ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

[Hockey Monk]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Even though there is only (extreme) anecdotal evidence to support this, I remain firmly convinced that the University of Nebraska is either going to establish a D-1 program or they are, at the very least, going to give it a very serious look.

1. UNL's soon to be completed Pinnacle Bank Arena has been built (and, this was an add-on after construction began) with all the piping necessary in the concrete floor to make ice although the other ancillary equipment has not yet been purchased.

2. Besides the construction of the Pinnacle facility, the Breslow Ice Arena is about to be built right next to it!!! Read between the lines of this article:

http://journalstar.com/news/local/go...6fbc46cc4.html

Plus, this facility is specifically being built so that seating can be added to the nominal amount it's getting out of the box.

3. UNL's new Athletic Director is the man behind the building of the Kohl Center at Wisconsin and comes from a hockey background.

If this isn't in the thought process here, why on Earth is all this being done? These are both UNL operated facilities. Perhaps we're just building places to play hockey, that are operated by the university, all in the same area of town where Haymarket Park and Memorial Stadium are located, just for the heck of it. All these facilities are walking distance from each other!

Trust me, the money to do this is NOT an issue an at Nebraska. The NU Foundation, in the article above as much as says so, by remarking they don't know what the Breslow Ice Arena is going to cost, and the project lead didn't make it sound like she even cared what the final tab is going to be. The NU Foundation is rumored around here to have mountains of cash. Let us not forget that the richest man in the world is a graduate of this school and that his middle name is "philanthropy".

If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, it's a duck.

And, for the UNO fans around here reading this, I find the notion that there was or is any sort of quid pro quo between Trev Alberts and Tom Osborne about hockey at UNL absurd (as it supposedly related to the abolishment of both wrestling and football at UNO). Frankly, I think UNO might even benefit from UNL having a team. Plus, they would be in a totally different conference. Instant rivalry? Uh, yeah, I think so. The Omaha Lancers have certainly benefited from the Lincoln Stars presence, however I think UNL going D-1 might not be a good thing for the Stars. It is a lot smaller town than Omaha and there are only so many hockey dollars there.

The press here has even openly speculated about this now:

https://twitter.com/ericolson64/stat...10335921692672

Eric Olson is the Husker beat writer for the Lincoln Journal Star. If this happens, it'll be sooner than he says, I think.

Interesting Husker Hockey (ACHA, Div. 3) tidbit. They don't even play in Lincoln! They play at Sidner Ice Arena in Fremont, Nebraska. That is something that is changing for sure once the Breslow facility is built.

I think Nebraska and Penn State mirror eachother. Solid football programs and weak basketball programs with a need for winter/spring entertainment. Basketball will never be anything special at either school yet both schools have an abundance of hockey talent in their back yards. I would say Nebraska has more of an advantage recruiting hockey players than football players with all the talent in the USHL in Neb/Iowa. Nebraska also has an awesome fan base that supports the school. I could only imagine what the turnout and atmosphere would be when the big dogs like Minn, Wisco, Mich, UNO, etc roll into Lincoln.

Both are going to have new shinny barns so my fingers are crossed and I would even donate to the school if they made hockey happen.

[joecct]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Lacrosse is the **** sport to add these days, not hockey.

[Red Cows]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Possibly significant breaking news today about Nebraska that might impact my little soliloquy above about Husker Hockey.

I did not even mention or examine the possible Title 9 implications of the Huskers adding hockey above. Today, the Huskers added a new D-1 sport to the women's side of that ledger:

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.d...CLID=205896263

Note that the article says the NCAA considers it a separate sport so I assume that any crossover players from the regular volleyball squad (who are eligible) that elect to play in this sport are, I assume, separate additional female athletes. I believe that Title 9 regs cover the number of athletes by gender at a school, and not necessarily the total number of sports available by gender? I am sure somebody knows better than I, here. I am not real up to speed on the actual nuts and bolts of the legislative wording of Title 9, which was part of an education law enacted by Congress in the early '70's.

