OT: University of Alabama Huntsville hockey - NOT DEAD YET
https://twitter.com/UAHHockeyFriend/status/1265105264421806082?s=20
"A deal has been worked out with @UAH_President that if the community can raise $1M by Friday 5/29, the UAH Hockey program will be REINSTATED!!"
Fire up that money cannon!
Thinking UAH alum Cam Talbot fires the first shot of the money cannon.
I hope not...it wouldn't be a very good one-timer, him being a goalie and all
Obligatory:
Right now we need to raise $500k by Friday. Two of our alumni have already contributed enough to cover the other $500k (Sheldon Wolitski, Founder of The Select Group and Taso Sofikitis, CEO/President of Maynards Industries).
Please contribute if possible. If not, could you do please us a favor and post the link from the OP on your social media.
Let’s continue to grow College Hockey and keep 18 Scholarships.
Don't worry. My Twitter army has been activated. We've got this.
...or you could just make a call and this "athletic director", allegedly named "Cade" disappears
Trust me when I say that our program really appreciates your support.
hit me up if you ever make your way to Huntsville. I’d like to buy ya a drink or two.
mike
Deal. When I was an undergrad at Vandy, the Predators played a few preseason games in Huntsville to spread the word about the NHL in the South. My friends and I paid several visits, when we weren't gambling in Tupelo, that is.
Right now we need to raise $500k by Friday. Two of our alumni have already contributed enough to cover the other $500k (Sheldon Wolitski, Founder of The Select Group and Taso Sofikitis, CEO/President of Maynards Industries).
Please contribute if possible. If not, could you do please us a favor and post the link from the OP on your social media.
Let’s continue to grow College Hockey and keep 18 Scholarships.
I will donate when I get home..
as a hockey fan
It's sad to say, but UAH hockey is dead. Even if they get the money, it doesn't change much.
They were the worst team in college hockey last season, and any legitimate player they had has already transferred. After next season, they have no conference to play in and no one is interested in scheduling them, least of all in Huntsville. How far will $1M go if they're only playing four games at home(and likely during football season when no one shows up) per season, if they're lucky. How do you recruit players or keep fans interested when you can't fill your schedule and have zero hope of any type of postseason?
They've been here before, a couple years ago, and even though they got the money to technically keep the lights on, they couldn't make it work to be a competitive program. And that was after being given a *huge* benefit of the doubt by the WCHA to be allowed into their conference. That's not happening this time.
I know this seems strange to say, but the future of UAH Hockey can be strong. The University acquired 58 acres of land within the past year for the purposes of building an on campus arena. I have no idea how we went from this plan to dropping hockey.
what the WCHA or soon to be CCHA wants to see from UAH is its commitment to upgrading their program. This requires a full top to bottom commitment from the University of Alabama system. IF the University follows through with this he building plans, UAH would be able to schedule Friday and Saturday night games once again as opposed to taking any leftover available from the Civic Center/Huntsville Havoc.
We used to draw 4,000-4,500 fans in the mid 90’s. The University left this program to die on the vine. I truly believe this program can be a mid level CCHA team with the appropriate funding.
maybe it is too little too late. Maybe it’s not.
The problem is, UAH made all of those promises last time around when they were begging to get into the WCHA. They never happened and eventually the rest of the league got frustrated, and that's why they're re-forming as the CCHA.
The new arena plans were a last ditch effort when it became apparent the rest of the league was ready to move on, but there is no funding attached to it and is a long ways off from being built, if ever. I'd love it if they could be competitive too, but it's just not going to happen.
I saw this going around and I just don't see how this changes the longterm position for UAH. You raise $1MM this year and stave this for a few years, but the program situation and the conference situation and the funding situation really don't change. It feels like we're reliving the 2012 near-cancellation again and if they survive here, we'll be back here again in 5-10 years. I'd love to see UAH survive, but I just don't see it happening
Anyone know if it’s a possibility they can raise the money and keep the team afloat