WCHA additions

[elliott70]

Word on the street is BSU and Univ of Neb O will be admitted to the WCHA.

[Hockeyguy_27]

Word on the street is BSU and Univ of Neb O will be admitted to the WCHA.

I certainly hope so after their outstanding play in the post season. I wonder why they wouldn't opt for Air Force instead of UNO?

[elliott70]

Word on the street is BSU and Univ of Neb O will be admitted to the WCHA.

I certainly hope so after their outstanding play in the post season. I wonder why they wouldn't opt for Air Force instead of UNO?

Air Froce wants to be in a league with Army.
Travel is not as important to them.

UNO is wanted by the WCHA. They have an established program that has done well and is an easy travel for the existing teams.

[defense]

Word on the street is BSU and Univ of Neb O will be admitted to the WCHA.

I certainly hope so after their outstanding play in the post season. I wonder why they wouldn't opt for Air Force instead of UNO?

Air Froce wants to be in a league with Army.
Travel is not as important to them.

UNO is wanted by the WCHA. They have an established program that has done well and is an easy travel for the existing teams.

Anything official yet???

Those two teams would certainly be great additions to the WCHA...

[Lucia4President]

Bemidji's WCHA application put on hold - Duluth News Tribune

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association decided today that it would keep Bemidji State’s application on hold while it searches for another team to join the Beavers in applying for conference membership.

The WCHA has 10 teams and wants to expand to an even number for scheduling purposes.

The league says that “the commissioner’s office, in conjunction with the league’s structure committee, will head up the expansion effort with the goal of identifying potential member teams as soon as possible.”

Today, the league lifted the moratorium on expansion for the second time this year, allowing teams to apply for membership. The first time, Bemidji State was the only team that had applied.

Bemidji State is desperately seeking conference affiliation for its men’s hockey program because its current league, College Hockey America, is disbanding after the 2009-10 season.

The earliest Bemidji State could join the WCHA would be 2011-12, so it will have to play the 2010-11 season as an independent.

“We may expand once we have completed further studies and once we have been able to identify potential members that fit the league’s criteria for membership,” commissioner Bruce McLeod said. “Obviously, there are numerous issues involved in expansion, just a few of which include the transformation from a 10-team, 28-game conference schedule to an expanded 12-member team format that would still enable us to protect our natural rivalries as best as possible, and to make sure we safeguard our successful flagship event — the WCHA Final Five.”

[defense]

A few thoughts: The WCHA would be dumb not to add Bemidji, they are a perfect fit. Bottom line.
What do they mean when they say they want to protect their natural rivalries????? for some reason this just doesn't sound right. Do they mean that they wouldn't get to play as games against each other???? or would the schedule be unbalanced???? I can't figure out how 10 teams figures into 28 games and comes out balanced...

The WCHA's flagship event, the final five would probably not be the final five with the addition of 2 more teams...

Anyone still thinking that Moorhead State is going to be a WCHA member or have any type of hockey team for that matter is dreamin. Ain't going to happen. The numbers I do not have in front of me but it is a fact that teh NSIC. their conference for all other athletics allows considerably less scholarships than division 2 (the level at wich their sports play) allows for football. Moorhead State (or Minnesota State, Moorhead) does not have the scholarship dollars to even get to the NSIC's maximum scholarship number. This begs the question, how in the heck is MSU going to field a hockey team. If this is some FM area hockey boosters' with deep pockets attempt at getting division one hockey in the town, it is the wong route. In my opinion there is another college of that side of the river that is better suited for such a leap.


The WCHA at this point appears to be actually trying to get the Beavers into their conference. They are in a tough position but to me it is better to deal with an unbalanced schedule and a different playoff format than to let Bemidji State University's hockey program die...wich is what will happen if they do not get a conference.

PS
I am a Gopher fan, never did like Bemidji, but, they need to keep playing division one hockey up there.

