Big Ten Men's Hockey Conference coming in 2013-14

[ORD_Buckeye]

Well, if the Big Ten is going to freeze out ND, I hope they really freeze out ND. No more OOC games, just leave them twisting in the breeze. Independence is no longer viable for any school, and the Big Ten is the best option that ND has. If they're too stupid to see that, then I say [censored] 'em. Let them sleep in the bed that they made.

Absolutely....and we get working on the Big Ten Hockey Conference and leave them on the outside there also.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

Absolutely....and we get working on the Big Ten Hockey Conference and leave them on the outside there also.

where do you come up with the other schools necessary though? to me pushing penn state to ice a team is key, granted they cannot draw the required suburban kids to put enough tails in seats to not lose their shorts... while pitt has become a hot bed it is to far away to expect any level of attendance, much like penn state basketball it is likely to draw some students, a little faculty and leave a lot of empty seats and much to be desired...

teams that are anywhere near realistic

uconn
notre dame

syracuse has recently added a womens team and talk is they want to ice a mens team.

granted is that enough teams to ice a conference??

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Could the key domino be falling?

Varsity Hockey: Coming to an Arena Near You | NittanyWhiteOut

A six team Big Ten Hockey Conference allowing a 20 game conference schedule of full home and away weekend series with each conference foe and Friday night double headers on the BTN...maybe a Sunday afternoon game also.

Talk on the college hockey forum--including from someone who phoned the Big Ten offices to ask--is that there is no conference bylaw prohibiting a six team conference.

One thing that wouldn't happen is any "affiliate members." Why the hell would the Big Ten create the pinnacle of college hockey conferences from fan interest, television coverage, recruiting and revenue generation standpoints only to share all that with filthy, unwashed outsiders. Sorry domers (seriously think Delany and the Presidents are in any mood to do them a solid? Do we look like the [censored]ing Big East?). Sorry Fredo. Sorry Directional Michigans. Jim Delaney has a one way ticket to irrelevance with your names on it.

 

[BigWoof31]

Jim and ORD - how long would it take to get the conference up and running if Penn State said "yes?"

Assuming it takes a year to build the arena, then they probably play DII for two years while they build a staff and recruit a team? Then a 10 team conference in 2013?

Am I selling them short? I didn't think Pennsylvania was a hotbed for hockey talent (not aything like football). So they'd have to set down recruiting roots in Michigan, Canada...etc?

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Jim and ORD - how long would it take to get the conference up and running if Penn State said "yes?"

Assuming it takes a year to build the arena, then they probably play DII for two years while they build a staff and recruit a team? Then a 10 team conference in 2013?

Am I selling them short? I didn't think Pennsylvania was a hotbed for hockey talent (not aything like football). So they'd have to set down recruiting roots in Michigan, Canada...etc?

Not sure how long things would take either from a Big Ten or Penn State perspective. In the case of the latter, there seems to be one rich alum who's willing to fund a lot of this. I think it would be a 6 team conference for the foreseeable future. Having Minnesota, Wiscy, MSU, UM and PSU at the Schott five weekends every season would certainly boost interest in the hockey program. Let's be honest. Unless the hockey team is rolling, nobody is coming out to see Lake Superior State or Nebraska-Omaha.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

pittsuburgh is on fire as far as hockey. look around the nhl and youll see a bunch of younger (under 30 guys) from around the steel city. toss in the impact of the flyers, and even to some extent erie and swb. toss in reading and hershey. the cleveland area is close also.

penn state currently has the ice pavillion, about 1,400 seats in that barn. the osu ice rink is about 1,000 for a size comparison.

as far as how long would it take to get it up and going, hard to say.

ive said it before, and ill say it again, penn state is a key (if not they key) in a big ten hockey league. though im not sure you can get minn/uw to come play with a pathetic psu team, without a tv deal. i personally think that the tv situation could make it lucrative and potentially offset some of the larger costs and push a few other teams into icing a real team. (be it ill, nw, indiana, purdue-iowa may also make sense as crazy as it sounds). hard to say though...

currently you have

ccha
1-osu
2-msu
3-um
wcha
4-minn
5-uw

potential b10 targets
uconn-atlantic hockey
und-ccha

syracuse has iced teams during three different eras pre ww2.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Possible additions beyond the "Original Six" would be

Possible B10 expansion schools: and by expansion, I mean joining the conference as full members not just hockey additions

Notre Dame--already D1
Syracuse--has a women's D1 team already and is exploring a men's team

Existing Big Ten schools that have strong club hockey programs. I'm sure they would take a wait and see attitude towards the conference's success and any revenue impact it has on the BTN.

Iowa
Illinois
Purdue
Nebraska

So eventually getting to 8-10 is not an impossibility.

