Why do you watch?

In Tuesday's Free Press I have a column that asks this question to Minnesota State men's hockey ticket buyers: Why do you watch?

Do you watch the Mavericks or do you watch their opponent? Is it more important to see a win or to see a so-called power opponent?

The answer may have a big impact on how you feel about the future of MSU hockey once the yet-to-be-named Breakaway League and the Big Ten start play in 2013-14. As others have suggested this week, the new WCHA may end up being OK for the leftover teams, as their chances of winning conference titles and earning NCAA berths will improve.

Even if MSU becomes the best of the rest, will Mankato's hockey fans follow?

Consider:

• Over the last five years, Minnesota State is 16-49-9 (.277) against teams going into the Breakaway League.

• The Mavericks are 11-18-4 (.394) against Big Ten members Minnesota and Wisconsin over the last fiv years.

• Over that same span, MSU is 33-19-9 (.615) against the rest of the WCHA — St. Cloud, Bemidji, Anchorage and Tech.

If Minnesota State can continue to bring in quality nonconference opponents (i.e.: ex-WCHA members) regularly, they might be able to draw those big crowds and help their Pairwise ranking. That's a big if, though, as all three western leagues will be seeking quality nonconference games, and I've already heard worries about the possibility of an interlocking schedule between the Big Ten and the Breakaways.

Meanwhile, here's another statistical curiosity: Miami has been one of the nation's best teams over their last several years, and its desire to leave the CCHA makes some sense with that conference's Big Ten losses. But why is that school more attractive to the Breakaways than the current WCHA programs? The RedHawks play in a new arena, albiet one that seats just 3,600 people.

Last year, Miami drew an average of 3,024 per game. Minnesota State in a down year drew 3,711. (In 2008-09, MSU had an all-time high of 4,552, ranking 15th in the nation; Miami was 32nd that year with 2,491.)

Lets look at some college hockey average attendance figures from last year (ranking is overall national place):

Big Ten
1. Wisconsin 13,226
2. Michigan 12,291
4. Minnesota 9,544
11. Michigan State 5,353
18. Ohio State 3,829

Breakaways
3. North Dakota 11,756
5. Nebraska-Omaha 7,994
6. Colorado College 6,687
9. Minnesota Duluth 5,810
12. Denver 5,292
25. Miami 3,024

WCHA
8. St. Cloud State 5,935
17. Bemidji State 3,876
19. Minnesota State 3,711
22. Alaska-Anchorage 3,319
36. Michigan Tech 2,345

CCHA
26. Alaska 2,954 (possibly going to WCHA)
27. Western Michigan 2,926 (waiting for Notre Dame's move)
29. Notre Dame 2,801 (courted by Hockey East, Breakaways)
32. Northern Michigan 2,541 (possibly going to WCHA)
39. Bowling Green 2,169
40. Lake Superior 2,103
44. Ferris State 1,734

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?

"Really sneaky back-door deal"

The harshest (public) criticism of the so-called "Super League" has been cast by Alaska-Anchorage athletic director  Steve Cobb who called it a "really sneaky back-door deal." Read more in this piece by the Anchorage Daily News' Beth Bragg. Cobb says that WCHA teams seemed united during their April meetings and the OK was given to invite Notre Dame and Miami into the league.

"Nobody said they were unhappy," Cobb told the Daily News. "We left the April meeting and basically some of them contacted Notre Dame and Miami and said, 'Don't take the WCHA invitation; we're going to invite you to join our super league.'

"I blame everybody for being less than honest with their own league members. It's a really sneaky back-door deal."

Cobb said he will be flying to Minneapolis next week to meet with ADs from the other WCHA leftovers, including Minnesota State, to discuss their future.

Meanwhile, St. Cloud State has said it will not be joining the Super League (there have been rumblings of them being a bubble team as the breakaways await word from Notre Dame). According to the St. Cloud Times' Mick Hatten, SCSU president Earl H. Potter III said the school expected to be involved in Super League talks ... "But as we looked at it we intended to say no." Potter said SCSU wasn't invited to the league but it sounds like officials had access to, as the story says, balance sheets, attendance projections, strength of rivalries and several other items.

"We intend to stay in the WCHA and take a leadership role to continue the legacy of the WCHA," Potter said.

