Post by virginian on Mar 1, 2011 15:35:04 GMT -5
D-I hockey for Oakland is a great idea but there are issues as well as advantages.
Issues
1. Cost - Hockey is the second most expensive sport to fund after football. If there are Title IX issues, founding a women's program doubles the costs. Both Findlay and Wayne State folded programs within the last few years.
2. Conference affiliation - Entrance into the CCHA is not a given. They turned down WSU before the program folded and have since rejected a successful UA-Huntsville program. Years ago UM-Dearborn had a successful D-I program that folded. People I know claim that UM-Ann Arbor killed the program to diminish recruiting competition. If true, wouldn't UMAA do the same to a school only an hour away.
Don't count on a Big Ten Hockey Conference making an appearance, even with Penn State starting a D-I program. A Big Ten Cup is far more likely, as most Big Ten teams already play each other. A bit of scheduling and you have all of the advantages of a conference without the hassles of lost rivalries and trying to fill non-conference schedules of the members of a 6 team conference.
Advantage
Hockey is a great spectator sport and Oakland is located in the center of the US hockey universe. Done right, it can become a revenue sport. This may be an argument in favor of hockey over track and field, which has never been and will never be a revenue sport.
Issues
1. Cost - Hockey is the second most expensive sport to fund after football. If there are Title IX issues, founding a women's program doubles the costs. Both Findlay and Wayne State folded programs within the last few years.
2. Conference affiliation - Entrance into the CCHA is not a given. They turned down WSU before the program folded and have since rejected a successful UA-Huntsville program. Years ago UM-Dearborn had a successful D-I program that folded. People I know claim that UM-Ann Arbor killed the program to diminish recruiting competition. If true, wouldn't UMAA do the same to a school only an hour away.
Don't count on a Big Ten Hockey Conference making an appearance, even with Penn State starting a D-I program. A Big Ten Cup is far more likely, as most Big Ten teams already play each other. A bit of scheduling and you have all of the advantages of a conference without the hassles of lost rivalries and trying to fill non-conference schedules of the members of a 6 team conference.
Advantage
Hockey is a great spectator sport and Oakland is located in the center of the US hockey universe. Done right, it can become a revenue sport. This may be an argument in favor of hockey over track and field, which has never been and will never be a revenue sport.
