermont and the travel pairings aren't messed up too much.  Holy Cross is a private institution with quality academics.  See ya, Vermont!  You goon!



Post Edited (12-18-03 17:57)

[Keith K \'93]

This possibility has been speculated about for a long time.  As Adam mentioned, UVM is more similar to many of the HE schools than many in the ECAC.  They're the only non-Ivy ECAC school that's not in New York.  HE only has 9 teams and would beneift from a tenth in that everyone could play two games every weekend without scheduling difficulties.  UVM has a natural rivalry with UNH and Maine.

If this wasn't appearing on USCHo, I'd dismiss it as random speculation/rumors.  But maybe Sneddon, et. al. think that membership in HE would help them with recruiting and help make them a top program again.  No idea how much their current futility would hurt their chances.

If this were to happen (and I imagine that it's still far from certain) then I'm sure the ECAC would look to expand back to 12 teams.  An uneven number plays havoc on scheduling, esp. with a travle partner setup.

[Keith K \'93]

If nothing else, this ought to be fodder for taunts when UVM comes to town.  As if we needed any extra ammunition...

[Greg Berge]

Cue the Niagara rumors...

[KenP]

[q]Is there a better school to take the HE to a 10 team format?[/q]

UConn would be an even better fit.  Not only are they a state school, they are closer to Providence (READ: travel partners), and they are a Big East member as well.

[cquinn]

UVM still has a following, albeit smaller and still a bit quiet at the moment.  The waiting list for season tickets had been huge so the ticket holders that were lost in the Bad, Worse and Really Awful years could be filled from the list.  (Not that they all show up every weekend.)  Even though UNH beats on UVM most years, the UNH game is still one of the more popular with the natives.  It wouldn't surprise me at all if the rumors of UVM's Hockey East interest have some validity this time around.

[jeh25]

big red apple wrote:

Grant MacIntyre '05 wrote:
And why would Hockey East want UVM?

Why wouldn't Hockey East want UVM?  They are a New England team with a tradition, a following (they still have a following, right Christine?) and a Division-I sports program.  Even though they stink right now, they are probably the most attractive ECAC program to HE (if HE is looking to expand).

Likewise, I could see HE stealing UConn from AH *if* UConn can find a good head coach that can build a good team while living in basketball's shadow. However, building a solid hockey team is not a forgone conclusion given that hockey will always be a distant 4th behind women's basketball, men's basketball, and now football.  

Assuming HE has a 5 to 10 year plan to expend, who is the logical 12th team if UVM and UConn are ten and eleven? Do they take Quinnipiac or Holy Cross, effectively killing AH or do they try to get a D3 school like St Anselm to come up?

Likewise, if UVM leaves the ECAC, who does the ECAC try to get as a 12th team? Bring back Army? Invite UConn and pair them with Yale? Canisius? Get a D3 team like Plattsburg, Oswego or RIT to come up? Frankly, none seem like a good fit with the ECAC philosophy other than maybe RIT.

[Will]

John E Hayes '98 '00 wrote:

Assuming HE has a 5 to 10 year plan to expend, who is the logical 12th team if UVM and UConn are ten and eleven? Do they take Quinnipiac or Holy Cross, effectively killing AH or do they try to get a D3 school like St Anselm to come up?

Likewise, if UVM leaves the ECAC, who does the ECAC try to get as a 12th team? Bring back Army? Invite UConn and pair them with Yale? Canisius? Get a D3 team like Plattsburg, Oswego or RIT to come up? Frankly, none seem like a good fit with the ECAC philosophy other than maybe RIT.

Let's assume HE takes UVM and UConn.  If they also take Quinnipiac, then I imagine the ECAC will take Holy Cross, or vice versa.  At that point, I agree that Atlantic Hockey would be effectively dead; I don't know if they could survive with just the six remaining teams.  I wonder what the feasibility of those teams joining up with CHA would be (they'd lose an NCAA autobid but gain a little more security in their conference).

[ursusminor]

I would think that HE's 12th team would be URI which IIRC is starting a program in the near future. They might as well get a matched set of all six NE state schools. :-)

As to the ECAC, I wrote on  USCHO that the most likely replacement for UVM is Holy Cross although Niagara is also a distinct possibility. Can't you Ivy Leagures convince Penn to start up again?  It really makes more sense especially as a travel partner for Princeton.

HC wouldn't cause much of a problem with the travel partner set up, but Niagara would.

[adamw]

A D-III school is not possible.  There is a moratorium (probably permanent) on schools moving up.

[jtwcornell91]

ursaminor wrote:
HC wouldn't cause much of a problem with the travel partner set up, but Niagara would.

Tell me about it.  Cornell-Niagara would be a hell of a road trip for the New England schools, and if you don't want to break up the Union-RPI travle partnership, you have to pair Colgate with Princeton.  (And Brown with Yale and Harvard with Dartmouth as in the Army days.)