More hockey realignment? | Page 7 | The Boneyard

More hockey realignment?

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Well, I can't even keep up. The point is, it wouldn't take much for UB. Heck, Terry Pegula offered use of the 4k rink he just built. And the Sabres are now leaving the big rink (1k) across the street from UB where the Sabres used to practice.
 
The Arkansas Ice Hogs and the Alabama Frozen Tide are going Div. I.....who'da thunk it?
 
Uh oh. SEC hockey is gonna be big. Can't wait. The SEC should bring in UAH as a hockey only member. It'll be the oldest D1 hockey program in the SEC. :rolleyes:
 
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2 Hockey East teams, BU and PC, in the championship game. I've just been informed that UCONN will have 15 games at the XL. 8 of the 11 conference foes have reached the Frozen Four in the past 12 years. Feels good to be in a top conference!
 
UCONN13KC said:
2 Hockey East teams, BU and PC, in the championship game. I've just been informed that UCONN will have 15 games at the XL. 8 of the 11 conference foes have reached the Frozen Four in the past 12 years. Feels good to be in a top conference!
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Many of those games will sell out, assuming they put up the curtains.
 
brasssbonanzaa said:
50/50 chance that it's this, or ASU/UND to B1G, ND to NCHC, QU to HE. Trading ND for QU would be a-OK with me.
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I really don't see much chance in ND leaving Hockey East.

It is a nice set up with 24 of its other sports in an East Coast oriented league like the ACC .

The same with Hockey East, especially with ND having its own home game contract with NBC Sports in addition to coverage/exposure with the Hockey East TV deal.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...2-notre-dame-fighting-irish-hockey-games-year

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/media/tv.php
 
TerryD said:
I really don't see much chance in ND leaving Hockey East.

It is a nice set up with 24 of its other sports in an East Coast oriented league like the ACC .

The same with Hockey East, especially with ND having its own home game contract with NBC Sports in addition to coverage/exposure with the Hockey East TV deal.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...2-notre-dame-fighting-irish-hockey-games-year

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/media/tv.php
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The ND institution is not easy to like. Neither are most ND fans.

I find that to be true about You. Why is that?
 
I don't know. I am a friendly, likable guy. Maybe you are a bad judge of character or you let your institutional bias spill over? :)

I posted my opinion that ND will not leave Hockey East and gave my reasons for that opinion.

If any of that was offensive on its face, point out why and I will go back and edit it.
 
TerryD said:
I don't know. I am a friendly, likable guy. Maybe you are a bad judge of character or you let your institutional bias spill over? :)

I posted my opinion that ND will not leave Hockey East and gave my reasons for that opinion.

If any of that was offensive on its face, point out why and I will go back and edit it.
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Wasn't offensive. ND's own paper quoted ND's own coach as not being happy with the HE set up. Numerous HE writers then wrote they'd been hearing rumblings of unrest on both sides about ND's setup in HE. It's really just not a fit for both sides.
 
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brasssbonanzaa said:
Wasn't offensive. ND's own paper quoted ND's own coach as not being happy with the HE set up. Numerous HE writers then wrote they'd been hearing rumblings of unrest on both sides about ND's setup in HE. It's really just not a fit for both sides.
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But coaches gripe all of the time. Conference affiliation is beyond the coach's pay grade. IF you hear Jack Swarbrick gripe, then this rumor would have some traction. Jeff Jackson is irrelevant to this and he will soon be gone and replaced by another coach.

Swarbrick didn't work to set up this deal to mirror image the ACC one (East Coast) to just pull out two years later (in my opinion).
 
Notre Dame didn't plan to move the hockey team east - the CCHA disintegrated around them when the Big Ten decided to form a new conference.
 
Fishy said:
Notre Dame didn't plan to move the hockey team east - the CCHA disintegrated around them when the Big Ten decided to form a new conference.
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While the irony bucket isn't full, it's not completely empty either.
 
Fishy said:
Notre Dame didn't plan to move the hockey team east - the CCHA disintegrated around them when the Big Ten decided to form a new conference.
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But they chose to move east to Hockey East than any other (more Midwest oriented) hockey conference.
 
TerryD said:
But they chose to move east to Hockey East than any other (more Midwest oriented) hockey conference.
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Of course they did. Doesn't mean it was the best choice.
 
dayooper said:
Of course they did. Doesn't mean it was the best choice.
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And just as obviously, it did not mean that it was not the best choice. It matches their ACC move perfectly.
 
