SB Nation College Hockey - Arizona State Moving to Division I For HockeyCollege Hockey's Home on the Blogospherehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49993/wchb-fav.png2014-11-19T08:22:19-08:00http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/rss/stream/70069462014-11-19T08:22:19-08:002014-11-19T08:22:19-08:00Why Arizona State could be bad for college hockey
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<p>An antagonist's view on Arizona State's announcement to elevate its hockey program to NCAA Division I</p> <p>When Arizona State announced its intention to elevate its club hockey program to the NCAA Division I level, the sentiment around college hockey was mostly of joy and jubilation. The Sun Devils will be the 60th member school to compete at the Division I level and most view the expansion of the sport to be a good thing.</p>
<p>At first glance, it sure seems to be a good thing when your sport could gain more exposure nationally and at bigger schools such as Arizona State, a member of the power conference Pac-12 in all other sports. It also presents an intriguing potential for further expansion in non-traditional hockey markets such as Arizona.</p>
<p>However, college hockey has always been a niche sport in the colder regions of the country. It has thrived with smaller schools playing up and having success such as 2014 NCAA Champion Union College and Minnesota-Duluth in 2011. Little-known schools nationally such as Northern Michigan, Lake Superior, RPI and Bowling Green won national titles in the 80s and 90s. The current No. 1 team in the nation and winner of three national titles, Michigan Tech, is a small school located in the upper peninsula that certainly wouldn't even sniff such success in football or basketball.</p>
<p>When Penn State elevated its successful club program to the NCAA level a few years ago, we saw the dismantlement of the CCHA and the fraction of the WCHA into the Big Ten, NCHC and a revamped WCHA. Depending on which rumor you believe, the Sun Devils seem destined for the NCHC or WCHA, both could be argued as logical choices for the newest member of college hockey's fraternity.</p>
<p>None of this is a knock on Penn State or Arizona State. Both, rightfully so, are entitled to look out for their best interests. No school, big or large, is necessarily tasked with looking out for the interests of any other institution outside of their own. But, college hockey is a small fraternity and one that needs to keep all its members to ensure future success. The small schools with a rich hockey history have been vital to the sport. Going forward it is imperative that College Hockey Inc. and other powers that be in the sport maintain balance in expansion with keeping the glorious history of the sport alive.</p>
<p>Change is good, but the status quo in college hockey wasn't so bad. It was cool to see the little schools compete and thrive on a somewhat equal playing field. Hopefully the addition of Arizona State, and possibly other big schools in the future, won't kill off the little guys that brought college hockey so much excitement and mystique.</p>
<p>Be careful what you wish for college hockey fans.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p><i>Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on Twitter <a target="_blank" href="http://www.twitter.com/jeffcoxsports">@JeffCoxSports</a>.</i></p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/19/7246703/arizona-state-college-hockey-bad-for-business-small-schools-pac-12Jeff Cox2014-11-19T05:51:22-08:002014-11-19T05:51:22-08:00ASU's Gamble Could Be Huge for College Hockey
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<p>Yesterday's announcement that Arizona State <a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/18/7243061/arizona-state-officially-announces-d-1-hockey-program" target="_blank">would be transitioning to Division I next year</a> came as a shock to the college hockey world. But it could go down as a watershed moment in the history of college hockey.</p>
<p>If there was a key phrase from yesterday's press conference, it was Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson saying that it was his hope that Arizona State moving to Division I would "tip the dominoes" and cause other schools on the west coast to start their own programs. We talked a little bit yesterday about <a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/18/7243245/arizona-state-hockey-conference-nchc-wcha-big-ten-pac-12" target="_blank">what current conference Arizona State might land in</a> when they join a conference in two years. But ultimately, it's pretty clear that they didn't make this move to play in a conference with Miami or Lake Superior. They want to play in a Pac-12 hockey conference against other similar schools.</p>
<p>There have been many in the college hockey world, including some of very high position and influence, that have argued in favor of that "domino theory," saying that all that really needed to happen was for one major school to start a Division I program and many others would follow. That didn't happen with Penn State, largely because the Nittany Lions were a bit of a special circumstance. Arizona State is different though. Arizona State will be the school that puts that domino theory to the test.</p>
