Notre Dame headed to B1G for Hockey | The Boneyard

Notre Dame headed to B1G for Hockey

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http://www.startribune.com/notre-dame-to-join-big-ten-in-hockey/373137251/

>>Notre Dame will join the Big Ten hockey conference in 2017-18. The Big Ten conference told the Star Tribune on Tuesday that it will expand to seven teams with Notre Dame joining as an affiliate member.<<

>>Big Ten officials would not comment on the possibility of adding an eighth team in time for the 2017-18 season, although expansion is frequently a topic of discussion in and surrounding conference leadership.<<
 
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NYUConn said:
http://www.uscho.com/2016/03/22/sources-notre-dame-leaving-hockey-east-for-big-ten-in-2017/

Irish leaving Hockey East after this season. They joined a season before us three years ago.

Personally I am pretty surprised they would leave the best conference in America for a league that is 3 years old, though it does cut back on travel for them and unite them with some traditional rivals.
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This must grind Swofford's gears. I'm sure he didn't think he'd have to put up with a B1G logo (or BTN) on ND's campus.
 
I can't say I'm all that surprised. There had been some rumblings that had been posted on The Boneyard in the past about the possibility of Notre Dame leaving Hockey East, and it seemed to start almost from the time they joined HE. From these reports it seemed apparent that Hockey East and Notre Dame was hardly a marriage made in heaven.
 
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This had been percolating for a while in Hockey East circles as dbmill said above. Presumably the hurdle was always getting ND and the B1G to agree to this being hockey only. Neither HE nor ND were ever really happy with this relationship, there were major downsides for both. B1G hockey thus far has been disastrous from a performance and attendance standpoint. Both nights of the B1G tournament this weekend combined did not equal one night's attendance at TD Garden for Hockey East. If the B1G goes for a team 8, my first guess is they call North Dakota. If that falls through for some reason, it'd be Arizona State. North Dakota would immediately fix attendance issues at conference events, would be a big TV boost, would drastically improve overall quality of play, and would rekindle numerous old rivalries. That's the most obvious choice for team 8.

I would be absolutely shellshocked if Hockey East has not already placed a call down to Hamden. Replacing a geographic outlier who perennially is average to above average with the current number one team in the country is a no-brainer. UConn would need a confluence of incredibly likely things to not happen to have a snowball's chance in hell of being hockey-only team 8.
 
NYUConn said:
Cool to now be part of two conferences that Notre Dame has used to their advantage and bailed on.
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Nah, Hockey East was a forced marriage when the CCHA folded. If the B1G had agreed to allow them in as hockey-only when it formed, they'd have joined then. The B1G being so terrible thus far from a performance, scheduling, and attendance standpoint made this something they needed to do. ND hated they were the only ones who had to travel in Hockey East as much as they did. So long as HE adds QU, the league will be just fine - probably will get better.
 
brasssbonanzaa said:
Nah, Hockey East was a forced marriage when the CCHA folded. If the B1G had agreed to allow them in as hockey-only when it formed, they'd have joined then. The B1G being so terrible thus far from a performance, scheduling, and attendance standpoint made this something they needed to do. ND hated they were the only ones who had to travel in Hockey East as much as they did. So long as HE adds QU, the league will be just fine - probably will get better.
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Don't try to refute my blind hatred of Notre Dame regardless of how irrational and misplaced it may be.
 
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Trading Notre Dame for Quinnipiac seems like an absolute steal and no-brainer trade for the Hockey East. The best hockey conference in the country gets 1) stronger and 2) more regionalized. Sign me up!
 
brasssbonanzaa said:
Nah, Hockey East was a forced marriage when the CCHA folded. If the B1G had agreed to allow them in as hockey-only when it formed, they'd have joined then. The B1G being so terrible thus far from a performance, scheduling, and attendance standpoint made this something they needed to do. ND hated they were the only ones who had to travel in Hockey East as much as they did. So long as HE adds QU, the league will be just fine - probably will get better.
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I know you're very knowledgeable about the college hockey scene - but can you you expand on the B1G being terrible from an attendance standpoint? They had 6 of the top 11 spots in attendance. ND is #16. If you want to say performance, fine - but attendance does not seem to be the problem. If it is, shoot, add #12 nationally too. :)
 
MGoBlueHockey said:
MGoBlueHockey
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UConn should've joined over Rutgers.

A potted plant should've joined over Rutgers.
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I like this Michigan fan.
 
I'm surprised the B1G threw Notre Dame a bone even with their low amount of hockey schools. I thought the B1G was used to making the Irish suffer in any way possible for thinking their precious football team is too good for B1G's conference. Delaney should've made them suffer longer.
 