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Only in Hockey - unlike in Football (or even Mens/Womens Basketball), the Hockey East power structure won't kiss your ring. You are just the Western outpost. And, I think the first few times around the league, many don't see your imperial nature to add much to ticket sales or TV dollars.
 
I think what Notre Dame is finding, in Hockey East, is that this East Coast move doesn't bring them the same breadth of markets that the ACC or the Old Big East or Old New Big East had and so "East Coast access" is not as bountiful.

To wit, 6 of the 11 other HEA teams are sandwiched in the Boston media market (BC, BU, UNH, UML, Northeastern and Merrimack), and the only other potential needle-movers are Hartford-New Haven and Providence. Burlington, Springfield and Bangor aren't much to speak of. No access to NY, Philly or DC. Of course, you won't find home teams in those markets in hockey anyway.

By contrast: Boston, Providence, Hartford-New Haven, New York, Syracuse, Philadelphia, DC, Pittsburgh, Miami in the OBE; subtract Boston and Miami but add Cincy, Louisville, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Tampa for the ONBE; the ACC gives Boston, Syracuse, some New York, Pittsburgh, DC, Louisville, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, Miami, and presence in Charlotte, Richmond, Norfolk, Orlando and Tampa.
 
kingdobbs said:
I think what Notre Dame is finding, in Hockey East, is that this East Coast move doesn't bring them the same breadth of markets that the ACC or the Old Big East or Old New Big East had and so "East Coast access" is not as bountiful.

To wit, 6 of the 11 other HEA teams are sandwiched in the Boston media market (BC, BU, UNH, UML, Northeastern and Merrimack), and the only other potential needle-movers are Hartford-New Haven and Providence. Burlington, Springfield and Bangor aren't much to speak of. No access to NY, Philly or DC. Of course, you won't find home teams in those markets in hockey anyway.

By contrast: Boston, Providence, Hartford-New Haven, New York, Syracuse, Philadelphia, DC, Pittsburgh, Miami in the OBE; subtract Boston and Miami but add Cincy, Louisville, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Tampa for the ONBE; the ACC gives Boston, Syracuse, some New York, Pittsburgh, DC, Louisville, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, Miami, and presence in Charlotte, Richmond, Norfolk, Orlando and Tampa.
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Hockey isn't about markets, that's not what ND is upset with. It's the travel schedule, a perceived bias among the conference towards the schools in New England as opposed to them, that they have to fly multiple times a year where everyone else only does once. Not to mention they're just culturally not a fit within the HE mold. TV markets are irrelevant in hockey though.
 
brasssbonanzaa said:
Hockey isn't about markets, that's not what ND is upset with. It's the travel schedule, a perceived bias among the conference towards the schools in New England as opposed to them, that they have to fly multiple times a year where everyone else only does once. Not to mention they're just culturally not a fit within the HE mold. TV markets are irrelevant in hockey though.
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It's not only TV I'm speaking of here. It's alumni and local fans too, which is held up to be a big reason why ND seeks an East Coast presence (and why the travel wasn't wholly unpalatable in the abstract).

I have a sneaking suspicion that NDs local fans aren't responding as well as they thought to the teams coming into Compton. Another thing that could stand up to too much travel.

I still think too much is being made of it now. I don't believe ND is so unhappy they're going to make a change after one year.
 
Bottom line, the BIG, for now, lost out in terms of competition with this hockey realignment. The best all-time hockey conference went south (WCHA) and rapidly. The NCHC, with many former WCHA powers, already sent two to a Frozen Four (Nebraska-Omaha and UND) while the BIG only had Minnesota in the tourney where they lost in the first round. Sure Minnesota made the CG last year, but the BIG is really awful right now as decades of tradition got turned upside down. Minnesota and Wisconsin no longer have two series a year vs the likes of UND, Duluth, St. Cloud, Denver, Colorado College and Neb Omaha - all of these opponents closer than PSU & OSU in terms of geography. OSU isn't even the marquee hockey program in Ohio, often third best in the state. PSU is still too new and has to compete with Hockey East for recruits. If I was a hockey star in the Northeast, I would barely notice PSU because their rivalries are too far away.

