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."
Friday, July 8, 2011
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?)
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?)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
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 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.
"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.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
UMD invited to "superleague" discussion
According to the Duluth News-Tribune's Kevin Pates, national champion Minnesota Duluth has been invited to participate in discussions of a breakaway college hockey conference of power programs. Read Pates' blog on the news here.
Pates names mores schools in the yet-to-be-proposed league, including WCHA members North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College and Nebraska-Omaha and CCHA members Notre Dame, Miami and Western Michigan. However, he said it's not known who exactly is leading this charge.
Duluth athletic director Bob Nielsen didn't comment specifically about a superleague, but told the News-Tribune: "We're concerned about the college hockey landscape. We're looking at all the options of what could happen. Our hockey program is very important to our school and we want to be proactive.
"Our approach is to be active and examine potential opportunities and have conversation about the future of Division I. Our intent is to be a member of the WCHA, but we're considering options."
Stay tuned.
Pates names mores schools in the yet-to-be-proposed league, including WCHA members North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College and Nebraska-Omaha and CCHA members Notre Dame, Miami and Western Michigan. However, he said it's not known who exactly is leading this charge.
Duluth athletic director Bob Nielsen didn't comment specifically about a superleague, but told the News-Tribune: "We're concerned about the college hockey landscape. We're looking at all the options of what could happen. Our hockey program is very important to our school and we want to be proactive.
"Our approach is to be active and examine potential opportunities and have conversation about the future of Division I. Our intent is to be a member of the WCHA, but we're considering options."
Stay tuned.
I want answers?!?!
Brad Schlossman's Grand Forks Herald article about the possibility of another exodus out of the WCHA in 2013 certainly raises a lot of questions. Here are a few that PucKato has ...
1. Competitively, the WCHA should still be pretty strong without Minnesota and Wisconsin. With North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota Duluth (the national champs), Nebraska-Omaha and Colorado College, that's a pretty strong upper tier. As for the rest, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State and Minnesota State have been to NCAA tournaments. So, really, what's the problem?
2. The idea of a power conference has always bugged me. Hey, North Dakota, Denver, Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College, Notre Dame and Miami and others: You realize someone's going to finish last, right? When's the last time that happened to you in your current league? You realize that you can't all make the NCAA tournament every year, right?
3. If there is a string running through the schools rumored to be in a new league, it's that they're the remaining western, across-the-board Division I schools, right? Well, except that Colorado College is Division III, and another DI school, Bowling Green, is never mentioned in these scenarios. Why? From a rivalry standpoint, CC probably needs to do whatever Denver does.
4. Schlossman's article mentions the conference being made of remaining hockey powers. Why wouldn't Minnesota Duluth be considered? (Or are they?) The Bulldogs are, after all, defending national champions, and they also have a brand-spankin'-new arena. Plus, coach Scott Sandelin is now being paid like a coach at one of those others schools now after making approximately the same as MSU's Troy Jutting last season.
5. Where will the money come from? The WCHA is already suffering a blow by losing the Gophers and the Badgers. As it stands, it's hard to imagine the conference's big money maker — the conference tournament and the Final Five — making as much money for the schools as it did before. What will happen after another pullout? It would be devastating to MSU and the remaining WCHA schools (basically the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Hockey Conference), but, other than having a conference tournament at Ralph Englestad Arena every year, how is this new conference expecting to rake in the dough — especially when you take all of the Minnesota fans out of the equation (there's a reason why the Final Five's been held in the Twin Cities since 1999)?
Finally, I opined a little more on this subject in Tuesday's Free Press. Read that column here. Long story short: The WCHA leadership can't allow the demise of the conference on their watch.
1. Competitively, the WCHA should still be pretty strong without Minnesota and Wisconsin. With North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota Duluth (the national champs), Nebraska-Omaha and Colorado College, that's a pretty strong upper tier. As for the rest, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State and Minnesota State have been to NCAA tournaments. So, really, what's the problem?
2. The idea of a power conference has always bugged me. Hey, North Dakota, Denver, Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College, Notre Dame and Miami and others: You realize someone's going to finish last, right? When's the last time that happened to you in your current league? You realize that you can't all make the NCAA tournament every year, right?
3. If there is a string running through the schools rumored to be in a new league, it's that they're the remaining western, across-the-board Division I schools, right? Well, except that Colorado College is Division III, and another DI school, Bowling Green, is never mentioned in these scenarios. Why? From a rivalry standpoint, CC probably needs to do whatever Denver does.
