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Bisonguy
07-05-2003, 05:14 AM
Some of the Sioux fans seem to think that DI hockey will help UND(would have helped NDSU) find a conference if they decide to move up to DI. I decided to break down the numbers and see if it would help. Here's what I found:

Currently, of the 60 schools that have a DI hockey team, only 35 have full DI athletic programs.

Of those 35 DI schools, 6 are Ivy league. We can eliminate them from accepting any school from the midwest or upper great plains, even though they play IAA football.

Of the 29 remaining DI schools, 5 are in the Big Ten for other sports. No chance for anyone with a football stadium with seating less than 50,000 will get into the Big Ten.

Of the 24 remaining schools, 18 are on the east coast in states such as New York, Mass., Conn., Vermont, and Maine. This would make travel costs outrageous.

The six remaining schools are, drumroll please:

Bowling Green(Bowling Green, OH), Miami of Ohio(Oxford, OH), Western Michigan(Kalamazoo, MI) - Mid-American Confernce- this is a conference that has IA football. The Mid-American also already has 14 teams.

Denver(Denver, CO) - Sun Belt Confernce- Denver does not sponsor football- The Sun Belt is a conference with IA football.

Notre Dame(Notre Dame, IN)-Big East/Independent in IA Football- The Big East is looking for teams to replace Miami and Virginia Tech, but I doubt the replacements will have "North Dakota" in their name.

Air Force(USAF Academy, CO) - Mountain West Conference- this is a conference that has IA football.

Now, let's look at three conferences of the above teams for geographical reasons(I left out the Big East for obvious reasons):

Mid-American- University of Akron -Akron *OH,Ball State University Muncie *IN,Bowling Green State University Bowling Green *OH ,University at Buffalo, the State University of New Buffalo *NY,University of Central Florida Orlando *FL,Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant *MI ,Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti *MI,Kent State University Kent *OH,Marshall University Huntington *WV,Miami University (Ohio) Oxford *OH,Northern Illinois University De Kalb *IL,Ohio University Athens *OH,University of Toledo Toledo *OH,Western Michigan University Kalamazoo *MI *

Mountain West- Brigham Young University Provo *UT, Colorado State University Fort Collins *CO, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Las Vegas *NV,University of New Mexico Albuquerque *NM, San Diego State University San Diego *CA, U.S. Air Force Academy USAF Academy *CO, University of Utah Salt Lake City *UT, University of Wyoming Laramie *WY

Sunbelt-Arkansas State University State University *AR, University of Idaho Moscow *ID, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette *LA , University of Louisiana at Monroe Monroe *LA, Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro *TN, New Mexico State University Las Cruces *NM, University of North Texas Denton *TX



Will DI hockey help UND find a conference sooner?

In one word, no.

thundar94
11-10-2003, 06:13 AM
fargo would never support a hockey team to the extent to make it worthwhile. especially with the contribution of $, fargo would never go along with a tax like for the fargo dome to fund an arena that would be worthwhile for a D1 hockey program, we found that out with the vote a few years ago, it wasnt even close. unless the school funded the whole project for an arena and a team, it will never happen, and even then...would the town go to games and support the team, i doubt it. whether or not it would help, i dont know, but i doubt the town would support a hockey team, look at the ice sharks and the bears(i think it was bears) back when...

BisonMav
11-10-2003, 01:27 PM
Posted by: Bisonguy Posted on: Jul 4th, 2003, 11:14pm
Will DI hockey help UND find a conference sooner? *

In one word, no.

With the Supeiority Complex many UND fans have, they may be thinking Big Ten. * ::)

Hockey may help solidify a Division II NCC of the future.
USD is talking about adding hockey, Bemidji State with Division I hockey(Bemidji is a Division I School *;) ) could move to the NCC. *Augustana, by not adding hockey would be relegated to the NSIC. *

tony
11-10-2003, 03:07 PM
I can't see how having hockey would help find a conference. What's the nearest DI-AA football school that has a hockey team? Maine?

Bisonfan1234
11-10-2003, 05:06 PM
Here is the thing that makes UND's hockey scene very unique (at least around this area of the country...there are a few schools that are like UND...UAlaska are 2 schools in the same boat): every school has 1 image sport and this sport for UND is hockey.

At UND the hockey team (by far) has the nicest facility and draws the most fans during the season.

Looking at some other examples w/ D1 hockey:

UMN - they do have D1 hockey but it isn't their image sport. Football for them have the nicest facility (65000 seat metrodome) and draw alot of fans. Basketball might draw the most overall fans but their facility only holds 14000 or whatever it is. So i guess it's a toss up their. There are alot of die-hard UMN hockey fans and they do have a nice facility...but not nicer than bball and fball and they don't draw more fans than those.

UMI - football is obviously the image sport in Ann Arbor. 100000 football facility! Speaks for itself. They also have a large bball facility and draw alot for that. Again, plenty of die hard Michigan hockey fans...but they don't draw more than fball and bball.