<p>I noted yesterday, <a href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/18/7243021/success-not-a-given-at-arizona-state" target="_blank">how different Arizona State's move to D-I is</a>, compared to Penn State. When compared to the Nittany Lions, Arizona State's expansion looks rushed and on the cheap, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing. If Arizona State's model actually works, that makes expansion much more attractive to future schools. It cuts the initial donation needed to start a new program to only a third of the $100 million Penn State received. It would also show that a team wouldn't necessarily need their own home arena to start a program. They could start at a temporary home and figure out the arena at a later date. Those have traditionally been the biggest barriers of entry to schools playing at the Division I level.</p>
<p>A lot of schools will be watching Arizona State closely, and if they see the Sun Devils have success while overcoming those barriers, it makes them much more likely to follow suit. Not many schools can afford to follow model set by Terry Pegula and Penn State. But suddenly, it doesn't look that difficult for schools to clear the bar that Arizona State has set.</p>
<p>There are still no guarantees hockey will be a success at Arizona State, but if it is, it opens up a whole world of possibilities for future expansion of the game.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/19/7245949/arizona-states-big-gamble-could-pay-off-huge-for-college-hockeyChris Dilks2014-11-18T15:50:38-08:002014-11-18T15:50:38-08:00What conference will Arizona State call home
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<p>The courtship for the Sun Devils has begun in earnest. Both the NCHC and WCHA have contacted ASU to join beginning in 2017.</p> <p>Arizona State's NCAA hockey team has yet to play a game, but that doesn't stop the Sun <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/">Devils</a> from being the desert belles of the ball Tuesday.</p>
<p>There are many things still to be decided following the announcement Arizona State will be West Coast pioneers and begin a men's hockey program - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/18/7242583/arizona-state-to-announce-plans-to-move-to-division-i-hockey">thanks to a $32 million donation from Milwaukee businessman Don Mullett and others</a> - beginning with where to play.</p>
<p>Unlike Penn State in 2010, the last major team to announce it will begin a program, there is no natural fit. The Sun Devils will be the first D1 team in the Southwest. Only Alabama-Huntsville is also in the southern half of the United States. The only two teams west of Tempe are both thousands of miles away in Alaska.</p>
<p>That doesn't stop several conferences from throwing their hats into the ring to grab a name school in other sports.</p>
<p>Both the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) appear to be courting ASU, according to several reports.</p>
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<p>Brad Schlossman of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/mens-hockey-arizona-state-go-d-i-hockey">Grand Forks Herald wrote Tuesday</a> the NCHC has been in contact with Arizona State. Formed in 2013 from a combination of WCHA and CCHA schools, the NCHC has eight teams stretching from Colorado to Ohio/Michigan. Several are hockey royalty with the conference having some of the top attendance figures in the country.</p>
<p>Two of those teams - Denver and Colorado College - are in the same time zone as the Sun Devils and would be the closest (if 800-850 miles can be considered close) to Tempe.</p>
<p>It would also give the NCHC a larger national presence. While the conference tried during its formation to court Notre Dame (the Fighting Irish eventually decided to join Hockey East), it doesn't have a Power 5 school like the Pac-12 Sun Devils among its ranks.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Shane Frederick of the <a target="_blank" href="http://mankatofreepresshockey.blogspot.com/2014/11/how-about-wcha-for-arizona-state.html">Mankato Free Press reported that new WCHA Commissioner Bill Robertson</a> is very interested and has started discussions with the Sun Devils. From Frederick:</p>
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<p>Robertson hinted as much over the summer, shortly after taking the position. Not naming names, he said he had talked to "western" schools in regards to league and college-hockey expansion.<br><br>"Part of my vision is to grow the WCHA and college hockey," Robertson said on Tuesday. "There's a lot of potential in the sun belt for growth in college hockey."</p>
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<p>The WCHA, with a history going back to 1951, has ten schools covering a footprint from Alaska to Alabama to Michigan. The schools are of various sizes though Arizona State would be the largest.</p>
<p>(They even have space on the wall at Bemidji.)</p>
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<p>Sanford Center already penciling a spot for them, just in case. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SunDevilsToWCHA?src=hash">#SunDevilsToWCHA</a> <a href="http://t.co/0UtACbWe02">pic.twitter.com/0UtACbWe02</a></p>
— Jack Hittinger (@jackhitts) <a href="https://twitter.com/jackhitts/status/534819735754801152">November 18, 2014</a>
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<p>The third conference with a western footprint is the Big Ten, which currently has six schools sponsoring college hockey.</p>
<p>There is no report that the B1G is looking at Arizona State. However, as <a target="_blank" href="http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/283095481.html">Jason Gonzalez of the Minneapolis Star Tribune</a> points out the conference has stated in the past it would consider expansion beyond its 14 members.</p>