4. Schlossman's article mentions the conference being made of remaining hockey powers. Why wouldn't Minnesota Duluth be considered? (Or are they?) The Bulldogs are, after all, defending national champions, and they also have a brand-spankin'-new arena. Plus, coach Scott Sandelin is now being paid like a coach at one of those others schools now after making approximately the same as MSU's Troy Jutting last season.
5. Where will the money come from? The WCHA is already suffering a blow by losing the Gophers and the Badgers. As it stands, it's hard to imagine the conference's big money maker — the conference tournament and the Final Five — making as much money for the schools as it did before. What will happen after another pullout? It would be devastating to MSU and the remaining WCHA schools (basically the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Hockey Conference), but, other than having a conference tournament at Ralph Englestad Arena every year, how is this new conference expecting to rake in the dough — especially when you take all of the Minnesota fans out of the equation (there's a reason why the Final Five's been held in the Twin Cities since 1999)?
Finally, I opined a little more on this subject in Tuesday's Free Press. Read that column here. Long story short: The WCHA leadership can't allow the demise of the conference on their watch.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Is it the end of the WCHA as we know it?
Minnesota and Wisconsin will be leaving the Western Collegiate Hockey Association after the 2012-13 season to join the new Big Ten hockey conference, along with Penn State and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State.
Will North Dakota and others also be jumping ship?
According to an article by the Grand Forks Herald's Brad Schlossman, North Dakota appears to be well beyond just initial discussions about forming a new hockey conference along with, as the article says, "remaining powers in the WCHA and CCHA" ... "schools that have similar philosophies about their hockey programs and are willing to invest in them and create new media opportunities."
Schlossman reports that it's believed that eight teams could be in the mix and mentions WCHA members Nebraska-Omaha and Colorado College and CCHA members Notre Dame, Miami and Western Michigan. Presumably, Denver would be one of the teams, too (although DU is not mentioned in the article), and there are rumors of a Hockey East team.
Who else might be in the mix?
If this happens, the WCHA would be left with Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, Alaska Anchorage and Michigan Tech, while the CCHA would have just five teams — Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Ferris State, Alaska, Bowling Green — one less than the six required for NCAA postseason eligibility. Independent Alabama-Huntsville, however, is still looking for a conference home.
Earlier this year, rumors of a so-called "super six" conference were dismissed, now Schlossman reports that something could play out by the end of the summer.
North Dakota athletic director Brian Faison said in the piece that he has concerned with the WCHA's current administration and also called the situation "an emotional decision," and "a business decision." So is this really on track or is it just a bluff?
The WCHA is also looking into the possibility of adding new teams. Both Notre Dame and Miami have been mentioned, but WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said in the article (as he has in the past) that he wants to be careful and is not interested in ruining the CCHA. Notre Dame is rumored to be being courted by Hockey East, too.
I'll have some more thoughts on this later this weekend and, hopefully, some local reaction after the holiday.
Will North Dakota and others also be jumping ship?
According to an article by the Grand Forks Herald's Brad Schlossman, North Dakota appears to be well beyond just initial discussions about forming a new hockey conference along with, as the article says, "remaining powers in the WCHA and CCHA" ... "schools that have similar philosophies about their hockey programs and are willing to invest in them and create new media opportunities."
Schlossman reports that it's believed that eight teams could be in the mix and mentions WCHA members Nebraska-Omaha and Colorado College and CCHA members Notre Dame, Miami and Western Michigan. Presumably, Denver would be one of the teams, too (although DU is not mentioned in the article), and there are rumors of a Hockey East team.
Who else might be in the mix?
If this happens, the WCHA would be left with Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, Alaska Anchorage and Michigan Tech, while the CCHA would have just five teams — Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Ferris State, Alaska, Bowling Green — one less than the six required for NCAA postseason eligibility. Independent Alabama-Huntsville, however, is still looking for a conference home.
Earlier this year, rumors of a so-called "super six" conference were dismissed, now Schlossman reports that something could play out by the end of the summer.
North Dakota athletic director Brian Faison said in the piece that he has concerned with the WCHA's current administration and also called the situation "an emotional decision," and "a business decision." So is this really on track or is it just a bluff?
The WCHA is also looking into the possibility of adding new teams. Both Notre Dame and Miami have been mentioned, but WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said in the article (as he has in the past) that he wants to be careful and is not interested in ruining the CCHA. Notre Dame is rumored to be being courted by Hockey East, too.
I'll have some more thoughts on this later this weekend and, hopefully, some local reaction after the holiday.
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