Roadblocks:
Since the WCHA would probably kick our women's teams out, we'd need to form a women's BTHC meaning Michigan (who's already exploring it) and MSU would need to add women's teams.

Minnesota is against a BTHC due to state politics with their Other State Universities. Possibly, they might even be for it behind closed doors but are just making a public show of opposition for the politicians so that when it happens they can plead that they were dragged into the BTHC by conference demands and against their will. In the end, they'll do what Delaney and the other Presidents tell them to do.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

Minnesota is against a BTHC due to state politics with their Other State Universities. Possibly, they might even be for it behind closed doors but are just making a public show of opposition for the politicians so that when it happens they can plead that they were dragged into the BTHC by conference demands and against their will. In the end, they'll do what Delaney and the other Presidents tell them to do.

and by that you mean that the potential ca$h of the big ten network tv deal and the opportunity to broadcast their program into 75m us and canadian households. which includes 19 of the 20 largest us tv markets and the 10 largest tv distribution companies (cable, sat, telecom, etc).

About Us - Big Ten Network

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

and by that you mean that the potential ca of the big ten network tv deal and the opportunity to broadcast their program into 75m us and canadian households. which includes 19 of the 20 largest us tv markets and the 10 largest tv distribution companies (cable, sat, telecom, etc).

About Us - Big Ten Network

My hunch is that Minny has no problems with a BTHC. They just need to go through the motions of public opposition for political purposes vis a vis the state legislature.

The of Ohio board (gawd luv 'em), however, has an interesting take on it. Some think that Minnesota's AD is trying to scuttle the BTHC in order to protect dear little of Ohio. The hubris is mind blowing. Can you imagine taking an executive position with a firm and then making crucial decisions based upon what's in the best interests of your former employer? If that is even remotely true, I would hope that Minny shitcans the guy immediately not to mention suing him for a breech of his fiduciary responsibilities.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

My hunch is that Minny has no problems with a BTHC. They just need to go through the motions of public opposition for political purposes vis a vis the state legislature.

The of Ohio board (gawd luv 'em), however, has an interesting take on it. Some think that Minnesota's AD is trying to scuttle the BTHC in order to protect dear little of Ohio. The hubris is mind blowing. Can you imagine taking an executive position with a firm and then making crucial decisions based upon what's in the best interests of your former employer? If that is even remotely true, I would hope that Minny shitcans the guy immediately not to mention suing him for a breech of his fiduciary responsibilities.

minnesota as far as half way decent programs has bemdiji, minn-duluth, minn state, and st cloud (along of course with the gophers) the state nor those schools im sure want relegated to miac (minnesota intercollegiate athletic conference).

i think you have to have six plus building to make it a likely viable options. but as i mentioned the tv to me is a driver. penn state is the key domino, but i think you need other schools pushing to ice teams before it all goes down. then again i think the six can force the others into it. but 20m canadian homes or whatever the actual number is will only help drive recruiting, along with the us tvs involved.

 

[BigWoof31]

My hunch is that Minny has no problems with a BTHC. They just need to go through the motions of public opposition for political purposes vis a vis the state legislature.

What could their opposition possibly be? If they're trying to protect their regional rivalry with Benmidji, Minny-Duluth and Minny Tech (two good, not great programs) they are certainly welcome to play them in early season OOC games correct? How many OOC games do you get in hockey?

 

[jimotis4heisman]

What could their opposition possibly be? If they're trying to protect their regional rivalry with Benmidji, Minny-Duluth and Minny Tech (two good, not great programs) they are certainly welcome to play them in early season OOC games correct? How many OOC games do you get in hockey?

usually in the high 30s number of games. with only five opposing teams in a big ten conference you could play everyone home and away with a weekend series (two games) and that would be 20 games.

as i mentioned above i think some of the posturing has to do with with the likelihood of the second tier minnesota programs diving into irrelevance.

 

[TGfan06]

What about Boston College? To me they would be a better addition overall than Syracuse. Plus you get the added bonus of a powerhouse of a hockey program.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

What about Boston College? To me they would be a better addition overall than Syracuse. Plus you get the added bonus of a powerhouse of a hockey program.

Perhaps, but how many powerhouses does Ohio State (and Penn State) really want? It would be like Minnesota joining a football conference of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Texas, and USC.

The other four Big Ten teams bring 24 national championships along. That's enough powerhouses for me.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

What about Boston College? To me they would be a better addition overall than Syracuse. Plus you get the added bonus of a powerhouse of a hockey program.

Perhaps, but how many powerhouses does Ohio State (and Penn State) really want? It would be like Minnesota joining a football conference of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Texas, and USC.

The other four Big Ten teams bring 24 national championships along. That's enough powerhouses for me.

could be. you have to bring in bc for all other aspects also. then you have a spread of nebraska to mass. thats a really dramatic spread. but then again you can always kick the tires and look around, right?