In any event, this can't help but be a positive thing for the Title 9 perspective of adding hockey at Nebraska one would think. If you're an unabashed optimist, you could even wonder if this was seen/done as a necessary precursor to doing so.

One thing I don't know a lot about is the actual Title 9 situation at Nebraska. Perhaps somebody here can enlighten us. It certainly is going to play a roll in any school's desire to add hockey. It legally has to.

I'll say this, sand volleyball cannot be very expensive to run and it isn't going to even start out as a scholarship sport at NU, either.

Whether or not this has anything overtly to do with hockey at Nebraska, it's a positive sign in the realm of the possibilities of it.

edit: This now makes 14 women's sports and 10 men's at NU.

There is also now threads at Huskermax in the both the volleyball and football forums where there is some hockey speculation going on as a result of this announcement today. A lot of it dumb beyond words, I might add.

[davyd83]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Possibly significant breaking news today about Nebraska that might impact my little soliloquy above about Husker Hockey.

I did not even mention or examine the possible Title 9 implications of the Huskers adding hockey above. Today, the Huskers added a new D-1 sport to the women's side of that ledger:

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.d...CLID=205896263

Note that the article says the NCAA considers it a separate sport so I assume that any crossover players from the regular volleyball squad (who are eligible) that elect to play in this sport are, I assume, separate additional female athletes. I believe that Title 9 regs cover the number of athletes by gender at a school, and not necessarily the total number of sports available by gender? I am sure somebody knows better than I, here. I am not real up to speed on the actual nuts and bolts of the legislative wording of Title 9, which was part of an education law enacted by Congress in the early '70's.

In any event, this can't help but be a positive thing for the Title 9 perspective of adding hockey at Nebraska one would think. If you're an unabashed optimist, you could even wonder if this was seen/done as a necessary precursor to doing so.

One thing I don't know a lot about is the actual Title 9 situation at Nebraska. Perhaps somebody here can enlighten us. It certainly is going to play a roll in any school's desire to add hockey. It legally has to.

I'll say this, sand volleyball cannot be very expensive to run and it isn't going to even start out as a scholarship sport at NU, either.

Whether or not this has anything overtly to do with hockey at Nebraska, it's a positive sign in the realm of the possibilities of it.

edit: This now makes 14 women's sports and 10 men's at NU.

There is also now threads at Huskermax in the both the volleyball and football forums where there is some hockey speculation going on as a result of this announcement today. A lot of it dumb beyond words, I might add.

I'm pretty sure that if it's not a scholarship sport, the numbers won't count. I think you have to offer a proportional number of scholarships.

[SteveP]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

edit: This now makes 14 women's sports and 10 men's at NU.

Well dayum, why isn't the ACLU on this like slop on a hog? Clearly, it's a case of discrimination against Husker men!

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Well dayum, why isn't the ACLU on this like slop on a hog? Clearly, it's a case of discrimination against Husker men!

It's all about scholarships. How many scholarships are given to Men at Nebraska, and how many are given to Women? If women now have 18 more scholarships than men...we may be on to something.

[5mn_Major]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Can Lincoln support a big time hockey program, esp with UNO next door? And if they start one, does UNO take a hit? Seems like it would be two big time programs there for a relatively small hockey community.

[MGoBlueHockey]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Believe it or not folks, hockey is catching on in of all places: Tuscaloosa. Yes, I'm not kidding.

I unfortunately have relatives I was visiting down in Birmingham last year, and you should have seen the packed house for the Alabama "Frozen Tide" ACHA game. They play their games in Birmingham, and I'm not kidding, the place was sold out.

Just some food for thought.

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Can Lincoln support a big time hockey program, esp with UNO next door? And if they start one, does UNO take a hit? Seems like it would be two big time programs there for a relatively small hockey community.

Omaha is a good hockey community, and I think UNO would be fine. I think the Lincoln USHL squad would be the biggest loser in this scenario.

[Red Cows]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

It's all about scholarships. How many scholarships are given to Men at Nebraska, and how many are given to Women? If women now have 18 more scholarships than men...we may be on to something.

