OT: ASU to announce transition to mens D1 ice hockey
Awesome news for the landscape and growth of college hockey, especially growing the amount of D1 programs out west.
http://www.foxsports.com/arizona/story/arizona-state-to-launch-division-i-hockey-program-111814
November 18th, 2014 at 5:59 PM ^
There's another rumor going around that Terry Pegula is trying to help Buffalo elevate a program as well.
November 18th, 2014 at 7:10 PM ^
I live in the area and have heard there were already plans to upgrade and/or replace the Northtown Center as is which would seem to naturally give UB an arena right across the street fit for D1 hockey.
The added information that Pegula may be interested is quite interesting. Dude paid cash for the Bills and I doubt UB really needs that much assistance to justify supporting D1 hockey again. Seems like a slam dunk for UB to me and if Pegula is willing to throw a few million in the pot it's basically a done deal from there
November 18th, 2014 at 6:47 PM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 6:57 PM ^
Michigan spends $1.2m on hockey athletes (that's 500k less than basketball but five times what mens soccer costs), and that doesn't include a recruiting budget, coaches salaries, ect. There's the equivalent of 18 full rides to give out each season.
To get a program started the biggest expense is an arena, obviously. I haven't seen anything about ASU but Penn State took $102m to build an arena and get mens and womens hockey started at a D1 level.
November 18th, 2014 at 10:01 PM ^
November 18th, 2014 at 10:19 PM ^
There's a rumor out there that the BTN is paying out $2m to the six BTHC members (Michigan, MSU, OSU, PSU, Wisconsin, Minnesota). If that's anywhere near true Nebraska could get a team up and running and add the womens scholarships they needed for something in the ballpark of $1m in the red each season, but only because their shiny new basketball arena was built with space for a refrigeration unit. If the team was successful they could definitely get to a point where they made Nebraska money.
For the schools that don't have a way to convert an existing stadium they would need a donation like Penn State got (their arena cost $88m and change) for it to be an option because the startup costs are huge. I don't know what the deal is in the Pac 12 though, there might be a couple schools with basketball arenas that could house refrigeration units or nearby pro teams with existing stadiums.
November 18th, 2014 at 10:44 PM ^
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November 18th, 2014 at 7:07 PM ^
from their public chat today:
Comment From Guest what are the chances of ASU joining NCHC?? based on geography?
Schlossman, GF Herald: Based on what I'm hearing, NCHC is likely the landing destination for ASU, but ASU believes that in 15-20 years it will be in a Pac-12 Hockey Conference.
Very interesting note there. Also mentioned that MSU-Moorhead's bid to go D-I is definitely over, which I think everyone assumed at this point
November 18th, 2014 at 11:04 PM ^
Don Mullett is actually a very good family friend. I'm surprised to hear that he dropped that much dough on ASU, but he did a similar (albeit on a much smaller scale) for my high school in Wisconsin.