Back to Cobb, the next two years in the league are going to be interesting after reading this quote:

"I'm not offended at all they want to start a conference. I'm very offended at the way it was handled. We've got two years left, and I assume it's going to be very tense and very uncomfortable."

More from the Breakaway Conference (updated)

Still trying to come up with a name other than 'Super League' (Siouxper League, perhaps?) ...

Anyway, it's been a crazy day in the college hockey world, and several people are trying to make heads and tails about the future. Here are some links to stories all around the remains of the WCHA:

Here's the link to my story for The Free Press. Kevin Buisman repeated some of the same things he said in Thursday's paper, but it's clear that MSU and others need to put their "contingency plans" in place ASAP.

The story includes information from the Associated Press, including one no-comment quote from Troy Jutting (who did not return a phone call to the Freep): "I don't involve myself with speculation." The WCHA is also not responding as of yet. Spokesman Doug Spencer said via email: "We are aware of rumors but have seen nothing officially released yet. Until that time, and until the league feels it is appropriate, the WCHA will reserve comment."

The story that started it all by crack hockey scribe Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. He's been on top of this story all week. Kudos to him. He also wrote an analysis piece saying this could actually be a good opportunity for the leftover teams, opening the door to better chances at conference titles and national-tournament bids. This isn't the first time I've heard that theory floated and I may have more to say about that next week.

The Colorado Springs Gazette's Joe Paisley confirmed that Colorado College is part of the Breakaways. Interestingly, CC athletic director Ken Ralph, who would not confirm, said "if" there is a press conference in the Springs next Wednesday, as reported, that it would not be held on the CC campus. (By the way, the World Arena is not on campus. Just a thought.)

The Denver Post's Mike Chambers got some telling comments from Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky before the Herald's story broke: "We want to be aligned, and want to continue to be aligned, with schools of like-minded thinking (that) operate as we do. If that means the WCHA schools, that's great. ... Our intention is continue to be a strong partner with the other members of the WCHA while the process continues."

College Hockey News has some full-scale coverage, including Adam Wodon's wondering why exactly this is happening.

And there's more on USCHO, including Todd Milewski's look at some comments WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod made on Tuesday. Among them: "There's going to be some awful, awful hard feelings."

UPDATE: More links!

Kevin Pates of the Duluth News-Tribune has one of the most extensive articles of yet, with quotes from Bruce McLeod, a report that Western Michigan apparently is out and the possibility of Versus (!!!) being a TV home for the Breakaways.

Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal says, "Don't blame the Big Ten." PucKato tends to agree with most of his opinions on this well, thought-out piece.

Chris Dilks of the Western College Hockey Blog, adds to the list of questions that will have to be asked next week in Colorado Springs. (Seriously, Colorado Springs?)

Update: Reports say 'Super League' is done deal

Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman wasn't kidding when he called the college hockey landscape "volatile" on Wednesday.

The Grand Forks Herald is reporting that the "Super League" is a done deal and that five teams will leave the Western Collegiate Hockey Association to start their own conference with Miami of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association starting in the 2013-14 season, the same season as the Big Ten starts its hockey conference.

UPDATE: Read Shane Frederick's Free Press story here.

The schools leaving the WCHA include North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Minnesota Duluth and Nebraska-Omaha. CCHA members Notre Dame and Western Michigan are not part of the group currently but could be by the end of the summer, the Herald reported.

Brad Scholssman's story (Schlossman, by the way, has been all over this story — great job) has since been confirmed by writers in Duluth and Omaha. Word is that a press conference will take place next Wednesday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

These are the dominos falling ever since Penn State announced it was adding hockey last year. That gave the Big Ten six teams — enough to make the sport league-official — and WCHA members Minnesota and Wisconsin, along with the CCHA's Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, announced they were leaving their respective conferences after the 2012-13 season. 

The remaining "power" hockey programs appear to be pooling their muscle in order to rival that league.

This, of course, leaves the WCHA with five teams — not enough for NCAA tournament qualifying. So what will Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, Alaska-Anchorage and Michigan Tech do? In Thursday's Free Press, Buisman said that those schools have spoken about contingency plans. He didn't elaborate on what those were, but they'd better be legit.

One option the leftover WCHA teams would have would be to join forces with those remaining in the CCHA — Alaska (Fairbanks), Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Ferris State and Bowling Green. Independent Alabama-Hunstville is still searching for a home, too.

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.