Really interesting article with a ton of titbits scattered throughout. Not sure how inside Shasby is in college hockey undergrounds, but he also suspects that there will be a conference shift a few years from now. Then he mentions that a couple of teams are trying to make the "jump" to DI, who they purposely scheduled games against such as Liberty, UNLV, and...Simon Fraser. Would NCAA allow a Canadian school to compete in US divisions? He seems a bit too optimistic, but he's hopeful that teams in PAC-12 eventually look at UAA and Kraken (personnel in the organisation donated money to keep UAA alive), which convinces one of those NW schools to eventually get a team that could be a gateway for a conference that will help keep the Alaska teams. Take the Q/A for what you will.
Q&A With ... Alaska-Anchorage Coach Matt Shasby
UNLV might be "looking to make the jump" as the coach says. However I don't classify them as a realistic candidate. They have been told time and time again by their athletic department that there is no chance the university will add it at this time.
UNLV hockey club desperate for money, NCAA Division I status As far as I'm aware and I could be wrong, but they don't even get a cent of funding from the university. Now like anything in college athletics, if a big donor(s) comes along, and the Title IX numbers are good, sure it could happen. I thought with the success of the Golden Knights and Bill Foley having money to throw around he could have been someone who got the ball rolling, but after the Knights brought the AHL to town, I think that rules anything like that out. And now I believe he's pursuing an MLS franchise for Vegas.
Liberty certainly has the facilities, and even the fan support for such a move, and I always put them on my shortlist of candidates, from that standpoint they are certainly better positioned than a program like UNLV. But even though I do put them on my list of most likely candidates, they haven't made a move to be an NCAA program or even expressed an interest in adding NCAA hockey.
Simon Fraser already competes as an NCAA DII athletic department in the Great Northwest Conference and they are not new to playing NCAA exhibition games either. Using Wikipedia as a quick source "Since 2012-13 Simon Fraser University has been playing NCAA Division 1 programs with increased frequency. 2012–13 saw the Clan face off against the Air Force Falcons of Atlantic Hockey. 2013-14 saw the Clan travel to college hockey hotbed Boston and take on the Sacred Heart Pioneers and College of the Holy Cross Crusaders. That year they would also host two major historical college hockey programs in the 8 time NCAA Champion University of North Dakota Fight Hawks, and two time ECAC champion Princeton Tigers.[4] 2014-15 would take the Clan to Ohio to take on the perennial powerhouse Miami RedHawks who would go on to capture the NCHC championship that year, as well as the former national champion Bowling Green Falcons.[5] 2015-16 would once again take the Clan back to Boston to play the defending national champion Providence College Friars, as well as former national champions in the Northeastern University Huskies.[6] 2016-17 saw the Clan travel to Alaska to take on the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves[7] and the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks,[8] then in February they would travel to Tempe, Arizona to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils for the second time in their history."
And in 2016 they did come out and say they were exploring it, but no official word since then
SFU Exploring Business Models For NCAA Hockey, Sand Volleyball - Simon Fraser University Athletics