Live Press Conference
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
11 AM MT
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| (above) The new hockey conference will announce its formation today at the Penrose House in Colorado Springs |
At 11 AM MT today athletic directors and head coaches from Colorado College, University of Denver, Miami University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of North Dakota will discuss the formation of a new collegiate hockey conference that will begin play in the 2013-14 season.
The press conference, which is closed to the public, will begin with an announcement broadcast live on the internet. Afterwards, representatives of the schools will break up into small groups and field questions from the media.
The press conference will be held at the Penrose House (built 1910), the former home of Colorado gold miner, philanthropist & Broadmoor Hotel founder Spencer Penrose. The Penrose House now serves as an education and conference center available exclusively for the nonprofit community to gather, discuss issues, and discover innovative solutions to challenges.
Penrose House is made available at no cost, except for meals, to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, government agencies and now, breakaway college hockey conferences. It is located next door to the world famous Broadmoor Hotel.
Dignitaries who have visited the Penrose House include Predident George H.W. Bush, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Dignitaries who have visited the Penrose House include Predident George H.W. Bush, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
34 comments:
I wonder how many of the questions asked will be some variation on the "what about Notre Dame?" theme....
While I sincerely hope The Irish come play with us; I fear that ND's current association with Big East basketball and HUGE alumni and fan base in the northeast may have them leaning east. All Hockey East would have to do is bring UConn into the fold and it could create two 6 team divisions.
Granted, the travel would suck (worse) and such a big league would limit non-conference scheduling, but I'm not sure ND would care on either account. Money is no object in South Bend, and with their shiny new barn, they've gotta be asking themselves, "who would we rather bring in here twice a year to ensure sellouts...Colorado College or Boston College?"
Hmm. You know, the more I think about it, the less confident I am that Notre Dame will join the Super Conference...
Boo.
I'm the opposite but I have no inside info. I'd put the odds at 70-30, ND joins the Super League.
Notre Dame probably already knows what they are doing and for whatever reason haven't announced it.
If they weren't joining the Super League they would have already have told them. If that were the case, the articles would of said the Super League was a six team league for now.
You would think if Notre Dame was going to HE there would be some college hockey beat writers in Boston/Maine/New Hampshire markets or some "people in the know" that would catch wind of this and be all over it. I can't find any place on-line that suggests there is big manuevering going on to bring the Irish on board.
To revisit my previous entry, I read strong implications in the Western Mich. A.D. statement that sounded like they had a "hand shake" with N.D. on staying together. If that is true, I don't see the eastern schools wanting to include W.Mich.
Just another clue to add to the puzzle.
1) The Irish have always recruited Western Players, and it is much harder to get eastern players to come West, in large part due to the academic quality of Eastern Schools.
2) Jackson is also a western coach as well.
3) The Catholic Religeon is already straing back east, where ND adds little. ND sees itself as a national school.
I think ND heads west.
Ring_of_Fire- its a little unfair to make that BC vs. CC comparison. That's like saying "would we rather bring in NoDaK and DU to ensure sellouts, or UMass Lowell and Merrimack."
Truth is, HE has a lot of very mediocre teams. BC, BU, and UNH are consistently contenders, while UMaine and UVM have good and bad years. But teams like UMass Lowell, Merrimack, Northeastern, UMass Amherst, and Providence are usually VERY long shots to even make the national tournament at the end of the year.
What I'm trying to say is that most of the teams ND would have to play in their HE schedule would be considered no names to the average fan.
Meanwhile, every single team in the super league can be considered a national contender on close to a yearly basis. DU, NoDak, Miami, and CC have all been rated #1 in the country at one point or another in the last 2-3 years. And Nebraska is considered one of the best up-and-coming programs in the country.
Yes, the BC vs. ND series' would be amazing and a sure-fire sell-out every time. But is it really worth it for ND to join a league just so they can play their rival BC a few extra times.
The way I see this situation, ND can join HE where they have a few great teams to play scattered throughout a top-heavy, underwhelmingly average HE (sounds like more of the CCHA to me). Or join the super eight and play national contenders from all over the country in all their league games.
Honestly, ND should just sign a contract with BC to play them every year in a non-league game like they do in football.