[Goldy Gopher]

A few thoughts: The WCHA would be dumb not to add Bemidji, they are a perfect fit. Bottom line.
What do they mean when they say they want to protect their natural rivalries????? for some reason this just doesn't sound right. Do they mean that they wouldn't get to play as games against each other???? or would the schedule be unbalanced???? I can't figure out how 10 teams figures into 28 games and comes out balanced...

The WCHA's flagship event, the final five would probably not be the final five with the addition of 2 more teams...

Anyone still thinking that Moorhead State is going to be a WCHA member or have any type of hockey team for that matter is dreamin. Ain't going to happen. The numbers I do not have in front of me but it is a fact that teh NSIC. their conference for all other athletics allows considerably less scholarships than division 2 (the level at wich their sports play) allows for football. Moorhead State (or Minnesota State, Moorhead) does not have the scholarship dollars to even get to the NSIC's maximum scholarship number. This begs the question, how in the heck is MSU going to field a hockey team. If this is some FM area hockey boosters' with deep pockets attempt at getting division one hockey in the town, it is the wong route. In my opinion there is another college of that side of the river that is better suited for such a leap.


The WCHA at this point appears to be actually trying to get the Beavers into their conference. They are in a tough position but to me it is better to deal with an unbalanced schedule and a different playoff format than to let Bemidji State University's hockey program die...wich is what will happen if they do not get a conference.

PS
I am a Gopher fan, never did like Bemidji, but, they need to keep playing division one hockey up there.

Why would their hockey program die if they didn't have a conference? The prestige of playing in College Hockey America is bringing in a lot of recruits?

[defense]

A few thoughts: The WCHA would be dumb not to add Bemidji, they are a perfect fit. Bottom line.
What do they mean when they say they want to protect their natural rivalries????? for some reason this just doesn't sound right. Do they mean that they wouldn't get to play as games against each other???? or would the schedule be unbalanced???? I can't figure out how 10 teams figures into 28 games and comes out balanced...

The WCHA's flagship event, the final five would probably not be the final five with the addition of 2 more teams...

Anyone still thinking that Moorhead State is going to be a WCHA member or have any type of hockey team for that matter is dreamin. Ain't going to happen. The numbers I do not have in front of me but it is a fact that teh NSIC. their conference for all other athletics allows considerably less scholarships than division 2 (the level at wich their sports play) allows for football. Moorhead State (or Minnesota State, Moorhead) does not have the scholarship dollars to even get to the NSIC's maximum scholarship number. This begs the question, how in the heck is MSU going to field a hockey team. If this is some FM area hockey boosters' with deep pockets attempt at getting division one hockey in the town, it is the wong route. In my opinion there is another college of that side of the river that is better suited for such a leap.


The WCHA at this point appears to be actually trying to get the Beavers into their conference. They are in a tough position but to me it is better to deal with an unbalanced schedule and a different playoff format than to let Bemidji State University's hockey program die...wich is what will happen if they do not get a conference.

PS
I am a Gopher fan, never did like Bemidji, but, they need to keep playing division one hockey up there.

Why would their hockey program die if they didn't have a conference? The prestige of playing in College Hockey America is bringing in a lot of recruits?

Nope, not at all....
It has been stated by the powers that be in Bemidji that two things pretty much had to happen in order for the Beavers to keep playing in D1, an arena would be #1, that would hopefully lead to the second one wich was getting into a new conference since their current one was disbanding. This was maybe a year or more ago.....

[Goldy Gopher]

A few thoughts: The WCHA would be dumb not to add Bemidji, they are a perfect fit. Bottom line.
What do they mean when they say they want to protect their natural rivalries????? for some reason this just doesn't sound right. Do they mean that they wouldn't get to play as games against each other???? or would the schedule be unbalanced???? I can't figure out how 10 teams figures into 28 games and comes out balanced...

The WCHA's flagship event, the final five would probably not be the final five with the addition of 2 more teams...