Yeah, I've since found that that total is the key. I am going to look into this.

[Red Cows]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

I'm pretty sure that if it's not a scholarship sport, the numbers won't count. I think you have to offer a proportional number of scholarships.

It's not starting out as a scholarship sport, you are correct. Whether that changes in the future..............

[Red Cows]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

Omaha is a good hockey community, and I think UNO would be fine. I think the Lincoln USHL squad would be the biggest loser in this scenario.

Agreed.

During the '05-'06 and '06-'07 seasons here in Omaha, we had 3 different hockey teams. The Omaha Lancers (USHL), the UNO Mavericks (NCAA), and the Omaha Knights (AHL).

While 3 teams were too many and the Knights ultimately left for the Quad Cities, there were a couple occasions in that time frame were all three teams were playing at home on the same night here in Omaha, and there was more than 15,000 people, total, at the three venues, those being, the Omaha Civic Auditorium, where the Knights were then playing, the Mid-America Center across the river in Council Bluffs, where the Lancers were then playing, and, at what was then called the Qwest Center, now the Centurylink Center, where UNO plays.

The Knights were, frankly, seen by a lot of people, me included, as unneeded and unwanted interlopers here, though. I never went to a game and would not have. I actually had the pleasure of meeting the Knights GM, Doug Soetaert, at a speaking engagement, right before the Knights first season started, and flat told him to his face I thought the Knights were facing an uphill battle here in Omaha. He was dismayed by my opinion (which I ended up being right about, ultimately).

This is a great hockey town, though. When I moved here in 1990 and found this out first-hand I was stunned. The Omaha Lancers refer to themselves regularly as the Montreal Canadiens of junior hockey in the United States as well "the most successful amateur sport franchise in the United States". They sold out 241 consecutive games at the Aksarben Coliseum in the '90's, where they used to play that has since been torn down. That building seated 6,124 for hockey. And UNO has consistently been in the top 5 or 10 of NCAA attendance every year of the program's existence.

Here's a 5 year old article from NBC Sports on the hockey scene in Omaha:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/17549367/from/ET/

I think UNO would be helped by the presence of a team in Lincoln, not hurt by it. As I said, like FS23 did, also, I think the Lincoln Stars would be adversely affected by a Husker D-1 team, no question, though. The metro area population of Lincoln is around 300,000. This isn't Canada or Minnesota and that's one too many teams, I would think, in a town that size. Lincolnites would obviously cast their hockey dollars at a Husker team--it would be a given.

[UncleRay]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

This is a great hockey town, though. When I moved here in 1990 and found this out first-hand I was stunned. The Omaha Lancers refer to themselves regularly as the Montreal Canadiens of junior hockey in the United States as well "the most successful amateur sport franchise in the United States". They sold out 241 consecutive games at the Aksarben Coliseum in the '90's, where they used to play that has since been torn down. That building seated 6,124 for hockey. And UNO has consistently been in the top 5 or 10 of NCAA attendance every year of the program's existence.

I seem to remember a thread that pointed out that UNO comps a lot of tickets and that their paid attendance figures - which I believe are the most relevant - are no where near the attendance figures that they publish (the ones you are talking about).

[Red Cows]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

I seem to remember a thread that pointed out that UNO comps a lot of tickets and that their paid attendance figures - which I believe are the most relevant - are no where near the attendance figures that they publish (the ones you are talking about).

Take a look at this post I made in this season's UNO season thread on this very topic (item #5 on this list):

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.ph...=1#post5580631

This is either BS or the issue is being WAY overstated and I explain why I believe it to be so in my post.

[Rhett]

Re: ACHA D1 to NCAA D1

It's not starting out as a scholarship sport, you are correct. Whether that changes in the future..............

Looks like the current cap is 4 with the number going up by 1 each of the next 2 school years. NU could just phase in schollies when they add their next men's team. Still wouldn't offset the full 18 hockey rides, but it's a start.