@ Anon 6:54
Well thought out and cogent points...particularly with regard to the "middle-to-bottom heavy" Hockey East conference.
See, DU and Notre Dame both hold special places in my heart and I'd love to have the chance to see them play each-other several times each year.
In the end, I suppose that I am just trying to not get my hopes up...only to have them dashed by the eternally mediocre Hockey East.
::fingers crossed::
I have no idea just like everyone else outside of South bend, but I think that if ND were serious about joining the Super 6, then it would have already happened. From my perspective, because UMD was asked to join so late in the process it seems to me that the Super 6 were gunning for ND, and when they wouldn't committ, they had to bring in UMD to guarantee the 6 team limit with hopes of working out the details later for grabbing ND and perhaps WM. However, as more time passes, I think the more likely HD heads East... but, I could be worng, its happened before.
I think we can now say Notre Dame is 80-20 to join the Super League. Sounds like they want a seven team conference...
https://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/529242/Hockey-conference-realignment.html?nav=5006
"Notre Dame remains uncommitted to any conference at this time and is pressing for a smaller league that features a larger non-conference slate, according to multiple Mining Journal sources. The Irish are looking for a seven-team league with a 24-game conference schedule in order to fill the rest of their dates with meetings against fellow Bowl Championship Subdivision member Boston College and the Big Ten schools."
If the Irish will come with us as the seventh team, then by all means, admit them and call it a day.
DU will have no problem filling the extra two games with a non-league opponent.
Also it sounds like we can now kiss Western Michigan goodbye for the second time in less than a week.
just checked WCHA website
still says "Just Got Tougher"
hehe
"Just got tougher" to figure out who the heck is in each conference...
Big Ten - Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin
Super Seven - North Dakota, Colorado College, Denver, Miami, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, [Notre Dame]
WCHA - Alaska-Anchorage, Bemidji State, Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, Michigan Tech, [Alaska], [Northern Michigan]
CCHA - Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake State, Western Michigan
Tomorrow the list will probably be changed again.
I know I'm a freak, but I actually prefer a league with an odd number of teams. In this way, the last place team can be excluded and makes the fight to stay out of the cellar that much more important. It's also the only way that, if, the 6th and 7th place teams meet up the last weekend of the season it will mean much. A Super Seven, it is!!!
*excluded FROM THE PLAYOFFS*...I meant
bet ya the remnants of the wcha and ccha band together to form a new conference...
@ ANON 945 PM: "The Super Cellar League" - they could have an eastern and western division.
From today's Denver Post. DU getting serious about branding...
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18455677
"The University of Denver has named former Western Union executive Kevin A. Carroll to head the university's branding, communications and global marketing endeavors.
Carroll, who was Western Union's vice president and general manager for global web channeling and marketing, becomes the vice chancellor of university communication and chief marketing officer.
"Our constituency comprises a vast array of different internal and external audiences with whom we must communicate using a similarly broad array of mechanisms and media," said Chancellor Robert Coombe.
Carroll holds a BS degree in management from Tulane University and an MBA in marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University."
The Super Cellar League could have two divisions "Bordeaux" & "Burgandy"
If the WCHA is dumb enough to take every team from the CCHA and dilute their product a again, then they really don't get it.
Smaller nimble conferences that allow rivalries to build and expansion from schools that add hockey is the ticket.
Nice commentary by Jim Connelly at USCHO regarding possible realignment scenarios:
http://www.uscho.com/2011/07/12/commentary-after-new-conference-announcement-what-comes-next/
It's blissfully free of the thinly veiled "shame on you" attitude that many of the other press pieces reacting to the new league have contained...
Thanks for the heads up on the Connolly piece. I added a link in the News & Notes posting.
New conference is less than five hours away. In the words of Hawkeye Pierce -- My belly button has been pucking in and out -- all morning in anticipation of this grand event.
Amazing/Ironic choice of venue for this news conference.
Penrose House was once the home of Spencer Penrose (as in DU's Penrose Library) who built the Broadmoor Hotel/Resort in 1918.
