The Minneapolis newspaper ran a story on the WCHA yesterday. They quote extensively Don Lucia, legendary coach of Univ Minn who began as an assistant in UA-Anchorage; his first job as HC was at UA-Fairbanks. He lives part of the year in Alaska- so is very knowledgeable.
http://www.startribune.com/wcha-s-demise...512220692/
Some interesting comments:
-The geographical footprint, from Fairbanks to Huntsville, covers more than 4,000 miles.
-Lucia said “The biggest issue is the budget and what’s going to happen with the whole university system...The budgets aren’t the same [in Alaska] as when the oil was really cooking in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.”
-Of the three teams getting left behind, Fairbanks was the most successful, finishing third in the WCHA standings in 2014 and fourth in 2015.
-Otherwise, there have been repeated struggles. The trio of teams combined to go 7-57-3 in nonconference play over the past three seasons.
-“That was a concern with affecting the league as far as getting multiple teams in the NCAA tournament,” Lucia said.