Vermont IS leaving the ECAC

[Will]

A new team for the '04-'05 season?  Not likely.  Unless they're totally new to D-I like Robert Morris, they probably have their own conference schedule already set up just like the ECAC does.

[atb9]

and BU too  :-P

[RedAR]

But with Findley dropping out, doesn't that screw up other league schedules as it stands?

[Jeff Hopkins \'82]

No Cats no!

No Cats no!

Ahhh...ha ha ha ha!

[DeltaOne81]

Mercyhurst to the CHA... that's my prediction.

Probably Holy Cross to the ECAC... Eventually, UConn, and maybe Quinnipiac to Hockey East...

< enter death of Atlantic Hockey stage right >

[Jeff Hopkins \'82]

If the CHA stays viable - that is, if Mercyhurst jumps to the CHA - what's the future of the other Atlantic Hockey teams?

IMO, UConn is going to follow to Hockey East SOON, and I agree with the likelihood that the Fighting Deerticks will follow them - travel partner, intra-state rivalry, and it keeps HE at an even number of teams.

Holy Cross to the ECAC.  That seems to be the concensus.

That leaves Canisius, Sacred Heart, Army, Bentley, and AIC.

AIC is Div II, they'll provavbly drop back down.  Probably Bentley, too.  My guess is Canisius and Sacred Heart jump to the ECAC, upping it to 14 teams.

Hopefully the dumbass Ivy League presidents recognize that we'll need to play more games with more schools.

JH

[DeltaOne81]

We can't play 26 games... it's had to be an unbalanced schedule... yuck.

Actually, another possibility... with the CHA facing losing their auto-bid... the CHA breaks up with Canisius and Niagara joining AH and the rest going with 'western' conferences.

And Canisius can't jump to the ECAC without a western travel partner... so at the very least you'd need a Canisius/Niagra to the ECAC, with Sacred Heart and Army (welcome back Army!)... that'd be 16 teams. Two divisions of 8... play your own twice, others once... is 22 games still.



Post Edited (01-07-04 19:12)

[gwm3]

Well, it's not like the ECAC doesn't have practice playing a season without Vermont.  ;-)

[Will]

DeltaOne81 '03 wrote:

Actually, another possibility... with the CHA facing losing their auto-bid... the CHA breaks up with Canisius and Niagara joining AH and the rest going with 'western' conferences.

I don't know...even with the CHA losing a necessary sixth team, I think they're still more stable than AH right now.  I just don't think it would be a huge problem for the CHA to snatch up a current AH team, or perhaps Robert Morris, to fill their gap.  If anything, I agree with Fred that AH is closer to collapse, with some teams rumored to be bolting for other conferences, and other teams perhaps following in Iona, Fairfield, and Findlay's footsteps and canceling/downgrading their hockey programs.

And Canisius can't jump to the ECAC without a western travel partner... so at the very least you'd need a Canisius/Niagra to the ECAC, with Sacred Heart and Army (welcome back Army!)... that'd be 16 teams. Two divisions of 8... play your own twice, others once... is 22 games still.

Oh geez, not Army again...although maybe third time's the charm for them...nah, probably not. :-P

I'm not a big fan of unbalanced schedules, but the way you propose it, that doesn't sound too bad.  What would the divisions be?

West(/North?)
-------
Niagara
Canisius
Cornell
Colgate
St. Lawrence
Clarkson
RPI
Union

East(/South?)
------
Harvard
Brown
Dartmouth
Holy Cross
Yale
Princeton
Sacred Heart
Army

I guess I use the Hudson River as the major dividing point, even though I believe RPI is actually on the east bank and of course Army is on the west bank.  But, with travel partners, I think this arrangement makes the best sense.

[Facetimer]

I guess you can't call it the EZAC anymore, you stupid facetimers.

[dss28]

I guess we'll have to ammend the Screw BU cheer...

[Keith K \'93]

No, please no divisions.  I hate that kind of setup. Besides, we all know the way the divisions would end up breaking down - Ivy and non-Ivy.  That's how they did it for a couple of seasons in the early 80's and that's how it would work now. Which is way too close to an Ivy League only "conference" for hockey, whcih would be terrible.

Fortunatley I don't see this happening (for now).   ::worry::

[D!]

Since the Cross seems to be the consensus joining ECAC, it begs the question of what cheers will we be using?

[Jeff Hopkins \'82]

B.C. Wannabees...Clap, clap....clap, clap, clap!

JH

[nyc94]

And if all of the Ivy League schools aren't in the same division and thus play different schedules, it makes awarding an Ivy title near impossible.