Penrose and his buddy Willima Thayer Tutt (who took over the Broadmoor Hotel in 1939 after Penrose's death) wanted to see college hockey grow. Tutt turned Penrose's indoor riding arena into the Broadmoor World Arena in 1938 by putting in ice so CC would have a home arena. The Broadmoor World Arena would later host the first 10NCAA Frozen Fours (before they were called Frozen Fours) as well many International hockey and figure skating events, and is the big reason why the US Olympic Committee is located in Colorado Springs. Tutt was also a big reason why the Air Force Academy is in Colorado Springs.
Notre Dame is joining the new super league. Count on it.
Bet the CCHA is feeling a little silly about their snub of UAH several years ago...
It's hardly a hockey powerhouse, but it and UNO are "the" models for recent upstart and upgrade (ACHA->NCAA) programs. There are 450 ACHA teams in 5 divisions right now, a number of which draw some pretty decent crowds.
Division I hockey needs every program it can get, and seeing any program go down the tubes is bad news for us all. Hopefully the remnants of the CCHA and WCHA can piece together a "mid-major" conference that includes UAH, and encourages other new/upgraded programs (like CSU, or any number of schools in the Pacific Northwest).
I am optimistic that creating a heirarchy of conferences will indeed enable additional programs to "step up" via baby steps (here's to hoping)...
That's an interesting point about "moving up" conferences.
College sports has become almost like the English soccer divisions, with teams being relegated or moving up.
Would anyone be surprised if St. Cloud joined the Super League or Notre Dame moved on to the Big Ten at some point?
Good point, DG. At the moment we're all assuming that ND's desire for a 7 team league means that they would join the "Super League", which is currently at 6 teams.
However, the Big Ten conference also only has 6, and we all know how much the Big Ten has courted/coveted Notre Dame over the years. They have affiliated with the Big East for other sports but maintained a very strong relationship with the Big Ten for rivalry purposes.
This could be a politcal play in a lot of ways... They may want to have it both ways, they may also be playing each side against each other...
Very good point, indeed...
The press conference camera is up and they are preparing for the event in the background.
At the moment, only six logos on the backdrop, however there is a (covered) portiono o the backdrop, presumably with the conference name behind it.
Gwozdecky to be the coach speaking.
NCHC it is.
The "National Collegiate Hockey Conference"
I, for one, would be VERY surprised if Notre Dame found its way into the Big Ten.
(Now, many may already know what I'm about to say...but some may not, so my apologies if it sounds like I'm lecturing...)
Anyway.
The Big Ten has a rule/stipulation/requirement that states that associate memberships are not allowed. Fancy words which, practically, mean that they will not allow an institution to join in only select sports. If an institution wants to be part of the Big Ten, then it is required to join in ALL sports the league sponsors.
Concerning Notre Dame, upshot of this is that any move by Notre Dame towards the Big Ten in ANY one sport would also force it to give up its football independence in favor of a Big Ten membership...which, for a multitude of reasons, will NOT happen.
(At least, not until the benefits Notre Dame gets by being a football independent cease to exist.)
Now, before you say that "rules can be changed", remember that the ONLY reason the Big Ten would be interested in a school like Notre Dame would be for the football team. Yeah, ND's men's and women's hoops teams are on an upswing...and the hockey team is showing promise. But, everyone KNOWS that the golden cow under The Golden Dome is the football team. Without its football team, Notre Dame is just another mid-sized, mid-western school with terrible weather.
Geographically convenient, yes. But a "slam dunk" member of the Big Ten? Not without the football team.
Another issue that many ignore is the fact that Notre Dame is not "academically aligned" with Big Ten schools. Notre Dame is, primarily, a small UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING institution. The Big Ten is composed of large RESEARCH institutions, with a particular focus on graduate level programs.
Now, before you say, "so?", do keep in mind that this "academic incompatibility" was, in the end, the main reason the board of trustees at ND voted down the invitation to join the Big Ten in the late 90s.
I could go on and on...but the upshot of everything is this: Unless the college football landscape DRASTICALLY changes, forcing Notre Dame into joining a conference, I just don't see any scenario where Notre Dame would consider giving up its football independence in order to give its hockey team a home.
Word is that the WCHA + CCHA are combining to form the WTHH league (What The Hell Happened) :)
Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark.
Well played. :-)
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