Hockey Realignment! WMU and St. Cloud to NCHC
http://www.uscho.com/2011/09/21/report-western-michigan-st-cloud-state-…
Notre Dame still doesn't know where it will be playing in 2013-2014. Hockey East? Did their NCHC spot just get taken? Would they try to go independent in hockey too?
September 21st, 2011 at 10:31 PM ^
Hockey Realignment is fun because apart from a few programs, it ain't no revenue sport, so most of realignment is less greedy and more "Where can we play that it won't be boring but we won't get our asses kicked."
I still think that within 12 months, the Big East fries, the CCHA goes belly up, and ND suddenly comes to the B1G crying. "We have no place to play ANY of our sports! Let us in!" And then we laugh and laugh and laugh and say ehh... no. Just to make them cry.
September 21st, 2011 at 10:44 PM ^
They should have followed Northern. Good luck getting your face kicked in by the Fighting *Name Redacted* and their friends.
September 22nd, 2011 at 2:16 AM ^
When given the choice between joining a Tier 1 league or a Tier 2 league, you choose the Tier 1 league. For the purposes of recruiting good players, attracting good coaches, and filling their arena, Western made the right decision.
September 21st, 2011 at 11:10 PM ^
It's a $hame the CCHA will probably die or become irrelevant, but that'$ the world we live in the$e day$. And I'd love to see everyone in the Midwest tell ND (assuming they go to the ACC) to lick the balls and travel to Colorado and the east coast for all their games. I hope U-M still schedules games w/ Western, Ferris, NMU, LSSU and MTU if for no other reason than out of simple respect.
September 21st, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^
I see what you did there.
September 21st, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^
Yeah, it is very unfortunate. As I have noted before, if the B10 formed and everyone else stayed put, we'd have added a conference to college hockey & also the existing conferences would've had room to grow. With the NCHC, however, that dream was crushed and likely at least one or two of the smaller programs will be disbanded or demoted to D-III status in the mean-time. Unfortunate that no one takes into account the broader interests of the sport.
September 21st, 2011 at 11:32 PM ^
Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't all the "left behind" CCHA teams joined with the WCHA?
September 22nd, 2011 at 2:21 AM ^
Bowling Green has yet to commit to the WCHA, as they appear to be holding out some hope to get into the NCHC. This is unlikely to happen, but joining a geographically remote conference with no teams that would function as major draws could endanger their program's existence, given their recent financial troubles.
September 22nd, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
I never understood the BGSU to NCHC idea. The whole NCHC was basically formed because all those WCHA teams got real self-conscious about being left out of the cool kids league so why would they add arguably the worst big league team to their conference? They struggle enoug has it is in the CCHA
September 21st, 2011 at 11:56 PM ^
has my head spinning. Why, it's easier to understand string theory than these realignment scenarios!
SCIENCE
I may have been imbibing tonight.
September 22nd, 2011 at 3:12 AM ^
Notre Dame should just be in the B1G hockey conference
there aren't enough teams in it anyway and nobody is adding anytime soon