NDSU - no hockey. Fball and ball are the image sports here. Fball obviously has the nicest facility and probably draws the most overall.

Here's another interesting fact: the majority of hockey players @ UND are from MN (where they have a great youth system and a good population). The only reason UND can even have a hockey team that is good is because they get most of their players from MN (some from Canada too). NDSU could do the same thing if they had hockey though.

D1 hockey? That might cost too much for NDSU to implement and be competitive in. We have a facility (fargodome) for hockey..but we don't have any coaches, players, or an on-campus practice facility (since obviously they arn't going to ice up the dome every time the team needs ice time). However, D3 hockey might not be out of the question. There is a D3 hockey league in MN (made up of all the small private schools there...St johns, Augsberg, Gustavus, etc) that wouldn't cost much in travel and is fairly competitive.

BisonMav
11-10-2003, 06:12 PM
Posted by: Bisonfan1234 Posted on: Today at 11:06am
D3 hockey might not be out of the question. There is a D3 hockey league in MN (made up of all the small private schools there...St johns, Augsberg, Gustavus, etc) that wouldn't cost much in travel and is fairly competitive.

So hockey would help NDSU find a DIII Conference ;) .

Bison_Kent
11-10-2003, 08:38 PM
In my opinion, I don't want hockey if it isn't at the DI level. I am one that have not said too much on the hockey area as I wouldn't mind seeing NDSU eventually get DI hockey. It works in Maine, New Hampshire and other I-AA schools (all similar in size to NDSU). However, I would much rather see improvements to the BSA before any money goes to hockey.

I was one that supported the hockey arena bill(as I still lived in Fargo at that time), but as we move to DI I would much rather see the Bison be successful in the sports we have right now.

Hockey can wait, if NDSU gets it at all. It is on my backburner list right now.

Bisonfan1234
11-10-2003, 10:18 PM
Not that i'm against D1 hockey...but for the amount of travel costs and all that goes with have a national program...it's just not worth it financially unless you can draw a big crowd for every game.

D3 could definately be somethign that we could do and would ease the hockey need for those desperate for hockey @ NDSU.

somebison
11-10-2003, 10:56 PM
Not that i'm against D1 hockey...but for the amount of travel costs and all that goes with have a national program...it's just not worth it financially unless you can draw a big crowd for every game.

D3 could definately be somethign that we could do and would ease the hockey need for those desperate for hockey @ NDSU.

Do any D1 schools play D3 hockey? Also I don't think there is a desparate need for Hockey at NDSU, Fargo overwhelming voted down a hockey arena measure recently, and after "happy hands" Entzion (he came from UND, probably why he pushed hockey so strongly) left, I haven't heard anybody at NDSU talk about hockey.

roadwarrior
11-11-2003, 12:28 AM
Why are we even talking about this ??? ???

Bisonguy
11-11-2003, 12:30 AM
Why are we even talking about this ??? ???


No doubt. I started this thread four months ago to prove that having a DI hockey team means little to nothing for a team moving from DII to I-AA.

Bison_Baller
11-14-2003, 07:53 PM
On the Subject of Hockey and NDSU being succesful. I wasn't more than 15 years ago when NDSU had a very good club hockey team that won a decent amount of Championships and they had some pretty well off comunity members behind them. So to say NDSU couldn't harbor a hockey team is bull. NDSU is not going to automaticly be as good as UND. But look at Mankato in it first few years in the WCHA has allready beaten UND and the Gophers. Minnesota has way more hockey talent then they know what to do with and who is to say that NDSU couldn't steal some players frome UND with some of its great academic programs. You think there are hockey players who want to be pharmacist.

Bison_Kent
11-14-2003, 08:05 PM
What ever happened to the club team? Why did it fade? Was it funding issues?

Bisonfan1234
11-14-2003, 08:10 PM
The world rotates because of money. Hockey is a very expensive sport.

BisonBizzo
11-14-2003, 09:32 PM
Hockey can also be a money maker! not like some sports...

I had read a couple years back that the student council voted not to fund it. The club hockey team needed school funding, which sounded like a bulk of there funding to keep things operative. It sound like there were some problems and fueding in years past. The hockey team or individuals weren't spending the money wisely. I don't know any details. I am sure someone may have more accurate information than I do. I know it had to do with funding....

If NDSU would have made the jump to D1 in the early ninties or at least added hockey. They would be in the WCHA right now. UGHHHH!

I know NDSU has had large $upport from teammakers and others in the past to get their hockey program up and running. I am not sure if some of that support is still there or not.

Bisonfan1234
11-15-2003, 12:32 AM
In order to have D1 hockey at a school the size of NDSU...hockey has to be your image sport. It has to have the best facility and draw the most fans.

Football has been and will continue to be NDSU's image sport.

The main reason people want hockey @ NDSU is to compete with UND. Unless we can get someone like Englested to donate us an elaborate arena...it isn't going to work. Even if we had the arena, the staff, the players...there is no guarantee that it would draw fans.