The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

The problem with the assertion that was made is that the situations with the old WCHA and the new WCHA are COMPLETELY different. I understand that there were philosophical differences when it comes to financial matters, but the financial realities changed when the NCHC schools left. We lost 3 very profitable programs from the conference and 3 very big draws to a conference tournament when they left. The conference tourney still would have been just fine. Now you're left with some of the least profitable programs to start with and (probably) the most spread out conference from a travel standpoint. To compare those two situations is stacking the deck for the sake of making an argument. There very well may be some valid arguments to make, but this isn't indicative of anything. I would argue that this is proving the new economic reality of everything and this kind of move would likely only be made if it were the difference between making money and losing money for a program. It's not a matter of making $100,000 and making $80,000, it's more likely that you're talking about a program making $10,000 and losing $10,000. I think this is a matter of a NCHC supporter saving face and using this as a reason when it's not actually indicative of anything.

Realistically, this is a chicken and the egg type problem. Did the NCHC teams leave primarily for future financial concerns? Or, did the nWCHA have financial issues because the NCHC teams left? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. That being said, McLeod looks like a buffoon that doesn't know what's going on...

http://www.miningjournal.net/page/bl...sxVZw.facebook

Information provided by WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod may not have been accurate concerning the league playoff structure. According to a source, Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage would receive a first-round bye if either wins the WCHA regular season title. McLeod told The Mining Journal otherwise, that both will meet in the first round no matter what and that the next highest seed not from Alaska would receive a bye. Here is how McLeod explained it:

McLeod: "Let's just say Anchorage and Fairbanks are 1 and 2. Well they're going to play. You know what I mean? So who gets the bye? We got to take a closer look at it. Right now, it would be No. 3. You know what I mean?"

The source asked not to be named because the league told all coaches, athletic directors and presidents to let the league office handle inquiries.

[Bale]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Agreed, it is somewhere in the middle. Too many nchc bobos immediately pointed to this as proof that they had to make this move. I just think it's grabbing at straws to save face. I think when all is said and done, this deal gets scrapped.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Agreed, it is somewhere in the middle. Too many nchc bobos immediately pointed to this as proof that they had to make this move. I just think it's grabbing at straws to save face. I think when all is said and done, this deal gets scrapped.

Agreed, although I wouldn't necessarily characterize it as grabbing at straws...just making a faulty argument that doesn't need to get made. I hope you are right about the deal getting scrapped. It's a joke that a D-1 conference would allow this "Alaska Plan" and is completely unfair to everyone in the league, including the Alaska schools.

[Goon]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Realistically, this is a chicken and the egg type problem. Did the NCHC teams leave primarily for future financial concerns? Or, did the nWCHA have financial issues because the NCHC teams left? The answer is probably somewhere in the middle. That being said, McLeod looks like a buffoon that doesn't know what's going on...

http://www.miningjournal.net/page/bl...sxVZw.facebook

Well said, I just think that McLeod is a buffoon and is one of major reason UND, DU, UNO, C.C. and UMD left the WCHA. I also think that SCSU saw this as well and that is why they tried to get into the NCHC so hard when they first didn't.

[5mn_Major]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Well said, I just think that McLeod is a buffoon and is one of major reason UND, DU, UNO, C.C. and UMD left the WCHA.

Ya...that's why they left.

[davyd83]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

The reason the bigger money schools left was they didn't want the smaller schools holding them back and sharing their money. North Dakota didn't want to be on equal footing with Michigan Tech or Mankato when it came to the policy and decision making processes. As for the mid sized schools, you can rest assured that without the AmSoil Center and a national title and without revenue generating renovations to the NHC, that neither Duluth nor St Cloud would have been brought along.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

The reason the bigger money schools left was they didn't want the smaller schools holding them back and sharing their money. North Dakota didn't want to be on equal footing with Michigan Tech or Mankato when it came to the policy and decision making processes. As for the mid sized schools, you can rest assured that without the AmSoil Center and a national title and without revenue generating renovations to the NHC, that neither Duluth nor St Cloud would have been brought along.

Exactly. Any other explanation is just some HUGE Mistake supporter trying, unsuccessfully, to save face.

[giwan]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Don't care anymore why they left, it's done, only the hate, vile and resentment are left.

