So this is your opinion and that's fine. You make valid points but you have no facts to back up your point of view. When was the last time you or I spoke to a B10 hockey coach? At the end of the day, it would not be their decision anyway.
Exactly, this is why I called it a common sense argument, one that I've come up with from following the sport closely for a long time. Of course no one has talked to a B1G coach or program about this, because the topic has never come up. I can tell you, straight from the mouth of a Hockey East coach, who the schools were when the NCHC formed and they approached eastern schools about joining. It was not UConn. This is the most congruent example that exists to the one we're discussing, UConn admitted as hockey-only #8 w/ no all-sports invite.
If this were a hockey-only invite and it affected no other sports, the hockey coaches of the six schools would have major input on the decision, and Lucia and Berenson both have major pull at their institutions, as do Eaves and Anastos to a lesser extent. Anastos is a former conference commissioner himself, so his input would be heavily valued. They would not cast the formal vote, but in a one-sport decision, they would have a lot of pull. If the AAC were to decide on adding a basketball-only school, don't you think Kevin Ollie would be the one to essentially tell Susan who to vote yes/no for?
Yes, these are my points of view and I haven't spoken to a B1G coach or administrator. But then again, people who believe the earth is round also haven't been into space to see it with their own two eyes. It's based on a preponderance of evidence. In this case, all evidence supports my arguments.
It'd be great to see UConn competing in the B1G, in all sports of course, and certainly the hockey program is a on track right now where should that opportunity come up, hockey would not at all be an obstacle to admittance, but instead a plus. Cav is a guy who can lead a program in a top conference, and if the B1G were considering UConn as a full member, they would have to view the hockey program as being a competitor on day one, one that would not regularly sink the RPI (the most important component of NCAA tournament admission) of the other schools, and would provide solid TV opportunities for the BTN. That said, in a hockey-only scenario, there are other eastern programs who, on day one, would be favorites to regularly not just compete, but win the conference, boost the RPI of other programs, and make for solid TV matchups.