Anyone still thinking that Moorhead State is going to be a WCHA member or have any type of hockey team for that matter is dreamin. Ain't going to happen. The numbers I do not have in front of me but it is a fact that teh NSIC. their conference for all other athletics allows considerably less scholarships than division 2 (the level at wich their sports play) allows for football. Moorhead State (or Minnesota State, Moorhead) does not have the scholarship dollars to even get to the NSIC's maximum scholarship number. This begs the question, how in the heck is MSU going to field a hockey team. If this is some FM area hockey boosters' with deep pockets attempt at getting division one hockey in the town, it is the wong route. In my opinion there is another college of that side of the river that is better suited for such a leap.


The WCHA at this point appears to be actually trying to get the Beavers into their conference. They are in a tough position but to me it is better to deal with an unbalanced schedule and a different playoff format than to let Bemidji State University's hockey program die...wich is what will happen if they do not get a conference.

PS
I am a Gopher fan, never did like Bemidji, but, they need to keep playing division one hockey up there.

Why would their hockey program die if they didn't have a conference? The prestige of playing in College Hockey America is bringing in a lot of recruits?

Nope, not at all....
It has been stated by the powers that be in Bemidji that two things pretty much had to happen in order for the Beavers to keep playing in D1, an arena would be #1, that would hopefully lead to the second one wich was getting into a new conference since their current one was disbanding. This was maybe a year or more ago.....

Do you really think that the program would die without a conference after the success they just had this year? If anything being an independent would help them. They wouldn't be tied to playing College Hockey America teams and would have a little more freedom to schedule who they want. Do you think they're going to pump all this money into a new arena only to have the team fold within a couple years?

Get real they tell me.

[elliott70]

The college president said we need an arena AND a conference (preferably the WCHA).

The college has not sank any money into the event center and will not if they drop hockey.
At this tiem no one thinks they will drop hockey.
No one thinks that they will not be in the WCHA.

Because Bemidji plays in D2 sports, hockey has to be D2 or higher. So D1 or bust.
The new arena is under construction right now and will be set to be played in around a year and a half from now. They are saying February 1, 2011.
The WCHA is actively looking for team #12 and very well may have it in UofN Omaha.

[Lucia4President]

Why would their hockey program die if they didn't have a conference? The prestige of playing in College Hockey America is bringing in a lot of recruits?

Nope, not at all....
It has been stated by the powers that be in Bemidji that two things pretty much had to happen in order for the Beavers to keep playing in D1, an arena would be #1, that would hopefully lead to the second one wich was getting into a new conference since their current one was disbanding. This was maybe a year or more ago.....

Do you really think that the program would die without a conference after the success they just had this year? If anything being an independent would help them. They wouldn't be tied to playing College Hockey America teams and would have a little more freedom to schedule who they want. Do you think they're going to pump all this money into a new arena only to have the team fold within a couple years?

Get real they tell me.

Goldy, do you ever read about these issues before you discuss them?

[Blue&Gold]

Why would their hockey program die if they didn't have a conference? The prestige of playing in College Hockey America is bringing in a lot of recruits?

You realize that if they were an independant this past season, they would not have made the NCAA trny, right? One of the reasons for the death of the CHA is that they will lose the automatic berth to the show. An exception has been made for a few seasons after the league went down to 4 teams. I think that 5 teams are required for the auto bid.

Would not having much of a chance at making the NCAA tournament hurt their recruiting? Let me think about that.. uh YEAH...

[Goldy Gopher]

Why would their hockey program die if they didn't have a conference? The prestige of playing in College Hockey America is bringing in a lot of recruits?

You realize that if they were an independant this past season, they would not have made the NCAA trny, right? One of the reasons for the death of the CHA is that they will lose the automatic berth to the show. An exception has been made for a few seasons after the league went down to 4 teams. I think that 5 teams are required for the auto bid.

Would not having much of a chance at making the NCAA tournament hurt their recruiting? Let me think about that.. uh YEAH...

