Good for the Fightin Illini. This is an example of the big money and conference networks doing something good for college sports and giving opportunities to student athletes.
Also happy to hear about EIU.
(This post was last modified: 07-27-2013 07:32 PM by CPslograd.)
RE: University of Illinois to join D1 Hockey Tomorrow.
Good for hockey fans, but for me personally, I can't even watch the highlights of a hockey game without getting bored out of my mind.
I don't understand the appeal of the sport at all. You can't see the puck. Too many games end in ties (a problem soccer has too) and its high maintenance. Plus the Stanley Cup finals kept ruining my weekly trivia game at the local pub.
This push to add hockey seems like a bad investment to me. There are too many sports fans like me who don't like hockey. Oh well, nobody is forcing me to watch it, at least in my own home. Its just another reason to cancel cable TV, I guess.
RE: University of Illinois to join D1 Hockey Tomorrow.
(07-27-2013 07:45 PM)goofus Wrote: Good for hockey fans, but for me personally, I can't even watch the highlights of a hockey game without getting bored out of my mind.
I don't understand the appeal of the sport at all. You can't see the puck. Too many games end in ties (a problem soccer has too) and its high maintenance. Plus the Stanley Cup finals kept ruining my weekly trivia game at the local pub.
This push to add hockey seems like a bad investment to me. There are too many sports fans like me who don't like hockey. Oh well, nobody is forcing me to watch it, at least in my own home. Its just another reason to cancel cable TV, I guess.
its by far the best spectator sport out there. doesnt translate to TV too well
(07-27-2013 07:45 PM)goofus Wrote: Good for hockey fans, but for me personally, I can't even watch the highlights of a hockey game without getting bored out of my mind.
I don't understand the appeal of the sport at all. You can't see the puck. Too many games end in ties (a problem soccer has too) and its high maintenance. Plus the Stanley Cup finals kept ruining my weekly trivia game at the local pub.
This push to add hockey seems like a bad investment to me. There are too many sports fans like me who don't like hockey. Oh well, nobody is forcing me to watch it, at least in my own home. Its just another reason to cancel cable TV, I guess.
Ha ha, I also lost 2 weeks of trivia to the Stanley Cup finals. I can't watch hockey either. I can't even stand hearing it, because the announcer seems to be yelling every time the puck gets within 40 feet of the net, as if it's the most exciting thing the world has ever seen.
(07-27-2013 07:58 PM)john01992 Wrote: question about nebraska hockey: it says that if they do plan to go D1 they have an arena where the mens/womens BB teams play.
how does that not cause a scheduling conflict?
Why would there be a scheduling conflict? On the occasional weekend that the two teams both have home games, you can always play ice hockey Friday Evening and Saturday evening and BBall Saturday afternoon.
Its not as if Nebraska will be practicing at the Arena ~ AFAIU, there is a dedicated ice center with two indoor and one outdoor rink as part of the complex.
(07-27-2013 07:58 PM)john01992 Wrote: question about nebraska hockey: it says that if they do plan to go D1 they have an arena where the mens/womens BB teams play.
how does that not cause a scheduling conflict?
Why would there be a scheduling conflict? On the occasional weekend that the two teams both have home games, you can always play ice hockey Friday Evening and Saturday evening and BBall Saturday afternoon.
Its not as if Nebraska will be practicing at the Arena ~ AFAIU, there is a dedicated ice center with two indoor and one outdoor rink as part of the complex.
just doesnt seem possible to disassemble bb courts & hockey rinks like that. this may sound like a silly question but what is the process putting up/taking down an ice rink
(07-27-2013 07:58 PM)john01992 Wrote: question about nebraska hockey: it says that if they do plan to go D1 they have an arena where the mens/womens BB teams play.
how does that not cause a scheduling conflict?
Why would there be a scheduling conflict? On the occasional weekend that the two teams both have home games, you can always play ice hockey Friday Evening and Saturday evening and BBall Saturday afternoon.
Its not as if Nebraska will be practicing at the Arena ~ AFAIU, there is a dedicated ice center with two indoor and one outdoor rink as part of the complex.
just doesnt seem possible to disassemble bb courts & hockey rinks like that. this may sound like a silly question but what is the process putting up/taking down an ice rink
Can't be too hard. The Los Angeles Kings, LA Clippers, and LA Lakers all share Staples Center with no problems. In 2012, all 3 teams made the playoffs even.
(07-27-2013 11:05 PM)john01992 Wrote: just doesnt seem possible to disassemble bb courts & hockey rinks like that. this may sound like a silly question but what is the process putting up/taking down an ice rink
I've seen a video posted somewhere else at this site on some arena being converted. This is the Kohl Center ... this would be if you had an afternoon BBall game and an evening ice hockey game ... its Wisconsin's Kohl Center arena. You take up the hardwood, the courtside seating, revealing the subfloor, put down the ice hockey decorations, ice the floor, then run the Zamboni. and ready to go.
(07-27-2013 07:45 PM)goofus Wrote: This push to add hockey seems like a bad investment to me. There are too many sports fans like me who don't like hockey. Oh well, nobody is forcing me to watch it, at least in my own home. Its just another reason to cancel cable TV, I guess.