<p>Joining the Big Ten would mean the Sun Devils face 6 of the other 8 Power 5 schools that have D1 men's hockey. The conference also does have the best national television deal of the three thanks to its in-house Big Ten Network. (The NCHC has games on CBS Sports Network while the WCHA has none.) ASU already has its own television thanks to the Pac-12 Network.</p>
<p>Attempts to reach the Big Ten for comment were not returned.</p>
<p>Still, if all goes well for Arizona State any stop could be temporary. That likely is the hope. AD Ray Anderson said Tuesday that he hoped the school being the first to add Division 1 hockey will "tip the dominoes" on other Pac-12 and West Coast schools doing the same. He added later that there are other schools with endowments that could.</p>
<p>Wherever it lands, college hockey's 60th and newest program will begin a three-year transition to NCAA Division 1 beginning in 2015. The Sun Devils, currently the defending ACHA (club hockey) Division 1 champion, will schedule both NCAA and ACHA teams during the 2015-16 season. In 2016-17 it will be an independent playing a full Division 1 schedule before fully integrating in 2017-18.</p>
<p>By then the Sun Devils will have a conference to call home.</p>
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<p><i>Nathan Wells is a college hockey columnist for SB Nation. You can also follow him on Twitter -- <a href="https://twitter.com/gopherstate" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false">Follow @gopherstate</a></i></p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/18/7243245/arizona-state-hockey-conference-nchc-wcha-big-ten-pac-12Nathan Wells2014-11-18T14:11:29-08:002014-11-18T14:11:29-08:00Success No Given at Arizona State
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<p>Arizona State announced their intention to move their hockey program to NCAA Division I this afternoon. It's incredibly exciting news to see a new hockey program added to Division I, and even more encouraging to see a program from a non-traditional hockey market. I've long said that American hockey has grown so much over the last 10-15 years at every level from youth, to juniors, to even the pros, that it is shame that college hockey--at least at the D-1 level, club hockey has seen a tremendous boom-- hasn't been able to expand in the same way.</p>
<p>But at the same time, making the move to Division I college hockey isn't an easy one, and there were more than a few reasons for concern in today's announcement about the viability of the program going forward.</p>
<p>If Penn State provided the blueprint for how a big school should make the transition to Division I hockey, Arizona State deviated from that blueprint in a number of ways. None may be fatal on their own, but there are certainly enough causes for concern to say success is not a slam-dunk.</p>
<p>Among the concerns:</p>
<p><b>The Arena</b></p>
<p>When Penn State announced their move to Division I, they also announced their plans to build the beautiful Pegula Ice Arena, immediately giving the fledgling program one of the finest facilities in college hockey. Arizona State's new home is less clear.</p>
<p>More than likely they will begin play at the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix. New head coach Greg Powers said his hope was to get Arizona State playing on campus as soon as possible, but that would require major renovations to either Oceanside Arena or the Wells Fargo Arena on campus; renovations that would likely cost upwards of $10 million.</p>
<p><b>Coaching</b></p>
<p>When Penn State started their program, they went out and hired Guy Gadowsky, who was well-respected in the college hockey world for turning around programs at Alaska-Fairbanks and Princeton. With all due respect to Greg Powers, I have no idea how he will do as a Division I coach, but I can say with a fair amount of certainty that his resume wouldn't earn him an interview at another Division I school.</p>
<p>Among the hottest takes I saw in the reaction to Arizona State starting up their program was how easy it would be to recruit to Tempe with their beautiful weather. But in my experience, players have no qualms about moving to awful locations(Hi, Prince George, BC) if they think it gives them even the slightest advantage in advancing their hockey career. Arizona State's coaching staff will likely be used against them when it comes to recruiting players.</p>
<p><b>First Game</b></p>
<p>Penn State announced their hockey program on September 17, 2010 and their first Division I hockey game wasn't played until October 12, 2012, over two full years. Arizona State will play their first Division I hockey game in roughly 11 months.</p>
<p>I have a ton of respect for the talent on Arizona State's club roster. There's some former Division I players on there, and some names that I definitely thought could have played Division I hockey. But there's a huge difference between a guy being capable of playing third or fourth line minutes on a D-1 team, and having a full team that can compete against Division I programs.</p>
<p>Arizona State is going to need a near-complete turnover of their roster before they're ready to be close to competing on a consistent basis at the NCAA level, and they don't have a lot of time to do it. Penn State is just starting to approach that point this season, even with all the advantages they started with. A few terrible seasons could be enough to kill the initial excitement of the program and hurt their long-term chances at success.</p>
