I had a discussion this past weekend with a staff-member of the
Western Michigan University Athletic Department about college hockey.
I've known this man since we both played hockey together as 16 year
olds, and we occasionally meet here in Sault Ste. Marie when he his
here for his job.
We were discussing, among other things, the current state of affairs
of the WMU Bronco Hockey Program, and he was grimly spelling out some
of the serious problems that are facing Bronco Hockey in the next few
years. Many of these problems are nation-wide, and I started to
wonder about the have-and-have nots of college hockey, and if the
failures of small-budget hockey programs recently is because of
outside forces, or internal indifference.
My friend was telling me about the financial woes the program was
having, trying to keep up with the other D-I programs with equipment
and recruiting. The problem, he said simply, was the stadium. This
came a bit of a shock, as I always considered WMU to have a nice, if
small , rink to play in. Always a contender, never a champion, WMU
always seemed to draw well, being supported by both students and local
fans alike in good numbers. To think that the problem with the
program in recent years was the stadium seemed impossible.
But the stadium was a mere manifestation of the problem. You see, the
Broncos play in a neat-as-a-pin bleacher-only rink seating close to
3,000 if you use a shoe-horn and some imagination. The crowds are
seldom that large and seats have been, for the past few years, not a
problem securing. The University's efforts at bringing in the outside
community has been poor, hampered severally by the size and location
of the arena. It doesn't take much more than a quick scan around the
other Western D-I programs to see that WMU is being left behind.
Consider the new facilities all around the country by programs of
schools both big and small. Minnesota and the beautiful New Mariucci
(not the same as the old one, the Gopher fans say, but still very
nice); the National Center in St. Cloud; the stunning new facilities
in Colorado Springs for CC and in Denver for the Pioneers; the new
renovations at Lake State, including private suites; the new facility
in Marquette for Northern Michigan; the still-state-of-the-art rink at
Michigan Tech; the giant 17,000 stadium at OSU; the DECC in Duluth;
the Tsongas Arena in Lowell; the new facility being built at Boston
U.; and a host of other schools doing extreme renovations to their
facilities and structures. In the West, a 3,000 seat-bleachers-only
arena is quickly becoming a dinosaur, unable to survive and quickly
going extinct.
There are some exceptions to the bleacher-rule, such as North Dakota
(although there the bleachers do have individual seat-backs) and
Michigan. But these places seat upwards of 6,000 people, they
sell-out every single game, and the lack additional space creates a
premium price for tickets. These schools also have done an excellent
job creating interest in the local community, establishing financially
sound radio contracts, and organizing NHL alumni funds and gifts to
supplement the program's needs.
For long-time small program schools like WMU, Ferris State, Ohio State
and Notre Dame, a moment of truth may be quickly drawing near, as in,
"Are you really serious about maintaining D-I hockey?" As we college
hockey fans bicker back and forth about the relative merits of hockey
expansion, realignment, and the protection of the small programs, we
have to ask ourselves: Are the small programs doing enough to save
themselves?
Ferris, for example, has been running their hockey team on a
shoe-string budget in a rink that would be hard pressed to impress
pee-wee players. A push is now on from the school to get more money
from alumni and towns folk in Big Rapids to make major improvements to
the locker rooms and concession areas. That is at least step one.
Step two, I am told, is the continuation of the improvements to the
facility to improve and increase seating. For Ferris and Big Rapids,
money is tight, and they are doing very well to improve themselves.
Whether its enough is hard to say, but right now, in comparison to
other Western teams, they being left behind. The school is unable to
attract very many, if any, big name recruits, mostly due to the shoddy
facility.
Notre Dame is a sad case. For a college with such loyal alumni and
such vast financial resources, the Joyce rink is a poor, poor effort.
Bad ice isn't the only thing getting sloppy with Irish hockey. Lack
of fan support, institutional interest, and alumni backing have placed
Notre Dame in the second division of the CCHA and locked it there.
And it doesn't need to be that way. Notre Dame is one of, if not the
most, beautiful places in the United States. The campus and the
buildings are stunning. The academics are very good and the college
has a quality international reputation. Its not much of a stretch to
say that this place could land just about any recruit they wanted
after one campus visit -- if they had a facility worth playing in or a
program worth playing for. Notre Dame fails on both counts, and top
recruits can pick that up after one visit into the Joyce.
Ohio State, until this year, was in the same second-division boat as
Notre Dame. They may still be, current crop of good players not
withstanding. The new home rink is to be opened and 17,000 seats will
be available to see a team that is pretty darn good. But the hockey
program is being told that they are clearly subordinate to the
basketball program. Its not a case of hockey and basketball teams
sharing the new building, its a case of the hockey team using the
basketball stadium every other weekend. Local support is absolutely
zero. Local media coverage is also absolutely zero. No OSU alumni
makes special donations to the hockey team except Jamie Macoun (OSU's
lone NHL caliber product). The use of the new stadium is a bone
tossed to the hockey players, and the administration has gone out of
its way to let them know it. If the hockey teams continues to draw a
whopping 1,000 people a game, that bone will quickly be taken away and
the school can rid itself of the headache of trying to schedule
precious basketball games and practice times around the hockey team.
At Western Michigan, a possible plan to have the Broncos play at the
Kalamazoo Arena (home of the K-Wings of the IHL) was nixed a while ago
in favor of playing in the rink closer to campus. At the time,
probably about nine or ten years ago, this little rink served it
purpose very well. But times are changing in college hockey.
Consider the "small" schools and "small" communities that have made
substantial investments into their college hockey programs. As listed
above, places like Lake State, NMU, CC, St. Cloud, and Mankato have
all built or renovated new stadiums to allow them to compete with the
larger, wealthier schools. College hockey in the West, once a quiet
pastime, is growing up fast. Schools know that they can no longer
toss a few dollars at an aging rink and still field a good team.
Western Michigan is a perfect example of this trend.
So what happens at Western Michigan now, after realizing that the
stadium that for so long was more than ample is suddenly out of date?
What do they do in Kalamazoo now, after being able to field a good
hockey team with almost no effort for some time, now finding
themselves having to work to remain competitive? Or Ferris? Or Notre
Dame? In this college hockey world of increasingly expensive programs
and facilities, can a school still produce a vibrant hockey program
with little or no support from the college and community? This
question is going to be asked more and more in the next few years, as
more teams join the D-I hockey ranks. Already, many ECAC programs are
finding it hard to compete. Can the MAAC really make any impact at
all? What will programs like Bemidji and Niagra do -- follow the
expensive high road or the budget, second division low-road?
A push is on from some of the fans of the successful programs to get
more TV coverage, more national recognition. Already, regional TV
contracts have heightened college hockey's financial status. My WMU
friend said that a few years ago, college hockey at most of these
small-time program schools was ranked along side of importance to
baseball -- a good varsity sport, but nothing that the school intends
to spend much money on. These schools must begin to spend money in
order to survive now.
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