The way markets work is the value of the audience. There isn't any subtraction based on the people who aren't watching, its addition of the people who are watching.
Part of the value of ice hockey in ice hockey areas is that the College FB audience tends to be bigger than the College BBall audience, and ice hockey picks up some of the people who drop away between FB and BBall.
(This post was last modified: 07-27-2013 11:29 PM by BruceMcF.)
(07-27-2013 07:45 PM)goofus Wrote: Good for hockey fans, but for me personally, I can't even watch the highlights of a hockey game without getting bored out of my mind.
I don't understand the appeal of the sport at all. You can't see the puck. Too many games end in ties (a problem soccer has too) and its high maintenance. Plus the Stanley Cup finals kept ruining my weekly trivia game at the local pub.
This push to add hockey seems like a bad investment to me. There are too many sports fans like me who don't like hockey. Oh well, nobody is forcing me to watch it, at least in my own home. Its just another reason to cancel cable TV, I guess.
Ha ha, I also lost 2 weeks of trivia to the Stanley Cup finals. I can't watch hockey either. I can't even stand hearing it, because the announcer seems to be yelling every time the puck gets within 40 feet of the net, as if it's the most exciting thing the world has ever seen.
Yes I dont live too far from Naperville. We probably play in the same pub trivia league or at least something very similar.
(07-27-2013 11:22 PM)john01992 Wrote: aight sounds a lot easier than i thought
Arenas don't typically try and re-freeze a floor for an evening hockey game after a basketball game in the afternoon - it takes a bit longer than that - but you can set up a basketball court right over the frozen floor (and this is what multi-use arenas usually do). The one drawback: If the arena gets too hot, it can start giving you condensation on the basketball floor, but it generally works in the winter months.
College hockey teams typically play 40 regular season games, and college basketball teams typically play 31 regular season games. Even if the same facility had men's and women's teams in both sports, you are only talking about 72 home games total from November-March.
E Illinois is in Charleston, Ill, which doesn't even have a skating rink. Guess EIU's ACHA (club) team plays in Danville, IL in a 2300 seat rink. Maybe that is possible. But Champaign-Urbana is actually closer and would likely have more of a hockey fan base.
The key is what league would accept them? Not the NCHC, obviously not the B1G, so it would have to be the WCHA. The two closest teams would be Bowling Green and Ferris St, followed by Minn St-Mankato and likely Alabama-Huntsville. With the WCHA at ten schools, it really needs to add two more. Schools rumored to start hockey are Lindenwood (St Louis), Minot St (ND), Iowa State. Iowa State would get a NCHC invite. With Lindenwood and EIU addition, the league would begin to fill in between Alabama, Michigan, and Minnesota.
The wild card is that the Summit League needs another school and likely has been begging Eastern Illinois to rejoin (EIU left the Summit/Gateway years ago for competitive reasons - mostly football - as the OVC is less of a challenge in football). The Summit League is in desparate need to replace baseball as it's third required men's team sport (only has four baseball members now that Oakland and ORU left, but needs six teams). If it could pull in enough hockey teams, hockey could serve as it's required third men's team sport, saving the Summit League's men's basketball autobid. Denver and Nebraska-Omaha have teams and could threaten to leave the NCHC to put their hockey programs in the Summit to save the Summit. This would put North Dakota in a bad spot (the Summit wanted UND until the Big Sky took them) as well as W Michigan, St Cloud St, M-Duluth, Miami O, and Colorado College in difficult spots.
(This post was last modified: 07-28-2013 04:03 PM by NoDak.)
(07-28-2013 03:59 PM)NoDak Wrote: If it could pull in enough hockey teams, hockey could serve as it's required third men's team sport, saving the Summit League's men's basketball autobid. Denver and Nebraska-Omaha have teams and could threaten to leave the NCHC to put their hockey programs in the Summit to save the Summit.
What would the other three teams be? A minimum of six members of the Summit would have to sponsor ice hockey for ice hockey to be used to comply with NCAA Division 1 bylaw 20.02.5.2.
(07-28-2013 03:59 PM)NoDak Wrote: If it could pull in enough hockey teams, hockey could serve as it's required third men's team sport, saving the Summit League's men's basketball autobid. Denver and Nebraska-Omaha have teams and could threaten to leave the NCHC to put their hockey programs in the Summit to save the Summit.
What would the other three teams be? A minimum of six members of the Summit would have to sponsor ice hockey for ice hockey to be used to comply with NCAA Division 1 bylaw 20.02.5.2.
Any of Minn St-Mankato, St Cloud St, Minn-Duluth or North Dakota could be added as full members. Four full members are needed, then at least two hockey affiliates would be needed. The rest of the NCHC could be added as affiliates. Would also make the Summit attractive to Grand Valley St (Mi) and Wayne St (Mi).
Quote:EIU Hockey @EIUHockey 19h
@TimOneal1977 @USCollegeHockey Unfortunately we are not the team moving. Rumor has it, it is the other Illinois squad. U of I.