Here's just some of my random thoughts as it relates to the whole re-alignment situation:
- I don't know how long Miami is going to be able to afford the travel costs associated with flying to almost all of their away conference games. As it is their university has made some pretty deep cuts (as have all schools in Ohio) and I don't see how doubling or tripling their travel budget is going to be feasible.
- The complete and utter lack of substantial message or direction coming from Greg Christopher is appalling. When the boat is sinking you don't then decide to put together a plan of survival. These moves have been damn near confirmed for almost a year. He has a leadership position within the CCHA and sounds like a rejected girlfriend when talking about Northern Michigan's exit from the conference.
- If the CCHA is unable to get UAH, Robert Morris, and Mercyhurst to join up then the conference is dead. Notre Dame will not be playing in the CCHA past the 11-12 season.
- Within 10 years I would guess that college hockey will be eerily similar to bowl subdivision football as only a few conferences will have a legitimate chance to win a national championship while the less affluent programs struggle to stay afloat.
- We can not afford to play in an "airplane" conference. We just don't have the budget to do it. We need to stick to the Great Lakes area if the program is to survive.
- Pletsch was interviewed today about all of the departures and gave/had no answers regarding a merger or adding teams to the conference. At this point we have to assume the CCHA is dead with leadership like that.
Warthog wrote:Most of you know my views of hockey and the money spent on it, while I do appreciate the tradition and championships that the program has brought to BGSU.
BUT, as can be seen by the dissection of the CCHA and NO ONE talking to BG and inviting us to join a new conference, it should speak volumes about how the program is currently regarded in the rest of the college hockey community. You know what I think should be done. That's just my opinion, don't shoot me for it.
I cant believe I am saying this but you're right. If we dont have the bandwidth to make the new conference alignments, we should shut it down and map the hockey resources to fball and bball. GC is babbling about making the CCHA work? Its a dead conference with sub par left overs. This is his vision for us?
Regarding Miami, their tactics are very troubling beyond hockey. I have always thought the 4 Corners generally watched out for each other on such matters. This is a clear tell about what will happen with other conference alignment options in football and basketball down the road should they occur. Thats the main reason I am so passionate about getting our core programs to the next level, these conference moves only take the strong and successful.
This is a dark day. Thanks GC. Glad to hear you are making phone calls and assessing the situation.
And then there were 5 but more than likely 3 when all is done. NMU Board of Trustees unanimously votes to pursue WCHA membership.
UAF - unkown rumored to join NMU in the WCHA
WMU - actively pursuing another conference [www.whywestern.com]
LSSU - no activity of note
FSU - no activity of note
BGSU - making phone calls
"Science doesn’t know everything? Well science KNOWS it doesn’t know everything… otherwise it’d stop."
Dara O'Brian - Comedian
So we have BG, LSSU, and Ferris. Between those three schools - 4 National Titles, 6 Frozen Four Appearances, 20 NCAA Tourney Appearances.
Then you have Miami - 6 NCAA trips - 2 frozens - No banner - can't beat any team with the word Boston in its name. Seems like a real "Super" league to me.
Tech83 wrote:So we have BG, LSSU, and Ferris. Between those three schools - 4 National Titles, 6 Frozen Four Appearances, 20 NCAA Tourney Appearances.
Then you have Miami - 6 NCAA trips - 2 frozens - No banner - can't beat any team with the word Boston in its name. Seems like a real "Super" league to me.
+1
"Regarding BGSU, I would think their biggest strength is that they never give up, They never slow down and they battle hard even after the other team scores. We have to be on our game and never, ever take the foot off the gas for a second." ~~USCHO Poster "BG was relentless. It's like they know that a good first pass on the breakout from a defenseman will almost always result in an odd-man rush against them - but they go in anyway and dare you to make that pass. All three of their goals were just grit and effort. That's a team any fan can be proud to support...they give all they've got." ~~USCHO Poster, AFTER Tech beat us #NeverGiveUp
#NeverSurrender
#Relentless
#Resiliant
Come on.....have common sense. If anyone thinks Miami isn't a top 10 program in the country at this point, then you shouldn't be commenting on college hockey. Our time of glory was the late 70s to 1991. Its over. We aren't good...we wont be good (unless we end up in a third tier league). It is obvious why the NCHC doesn't want BG.
