The end of leagues as we know?

[Happy]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

I believe that BTN is targeting Fri nights which are typically open. What happens on a Sat. depends on who's playing that night, more then likely you'll see basketball before hockey.

They will be playing some games Sunday afternoon to fill that time slot.

[Happy]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

What's funny to me is that we all talk about the new national exposure. I wonder if that will truly be the case. Do you think that the BTN will show college hockey over hoops and football? Not to mention, does anyone really think even if more games are on the BTN that more people will watch?

I am looking forward to see if there will be more casual college hockey coverage at the main stream sports media because of the coverage on the BTN. I expect there will be a bit more coverage because the games will be nationally available, and give writers something to fill space with.

[WildShawn]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

I know that this will rile many feathers but how about a true East/West "powerhouse" league consisting of:

Maine
UNH
BU
BC
Providence
UMass

Miami
Notre Dame
UNO
North Dakota
CC
Denver

Scheduling - 3 games vs. division, 1 game vs. each vs. other division, total league games = 21

Travel partners - Maine/UNH, BC/BU, UMass/Providence, Miami/ND, UND/UNO, CC/Denver

Something about umass and providence being mentioned in the same breath as powerhouse makes me chuckle

[bronconick]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

I am looking forward to see if there will be more casual college hockey coverage at the main stream sports media because of the coverage on the BTN. I expect there will be a bit more coverage because the games will be nationally available, and give writers something to fill space with.

You might get a handful more highlights on ESPN outside of the Beanpot, I suppose. Maybe a couple top tens on a goal or two.

[giwan]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

I am looking forward to see if there will be more casual college hockey coverage at the main stream sports media because of the coverage on the BTN. I expect there will be a bit more coverage because the games will be nationally available, and give writers something to fill space with.

If the other media outlets see that the BTN is garnering a lot of eyes then you will see other outlets follow along. They are all copy cats.

[sandiegoblkbr]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

Something about umass and providence being mentioned in the same breath as powerhouse makes me chuckle

Does Vermont and Northeastern sound better??? How about Merrimack and Lowell????

If this came to fruition, there is no way that BC and Notre Dame are going to leave Providence hanging. And UMass has more upside than Vermont.....better facilities, potential bigger fan base, FBS football.......they just need a new coach.

[komey1]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

If the other media outlets see that the BTN is garnering a lot of eyes then you will see other outlets follow along. They are all copy cats.

Definately. I remain skeptical that this move will garner more casual interest - in fact it might do less. People may be more inclined to watch a Minnesota game. Will that be the case for an Ohio St-Penn St HOCKEY game?

[bronconick]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

Definately. I remain skeptical that this move will garner more casual interest - in fact it might do less. People may be more inclined to watch a Minnesota game. Will that be the case for an Ohio St-Penn St HOCKEY game?

It's live sports they can cover, pretty much like volleyball. When the national title game usually hovers between 1 and 2 million, I doubt that any regular season game even involving "name" schools is going to manage more then 500,000, which is about a 0.4. If they manage that, it's because the BTN decides to do a better job of hyping the game during other events that get higher ratings, like football and basketball. Casual fans don't really follow hockey. *shrug*

[wsummers]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

Just a couple of comments from a current CCHA..soon to be BTHC observer.

First...I don't see any possibility that any HE team would leave for the west.

Second, it looks like Notre Dame is the key to this. Notre Dame has three choices and the choice they make will likely determine how the rest will fall.

One choice is to stay put. If they do they maintain a league where they can bus to most games instead of fly. They also have a league in which along with Miami they will have an excellent chance to make it to the NCAA every year. The downside is TV interest in the CCHA will certainly be down along with revenue. Currently Fox Sports Detroit is an unofficial UM/MSU network because that is where the advertiser interest is. Almost all games they televise involve one of those teams...and most are after the end of the football season. While UM/MSU will certainly schedule some road games against CCHA opponents, they would mostly be during the first part of the year when Fox Sports Detroit would have little interest in televising college hockey. By January they'd be stuck with Miami vs Ferris State which wouldn't be much of a draw in their core viewing area.

The second choice is to form a new conference with North Dakota, Denver, Miami, WMU, UNO, CC, and UMD. This would mean flying to most games. To make up for the increased costs they would need to generate more revenue. Could the new league secure a good TV package? CBS College Sports is probably the only network that might be interested...and I'm not sure how much they would be willing to pay for the rights.

The downside of this option is that Notre Dame is less likely to make it to the NCAA as it would be much harder to have a winning record in the new super conference. In a conference of the best of the rest of the west, probably only about 2 or 3 would make it to the big show each year.

The other downside is a likely decrease in the number of D-I teams which in turn could decrease the tourney from 16 to 12 teams (or maybe even 8). This would severely impact the number of at-large bids.

The remaining not-good-enough for the new super conference schools would be the St. Clouds, MTU, Lake States, and Ferris States. They would likely band together to form a new conference. In the process, it's unlikely for financial reasons they would invite the Alaska schools or Alabama. Let's assume that the leftover teams (excluding Alaska) were: BSU, MSU, SCSU and MTU from the current WCHA and BG, FSU, LSSU, and NMU from the current CCHA. They could have a 20 game schedule by playing their own division 4 times and the opposite 2 times. This would mean two bus trips to the other division each year. They could try to schedule the remaining games against the BT or the new super conference. (BT will only have a 20 game schedule, so it could work.) Without a conference, I can't see the three outlier teams making it as independents. It's also unlikely TV would have much interest in this league. With less income and exposure a couple could fold in a few years.