Any tournament, or neutral site game, regardless of sport relies on; fans that travel well, interested alum in that area, or locals with some level of interest in the sport. You can see low attendance in any sport, college bball, lower level bowls in football, and hell I'd even have some doubts to the Super Bowl if it was not so corporate driven. It's already been discussed how the NCAA site choices were poor.

That being said which WCHA, (no more nWCHA) teams and locations fit a neutral site location? Example a fairly large alumni base for MTU in the metro Detroit area. How did Ferris travel for their NCAA run? I read about several buses heading down, did they do the same for their conference tourney?

A pet peeve I have always had is how the first round of a conference tourney is a best of three and then you go into the tourney for a one game elimination. Counter intuitive to me. It has been the reason I always believed a best of 3 the entire way thru made sense.

Side note, mCLOUD may not be the reason for the league split up, but he surely did not help the situation anymore then a band-aid does in stopping a femoral artery bleed.

[4four4]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

The reason the bigger money schools left was they didn't want the smaller schools holding them back and sharing their money. North Dakota didn't want to be on equal footing with Michigan Tech or Mankato when it came to the policy and decision making processes. As for the mid sized schools, you can rest assured that without the AmSoil Center and a national title and without revenue generating renovations to the NHC, that neither Duluth nor St Cloud would have been brought along.

Same can be said about Miami and Western Michigan. So you are saying if none of the four schools upgrades their program we wouldn't be seeing the new conference formed?

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Same can be said about Miami and Western Michigan. So you are saying if none of the four schools upgrades their program we wouldn't be seeing the new conference formed?

I was under the impression that the NCHC approached BC and BU first and foremost. When they declined to leave Hockey East, and then Notre Dame balked, that's when the charter members of the NCHC plucked the largest of the remaining WCHA and CCHA programs.

[bronconick]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

I was under the impression that the NCHC approached BC and BU first and foremost. When they declined to leave Hockey East, and then Notre Dame balked, that's when the charter members of the NCHC plucked the largest of the remaining WCHA and CCHA programs.

This has been what I've always thought. They had the original 6 (5 WCHA+Miami) and they tried to get ND, and peel away the Boston schools so then the NCAA would basically be the Big Ten, the NCHC and everyone else. When that failed, then we and St. Cloud got phone calls. Otherwise, what's the point of making your league with "charter members" and then inviting more 2 months later? They were going down the list of their hopefuls. My school was already whoring itself out for whatever they could get so they knew we'd jump. If SCSU had said no, I suspect they would have asked BG next.

Not really sure why they thought BC would be interested, though. Outside of hockey, they run up epic travel costs in every other sport in the ACC. Why add hockey to that list?

[davyd83]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Same can be said about Miami and Western Michigan. So you are saying if none of the four schools upgrades their program we wouldn't be seeing the new conference formed?

I will say that Miam, where it already was in the world of college hockey, was certainly ready from an arena, financial commitment and quality of program status. Western only recently gave their program the financial boost that was needed, with a huge thanks to the departure of Judi Bailey from the President's chair. If Western had the same commitment to their hockey program that they did in 2006, they would still be in the CCHA. They were a D-I MAC school playing with a GLIAC school's support.

[giwan]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

Not really sure why they thought BC would be interested, though. Outside of hockey, they run up epic travel costs in every other sport in the ACC. Why add hockey to that list?

Seriously they thought the Boston schools would move? I mean really, maybe I'm **** naive but I could not see them moving away from being East coast based.

[Jimjamesak]

Agreed, although I wouldn't necessarily characterize it as grabbing at straws...just making a faulty argument that doesn't need to get made. I hope you are right about the deal getting scrapped. It's a joke that a D-1 conference would allow this "Alaska Plan" and is completely unfair to everyone in the league, including the Alaska schools.

Yeah this "Alaska Plan" is a joke. I have the feeling both of us are being used to generate playoff revenue.

[bronconick]

Re: The New WCHA 2, The Electric Boogaloo (2013-14)

The part where "Oh, if they finish 1-2, the 3 seed will get a bye to the conference semis" is even worse then the original suggestion.

And to paraphrase what Ciskie said on his blog today, if you're considering something this drastic for your postseason tournament to save on costs, you need to just plan on having all games played on campus sites until you're more financially set. No talking to the XCel Center or whoever.