<p>Like I said, hopefully none of those differences are fatal. Penn State did things about as perfectly as a team could do things when starting up a program and certainly there is room for a team to do less than that and still be successful. There are also a lot of positives with Arizona State as well, and reasons to believe that they will be successful. But the school still has an uphill battle to becoming a successful D-1 college hockey program.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/18/7243021/success-not-a-given-at-arizona-stateChris Dilks2014-11-18T13:31:16-08:002014-11-18T13:31:16-08:00Arizona State Press Conference Recap
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<p>It's a historic day for college hockey, as Arizona State announced their plans to move their club hockey program to Division I. They will become the first NCAA Division I team in Arizona since Northern Arizona University dropped their hockey program in 1985.</p>
<p>Here is the <a href="http://www.thesundevils.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30300&ATCLID=209771702" target="_blank">school's press release on the announcement</a>.</p>
<p>Here are the important details to note from today's press conference:</p>
<p>-The school received a $32 million donation from a group of private donors. Leading the group of donors was Don Mullett and his son Chris, a former ASU hockey player, along with other donors that chose to remain anonymous.</p>
<p>Additional women's varsity program in 2016, still to be determined. Lacrosse, rowing, crew under consideration.</p>
<p>-Current club hockey coach Greg Powers will remain as head coach of the program when they start in Division I next season.</p>
<p>-AD Ray Anderson said he hoped that Arizona State will "tip the dominoes" on other teams along the west coast starting hockey programs.</p>
<p>-The school is looking at "all viable options" for a new arena. Head coach Powers says their goal is to be on campus as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Among the rumored possibilities suggest are playing at Phoenix's US Airways Arena, home of the NBA's Suns and WNBA's Mercury(I wish I could say I had to look that up). Other options include renovating Oceanside Arena, current home of the Sun Devils to something more suitable for a Division I, or renovating the school's basketball arena, Wells Fargo Arena for hockey.</p>
<p>-Coach Powers confirmed plans to play a mixed schedule of D-1/ACHA opponents next season. An independent full D-1 schedule the following year, and hopefully join a conference after that.</p>
<p>Other details that have emerged in the hours since this move became public:</p>
<p>-The schools expect an annual cost of $2.5 million to operate the program. The private donations will fund the program for the first ten years of the program, with the school responsible for expenses after that.</p>
<p>-Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that ASU has been in contact with the NCHC about potentially joining as a member:</p>
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<p>Arizona State going D-I in men's hockey, has been in contact with NCHC <a href="http://t.co/EV0xIIZkSs">http://t.co/EV0xIIZkSs</a></p>
— Brad E. Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) <a href="https://twitter.com/SchlossmanGF/status/534794311851061249">November 18, 2014</a>
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<p>-Shane Frederick of the <i>Mankato Free Press</i> reports that the WCHA is interested in adding Arizona State and is in talks with the school:</p>
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<p>The WCHA is "very interested" Arizona State, commissioner Bill Robertson says and has started discussions with their program.</p>
— Shane Frederick (@puckato) <a href="https://twitter.com/puckato/status/534810185554882560">November 18, 2014</a>
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https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/18/7243061/arizona-state-officially-announces-d-1-hockey-programChris Dilks2014-11-18T11:17:56-08:002014-11-18T11:17:56-08:00ASU to Announce D-1 Hockey Program, Per Report
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<p>Arizona State will hold a press conference later today to announce their plans to transition their hockey program from a club team to full NCAA Division I status, <a href="http://www.foxsports.com/arizona/story/arizona-state-to-launch-division-i-hockey-program-111814" target="_blank">according to a report from Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizon</a>a.</p>
<p>Details are still scant, but hopefully will be cleared up at the upcoming press conference later today. Among the big details, Arizona State will have to add another women's sports program to remain in compliance with Title IX, and would likely need to build a new facility for hockey.</p>
<p>We'll have more details as they are announced. For additional coverage, SB Nation's excellent Arizona State outlet, <a href="http://www.houseofsparky.com/" target="_blank">House of Sparky</a> should have more on the story.</p>
<p><b>Update: </b>Arizona State has announced that they'll hold a press conference at 2pm local time announcing the school's plans for going forward. It is expected that the school will play a mixed DI/ACHA schedule next year, a full D-1 schedule in 2016-2017, and then a conference as a full member in 2017-2018.</p>
https://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2014/11/18/7242583/arizona-state-to-announce-plans-to-move-to-division-i-hockeyChris Dilks