The third choice would be for Notre Dame to join HE. If they did, I'd expect Miami to join at the same time (or alternately join the WCHA). The WCHA would still be pretty strong, however, it's likely the CCHA couldn't survive and would need to merge with the WCHA or fold. Even with a merger a few teams might decide to drop hockey. There also would be no guarantee UAH would be invited to join.

As I said at the top...I really see this as a Notre Dame decision. What they decide will dictate the direction other schools go....and with it the future of college hockey.

[uaafanblog]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

UNO and Western Michigan inclusion ... um ... ooooookayyy

Go Broncos

[wsummers]

UNO and Western Michigan inclusion ... um ... ooooookayyy

Go Broncos

All rumors are they are being included in the discussion...And are both DI schools.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

Does Vermont and Northeastern sound better??? How about Merrimack and Lowell????

If this came to fruition, there is no way that BC and Notre Dame are going to leave Providence hanging. And UMass has more upside than Vermont.....better facilities, potential bigger fan base, FBS football.......they just need a new coach.

I'm sure in the poster's opinion, RPI/Union sounds better.

I don't know why we're even considering any eastern teams bolting, aside from that one minute possibility of Notre Dame trying to get into Hockey East.

Just two words come to mind on this topic: Western Bias.

[redhawk95]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

I am glad that my school is being proactive instead of reactive!!!

Me too.

[broncos24]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

UNO and Western Michigan inclusion ... um ... ooooookayyy

Go Broncos

UNO and WMU are schools, that in these tough fiscal times, have pumped serious money into their hockey programs.

WMU now has the Coach of the Year (by most publications) locked up for another 5 years and is bringing in talent that hasn't been here in decades.

Also, whether our fans like it or not, there is a very good possibility WMU will be playing in a new downtown arena in the next 4 to 5 years.

An up-and-coming coach is revitalitizing an up-and-coming program.

[Jasma]

Re: The end of leagues as we know?

Just a couple of comments from a current CCHA..soon to be BTHC observer.

First...I don't see any possibility that any HE team would leave for the west.

Second, it looks like Notre Dame is the key to this. Notre Dame has three choices and the choice they make will likely determine how the rest will fall.

One choice is to stay put. If they do they maintain a league where they can bus to most games instead of fly. They also have a league in which along with Miami they will have an excellent chance to make it to the NCAA every year. The downside is TV interest in the CCHA will certainly be down along with revenue. Currently Fox Sports Detroit is an unofficial UM/MSU network because that is where the advertiser interest is. Almost all games they televise involve one of those teams...and most are after the end of the football season. While UM/MSU will certainly schedule some road games against CCHA opponents, they would mostly be during the first part of the year when Fox Sports Detroit would have little interest in televising college hockey. By January they'd be stuck with Miami vs Ferris State which wouldn't be much of a draw in their core viewing area.

The second choice is to form a new conference with North Dakota, Denver, Miami, WMU, UNO, CC, and UMD. This would mean flying to most games. To make up for the increased costs they would need to generate more revenue. Could the new league secure a good TV package? CBS College Sports is probably the only network that might be interested...and I'm not sure how much they would be willing to pay for the rights.

The downside of this option is that Notre Dame is less likely to make it to the NCAA as it would be much harder to have a winning record in the new super conference. In a conference of the best of the rest of the west, probably only about 2 or 3 would make it to the big show each year.

The other downside is a likely decrease in the number of D-I teams which in turn could decrease the tourney from 16 to 12 teams (or maybe even 8). This would severely impact the number of at-large bids.

The remaining not-good-enough for the new super conference schools would be the St. Clouds, MTU, Lake States, and Ferris States. They would likely band together to form a new conference. In the process, it's unlikely for financial reasons they would invite the Alaska schools or Alabama. Let's assume that the leftover teams (excluding Alaska) were: BSU, MSU, SCSU and MTU from the current WCHA and BG, FSU, LSSU, and NMU from the current CCHA. They could have a 20 game schedule by playing their own division 4 times and the opposite 2 times. This would mean two bus trips to the other division each year. They could try to schedule the remaining games against the BT or the new super conference. (BT will only have a 20 game schedule, so it could work.) Without a conference, I can't see the three outlier teams making it as independents. It's also unlikely TV would have much interest in this league. With less income and exposure a couple could fold in a few years.

The third choice would be for Notre Dame to join HE. If they did, I'd expect Miami to join at the same time (or alternately join the WCHA). The WCHA would still be pretty strong, however, it's likely the CCHA couldn't survive and would need to merge with the WCHA or fold. Even with a merger a few teams might decide to drop hockey. There also would be no guarantee UAH would be invited to join.

As I said at the top...I really see this as a Notre Dame decision. What they decide will dictate the direction other schools go....and with it the future of college hockey.

this is a pretty good assessment of the situation. There is a lot of unsupported speculation, but that is the nature of these kinds of discussions when there is so much going on behind closed doors and so much yet to be decided.

The main point, that ND is the catalyst, is right on. If they stay put, then Miami likely stays put and the CCHA would survive. Your point about FOX Sports Detroit being less interested is valid and a problem for the new CCHA.

If I were the AD at ND I would try to broker a deal to get into Big 10 Hockey. They may be able to do that without moving the rest of their sports from the Big East, but football is still the stickling point if that happens. Don't rule out ND and Big 10 hockey. That could still happen.