The cost of hockey versus the cost of football should have us dropping football. The lack of investment in hockey is because of football, and we will never be, nor have been, in a major league in football. All those that delude themselves that the MAC is up there with the Big Ten, SEC or any other of those leagues is certifiable. The CCHA has been one of those elite leagues and now that we may end up in a MAC type hockey league, some people here want to drop hockey!?!?!? Like I said, then we need to have dropped football years ago if that is the standard. Men's basketball too. Let's get real.
manager wrote:The BGSU hockey program has been dying for 20 years. Too bad this realignment didn't happen two years ago. The funeral would be over by now.
Yep, that's what I was thinking too.
"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools."
- Ernest Hemingway
No one thinks the MAC is a top level league in football...at all. That being said, football finished in the top 25 once and just outside of the top 25 nationally in the last 10 years...how long has it been since hockey even had a winning record?
Given the department's budgetary concerns and the apparent implosion of the only geographically sensible league for BGSU hockey, anyone who thinks dropping the sport won't be back on the table witin the next few years is delusional...
It's not the fall that hurts...it's when you hit the ground.
Think of the money we could spent on hockey, if we dropped football. Face it, we will never be a power in D1 football because of our location and lack of a big tv contract. We just will not draw the people. Especially when we ignore the fans and sell our games to ESPN, to make enough money to fund the sport. So why not drop football and use the money for hockey. Think of the other sports we can drop matching title nine and put that money towards women's basketball and hockey. We have a Rugby club that is a national power, it could play in the stadium. We could even bring back lacrosse, once a national power, to play in the stadium during the spring. I remember being told during orientation, many years ago, that the focus of the BG athletic program was nordic sports, that was why we had an ice arena, when no one else did. Maybe we should revisit that philosophy.
At this point, I'm not advocating dropping either, but I see no evidence to suggest that hockey has struggled because of football. I think that's a convenient excuse for poor recruiting and coaching and a general unwillingness to accept the fact that we became irrelevant as a hockey power about the same time larger schools put more of an emphasis on the sport.
It's not the fall that hurts...it's when you hit the ground.
Dropping football to divert money to hockey would obviously help hockey. However, you also have to think about the fans. Football is a more public sport, more widely known and appreciated in the United States. Even though BGSU is not a power in football, becoming a power in hockey would do next to nothing for our prestige and notoriety in the college athletics world. If you ask the casual sports fan who won the NCAA hockey title last year, most likely they wouldn't have a clue. If you ask them who won the BCS title, they would know. Clearly, football is a VERY long way from becoming a national powerhouse (may never become that thanks to the BCS system), but the idea that if hockey was a national power would save BG athletics is insane. The students are excited about the football games, not the hockey games. That would be like saying that we should drop football to support gymnastics. Does anybody actually care who wins the NCAA gymnastics title?
No, it's because the administration following Paul Olscamp completely, and I mean COMPLETELY ignored the hockey program. It's hard to keep a program going at a certain level when the administration hardly even knows it exists. It's a travesty what they did to the hockey program..plain and simple. I have confidence in this adminstration and coaching staff. They want the program to succeed...but you don't resurrect the almost dead overnite. We'll get it done. I know we will. Anybody who doesn't agree, then why are you on this message board? This is for hockey, not football. By the way, how did those lights at the football stadium get paid for?? Oh yeah, they took it from the hockey budget. I think it's time football paid us back.
Jim and Cookie
GO FALCONS!!
NEVER GIVE UP!
NEVER...and I mean NEVER SURRENDER!
