Coaching search to move quickly

With Boston College beating Ferris State 4-1 in the national championship on Saturday night in Tampa, Fla., it's now officially the offseason. And, right now, the biggest story in college hockey might be the one playing out in Mankato, with the search for a new coach. So here's a quick update on the search.

Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman says he will have a coach in place by the time the spring semester ends, which is the first week in May. But ideally, he said, the hope is to make the hire within the next two weeks — before coaches convention and conference meetings take place in Florida.

There's no question they're moving pretty quickly on this.

"This is a defining moment for the program," Buisman said.

Buisman wouldn't reveal his short list of candidates, but did say, "I'm confident the names being bandied about are the kind of coaches we can attract for this job. They're not out of the realm of possibility in terms of candidates for this opportunity."

Read more in my stories in today's Free Press, including a possible short list.

Watching and waiting

PucKato talked to Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman again today, now that the Breakaway League has made it official. Buisman didn't have a lot to say, remarking, "I'm reserving further comment until after their press conference on Wednesday."

The new league issued a press release today saying that its press conference will be held at noon (CDT) Wednesday from Penrose House in Colorado Springs, Colo. It will include representatives (ADs and coaches) from North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Minnesota Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha and Miami and is expected to be shown live online.

"I think it will be interesting to see what they will reveal," Buisman said. "Will they talk about their plans for TV exposure, the name of the conference and branding?"

Buisman said ADs from the remaining WCHA teams will meet on Friday in the Twin Cities to discuss their future.

There have been reports Monday of Northern Michigan going to the WCHA and possibly Alaska (Fairbanks), too. Buisman had no comment on those moves. However Alaska-Anchorage's suddenly outspoken AD Steve Cobb issued a press release about his school's situation and certainly advocated for the other school in his state.

Asked Cobb's "really sneaky back-door deal" comment from last week, Buisman used a more diplomatic statement:

"There were some contentious moments and some uncertainty (at April's league meetings), but we definitely felt like we were in a good place. Our plan was to move forward and expand the league. To have (the breakaway group) strike out on their own, the timing was certainly interesting."

Finally, Buisman said concerns are starting to be raised about the fate of the WCHA women's conference. The league is made up of MSU, St. Cloud and Bemidji from the WCHA; Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio State of the Big Ten; and North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth of the Breakaways. The league is facilitated by the WCHA. Will hard feelings get in its way?

MSU paying close attention to 'Super League' talk

Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman said Wednesday that his school and others are not just sitting back and waiting for the so-called "Super League" to happen (Is there a better name? The Runaways? The Breakaway League? College Hockey America 2: Electric Boogaloo?).

"We have to have contingency plans for several possible outcomes," Buisman said. "Our discussions focus on the schools currently aligned with the WCHA and are committed to a future in that league."

You can read more about Busiman's thoughts on the future of the WCHA here. But here are a few extra tidbits from my interview with him:

• Buisman said all of the schools in the league are in exploratory mode. "It's important for us to have contingency plans in place. There's been a lot of speculation. All we can do right now is stay abreast of the discussion and keep making decisions form an informed position."

• Buisman acknowledged that the history and tradition of the WCHA and college hockey are important but said, in the end, those things don't necessarily make money. He then compared the happenings — preliminary discussions — to that of the major college conference mashups that are happening around the country, the Big Ten starting hockey in two years (the first domino to fall in all of this) and even the Division II conference changes that forced Minnesota State to end up in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. "Change is inevitable in college athletics," he said. "(MSU) has seen all kinds of changes in recent years."

• "At the end of the day we're going to have to evaluate our options and put ourselves in postion to win conference titles and earn national-tournament berths," he said. "I think (the Super League talks) is something that has to be taken seriously. We aren't in a position to just sit back and react. We have to be proactive."

• Meanwhile, the story is growing legs in Omaha, Colorado Springs and on the Web.