You're right. I'm sure the high prospects of making the NCAA tourney get the recruits pouring into D-1 hockey schools like Union College, Robert Morris and Bentley.

[defense]

You're right. I'm sure the high prospects of making the NCAA tourney get the recruits pouring into D-1 hockey schools like Union College, Robert Morris and Bentley.

I did NOT say what I am quoted as saying.


Goldy Gopher: I don't know that anyone on this board thinks that Bemidji State should not field a D1 hockey team if they do not get into a conference. It would make it a damn hard sell to a recruit to tell him that our chances at getting to the NCAA's is slim to none as an independant, especially when there are 4 other colleges in the state and another near by who can say that all they have to do is win their conference and with his help......
This is just what was said and felt and probably is still felt by the powers that be at the Beavers' athletic department/administration.
If you're so worried about write, e-mail,or call the President and or the AD at Bemidji State University, they're the ones with the idea of going back to D3.

[Love4Hockey]

What about moving Alaska Anchorage to the CCHA and adding Bemidji State, Nebraska Omaha and Northern Michigan to the WCHA, it gives the WCHA the 12 teams its looking for by adding Bemidji State and another team

[Lucia4President]

What about moving Alaska Anchorage to the CCHA and adding Bemidji State, Nebraska Omaha and Northern Michigan to the WCHA, it gives the WCHA the 12 teams its looking for by adding Bemidji State and another team

Northern Michigan told the WCHA they aren't interested in changing conferences.

Hopefully the WCHA can convince UNO to move. I could care less about having them in the conference, but having BSU join would be nice.

[Love4Hockey]

Its Northern Michigans loss then imo, I agree with you, it doesnt matter who the 12th team is as long as BSU gets in, hate to see that program go under

[Dit Clapper]

Convince UNO to move into the WCHA...I think that would help their recruiting out too. That would put 12 teams into the WCHA.

Also Alabama-Huntsville needs a place to go too.

[Love4Hockey]

Dont count out Alabama Huntsville yet either
Theres probably 3 or 4 teams on the kist of interested teams
Either way the 2 teams that join the WCHA are gonna see a all around increase in recruiting and attendance, the WCHA is the elite conference in D1 hockey, and the teams that get the spots, are gonna be good ones

[defense]

Dont count out Alabama Huntsville yet either
Theres probably 3 or 4 teams on the kist of interested teams
Either way the 2 teams that join the WCHA are gonna see a all around increase in recruiting and attendance, the WCHA is the elite conference in D1 hockey, and the teams that get the spots, are gonna be good ones

The WCHA is an Elite conference of D1 hockey, it would be a huge upgrade for Alabama Huntsville...however... not so much with Nebraska Omaha. They play in the CCHA... I am a homer of the WCHA, but not naive....

[Love4Hockey]

This was the biggest down year for the WCHA in quite a few years, usually we send 5 or 6 teams to the NCAA's but we only sent 2 I believe this latest year, I still consider it the beat conference in college hockey, its now to the point that teams like Alaska Anchorage and Michigan Tech are not easy wins, 1-10 the best conference in hockey, the best competition and some of the best players in the nation, idk how a team like Nebraska Omaha woulda pass that up, even though they play in the CCHA with teams such as Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame, I would still choose the WCHA

[defense]

This was the biggest down year for the WCHA in quite a few years, usually we send 5 or 6 teams to the NCAA's but we only sent 2 I believe this latest year, I still consider it the beat conference in college hockey, its now to the point that teams like Alaska Anchorage and Michigan Tech are not easy wins, 1-10 the best conference in hockey, the best competition and some of the best players in the nation, idk how a team like Nebraska Omaha woulda pass that up, even though they play in the CCHA with teams such as Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame, I would still choose the WCHA

I respect that.

[Love4Hockey]

Thank you

[defense]

The University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Bemidji State University have been admitted to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association starting at the beginning of the 2010-2011 season. This is a very good thing for all partys involved.

[Joey (nine toes) Marcoux]