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Mr Blueskin said:
I'm surprised the B1G threw Notre Dame a bone even with their low amount of hockey schools. I thought the B1G was used to making the Irish suffer in any way possible for thinking their precious football team is too good for B1G's conference. Delaney should've made them suffer longer.
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They let Johns Hopkins join for lacrosse. It was not completely out of character.
 
Big 10 is awful for the people in here Minnesota. They hate the schedule. They long for playing their old foes and nobody goes to the games. The Big10 tourney was empty
 
Mr Blueskin said:
I'm surprised the B1G threw Notre Dame a bone even with their low amount of hockey schools. I thought the B1G was used to making the Irish suffer in any way possible for thinking their precious football team is too good for B1G's conference. Delaney should've made them suffer longer.
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I think it's pretty simple -- ND, in Hockey East, needed the Big Ten in hockey less than Notre Dame hockey needed the Big Ten.
 
The Viking said:
This guy believes ASU is likely #8 with an announcement possible soon.
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That's been the rumor since shortly after they announced they were going D1 - there were a few discussion on here back in late 2014/early 2015 that can be searched out.

B1G alumni base in Arizona.
 
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Revrat said:
Big 10 is awful for the people in here Minnesota. They hate the schedule. They long for playing their old foes and nobody goes to the games. The Big10 tourney was empty
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With you 100% and loud and clear. Meanwhile the homers on here, certainly saying this lightheartedly because I'm one of a small minority that would love UConn fully in the BIG, get to boast about Hockey East's dominance, which I guarantee is cyclical. Honestly, I prefer strong conferences West to East. The college game is at it's best when powers from the east meet the west for all the stakes.

At least two things going right for Hockey East that got ditched for BIG hockey: traditional rivals & intimate road trips (many in the same state). In the end, the real, all time powerful conference (The WCHA) pretty much became a B league - will find this fact disappointing for the rest of my life, same goes for the demise of the Old Big East.

I could care less about partial membership, ND will help, but more for the Michigan schools, OSU and PSU. We'll see in a few years. I'm tired of going ballistic on BIG Hockey and how it really did no favors for Minnesota & Wisconsin, formerly proud WCHA members. In it's young age (BIG Hockey) we've already made one NC game in this time frame, only to yield another unexpected loss. But road trips absolutely blow

This year, we're sitting home, not because of the mediocre BIG opponents, but because we got our butts kicked by our former WCHA mates and our in-state rivals owned us. Lastly, throw in an underachieving coach who created a culture of caring more about his NHL production than winning NCs - well there you go - Gopher Hockey at a dismal low. But hey now, at least our women win.
 
Bottom line: ND to B1G is a big nothingburger.
 
Gfunk said:
Meanwhile the homers on here, certainly saying this lightheartedly because I'm one of a small minority that would love UConn fully in the BIG, get to boast about Hockey East's dominance, which I guarantee is cyclical.
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See? You understand that sports are cyclical. Now if only we could get others to do the same about our football program, we'd be all good. UConn football is trending back up-cycle. But there are plenty of nincompoops out there that think our Paul Pasqualoni era defines our football program. Makes you want to pound you head against a wall, eh?

And I agree with you: if B1G expands into the proper places, it has a chance of becoming the dominant college hockey conference. Avid fanbases in strong hockey markets in good recruiting areas located near large pods of B1G alumni. Hmmmm...I wonder why some of this sounds familiar? :)
 
Waquoit said:
Bottom line: ND to B1G is a big nothingburger.
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I wonder. I am sure that some at ND would actually prefer its non-revenue sports, i.e. everything but basketball and football, in the B1G, too as the travel costs are lower and it would foster more regional rivals as South Bend is a 2 1/2 hour drive to Michigan St, 2 to Purdue, 3 to Illinois, 2 to Northwestern, etc. With the problems the ACC is having with the ACCN, not with respect to money as ND has its own arrangement; but, with respect to conference stability, could this be treated as a 'warning' to the ACC to get its act together or ND can consider moving its sports sans football to the B1G?
 
Mr. Conehead said:
I wonder. I am sure that some at ND would actually prefer its non-revenue sports, i.e. everything but basketball and football, in the B1G, too as the travel costs are lower and it would foster more regional rivals as South Bend is a 2 1/2 hour drive to Michigan St, 2 to Purdue, 3 to Illinois, 2 to Northwestern, etc. With the problems the ACC is having with the ACCN, not with respect to money as ND has its own arrangement; but, with respect to conference stability, could this be treated as a 'warning' to the ACC to get its act together or ND can consider moving its sports sans football to the B1G?
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B1G will never take ND w/o football in all other sports. Taking them in hockey was a thing of convenience for both sides...
 
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