Hockey East is the biggest winner in conference realignment, no traditions were remotely altered. The new NCHC actually preserved far more WCHA history than the new BIG as is kept far more geographical rivalries intact.

It will be a while before the BIG, esp the blue bloods, bounce back. Minnesota will stay the course due to in-state talent, but Michigan and MSU will struggle to re-establish recruiting trails. Wisky is and for a while.
 
Gfunk said:
Bottom line, the BIG, for now, lost out in terms of competition with this hockey realignment. The best all-time hockey conference went south (WCHA) and rapidly. The NCHC, with many former WCHA powers, already sent two to a Frozen Four (Nebraska-Omaha and UND) while the BIG only had Minnesota in the tourney where they lost in the first round. Sure Minnesota made the CG last year, but the BIG is really awful right now as decades of tradition got turned upside down. Minnesota and Wisconsin no longer have two series a year vs the likes of UND, Duluth, St. Cloud, Denver, Colorado College and Neb Omaha - all of these opponents closer than PSU & OSU in terms of geography. OSU isn't even the marquee hockey program in Ohio, often third best in the state. PSU is still too new and has to compete with Hockey East for recruits. If I was a hockey star in the Northeast, I would barely notice PSU because their rivalries are too far away.

Hockey East is the biggest winner in conference realignment, no traditions were remotely altered. The new NCHC actually preserved far more WCHA history than the new BIG as is kept far more geographical rivalries intact.

It will be a while before the BIG, esp the blue bloods, bounce back. Minnesota will stay the course due to in-state talent, but Michigan and MSU will struggle to re-establish recruiting trails. Wisky is and for a while.
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As a fan of the former Big East it's easy to relate to your post yet it's hard to feel any sympathy, especially when you consider that the B1G was one of the primary catalysts of the demise outlined above.
 
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brasssbonanzaa said:
Hockey isn't about markets, that's not what ND is upset with. It's the travel schedule, a perceived bias among the conference towards the schools in New England as opposed to them, that they have to fly multiple times a year where everyone else only does once. Not to mention they're just culturally not a fit within the HE mold. TV markets are irrelevant in hockey though.
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ND's other sports have always traveled a great distance, even when in the Big East. Don't forget in 1995, Miami was in the Big East, then later USF was in the conference.

So, back then, the Big East stretched from Boston to Miami.

Now, ND's other non-revenue sports are in the ACC which requires them to travel from Boston to Miami.

So, ND's soccer and volleyball teams (to name a few non-revenue sports) have traveled to Boston, Miami and everywhere in between since 1995.

Travel is not a big issue for ND. Attendance at ND hockey games is not a problem.

http://www.uscho.com/stats/attendance/division-i-men/2014-2015/

Compton holds 5,000. Last season, ND averaged 4,479 or 89.2 % of capacity.

Hockey East is the best hockey conference out there and allows ND to have its own hockey TV deal plus participate in the league TV deal.

Why leave? It makes no sense to think that ND is going elsewhere.
 
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B1GOSU said:
The six B1G hockey schools get $2 million each in BTN revenues each year from the TV rights to hockey games being broadcast on BTN. I don't think they are complaining about realignment.

http://www.buckys5thquarter.com/2013/4/29/4283628/big-ten-hockey-payout-tv-contract
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I think Minnesota is. BTN money or not, the Gophers aren't happy with having to diminish their relationships with Minny-Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato or Bemidji (or for that matter, North Dakota, Denver or CC either).

OK, maybe not actively complaining, but that's mostly because there's not a whole lot they can do about it.
 
kingdobbs said:
I think Minnesota is. BTN money or not, the Gophers aren't happy with having to diminish their relationships with Minny-Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato or Bemidji (or for that matter, North Dakota, Denver or CC either).

OK, maybe not actively complaining, but that's mostly because there's not a whole lot they can do about it.
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No, there's a lot of active complaining. It was a difficult and unpopular choice for the U but it was important for Minnesota to step up and support the long term conference vision even if it causes some short term pain. It'll pass.
 
TruDomGopher said:
No, there's a lot of active complaining. It was a difficult and unpopular choice for the U but it was important for Minnesota to step up and support the long term conference vision even if it causes some short term pain. It'll pass.
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and the pain will be reduced further if Northwestern and/or Nebraska add hockey in the future.
 
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