NCAA Hockey Expansion Thread

[Barclay Donaldson]

Actually, I just said they seem to draw well for a club team, not that UNLV draws North Dakota numbers. I can't find any actual data for their attendance, but if -- IF -- they went D-1, that would only improve, right?

And I never said social media presence means they're going Division I, just noted that's impressive for ACHA. Whomever runs it is certainly aiming for bigger things than club.

For a club team? They have maybe a few hundred fans each game. Check out their live streams on YouTube. That rink sits less than 300, and that's pretty full but outside of that there isn't even a ring or two of people around the glass.

That's pretty low end for ACHA D1. Minot State, Liberty, Arizona, Ohio, and others all are in actual arenas and have attendance figures in with a fourth digit...

 

[Bonk]

So you just pulled it out of thin air! Really adds credibility to you and your claim.

But yes, going from unrecorded attendance to recorded attendance would be some kind of improvement, I guess.

Actually I saw a couple of videos and it looked like they had decent crowds. I didn't actually pause them to count the number of people in the stands, but it looked like more than 300. IDK.

Jesus, there are some pissy people on this forum. Is there a Xanax shortage?

 

[JMCx4]

... Jesus, there are some pissy people on this forum. Is there a Xanax shortage?

When in Rome ...

 

[TruthBombs]

Actually I saw a couple of videos and it looked like they had decent crowds. I didn't actually pause them to count the number of people in the stands, but it looked like more than 300. IDK.

Jesus, there are some pissy people on this forum. Is there a Xanax shortage?

Right, so you basically pulled it from thin air and think 300 is decent attendance for a Division I program!

Who's pissy?

 

[Bonk]

Right, so you basically pulled it from thin air and think 300 is decent attendance for a Division I program!

Who's pissy?

Well, that would be you. I don't think you understand what pissy means. How about condescending, or arrogantly argumentative?

Also, I never said 300 was decent for an NCAA program, you guys came up with that number. Did UNLV turn down your admittance application or something?

 

[TruthBombs]

Well, that would be you. I don't think you understand what pissy means. How about condescending, or arrogantly argumentative?

Also, I never said 300 was decent for an NCAA program, you guys came up with that number. Did UNLV turn down your admittance application or something?

The club hockey people always think it's soooooo easy...

How's Lindenwood doing in Division I?

 

[JMCx4]

... How's Lindenwood doing in Division I?

Well, this season they've beaten Wisconsin & Miami-Ohio & UNO. No blowout losses. So I'd say: They're making progress in Season #2.

 

[VaCaps Fan]

You going to get the “wave” going at games?

 

[TruthBombs]

You going to get the “wave” going at games?

You need engaged fans to do the wave.

Hard to get fans to pay money to come when your selling point is, "No blowout losses this year (but we're still a scorching hot 5-17-2)!"

 

[Bonk]

The club hockey people always think it's soooooo easy...

How's Lindenwood doing in Division I?

I think you have the wrong person.

I don't know the first thing about club hockey (and don't care a lot, frankly), and having seen the commitment it took from ASU and St. Thomas, I'm well aware of the finances and other difficulties involved with making that move.

Look, I just started the conversation by asking an innocent question about what else UNLV needed to make the next move, and clearly I struck a nerve with a few of you folks by wrongly assuming based on what very little I'd seen that maybe they had a rink and attendance that was near D-1 level already.

You guys said it's not happening, and without the financial backing, an NCAA-sized rink or ample attendance, it appears that's correct for now. I got my answer. Thanks.

 

[JMCx4]

You need engaged fans to do the wave.

Hard to get fans to pay money to come when your selling point is, "No blowout losses this year (but we're still a scorching hot 5-17-2)!"

Lindenwood U has much deeper problems than their NCAA DI ice hockey teams. So using the LU men as a cautionary tale for future expansion attempts is probably unfair. Take the wave to clearer waters.

 

[TruthBombs]

Lindenwood U has much deeper problems than their NCAA DI ice hockey teams. So using the LU men as a cautionary tale for future expansion attempts is probably unfair. Take the wave to clearer waters.

Yes they do, but their foray into Division I is definitely still a cautionary tale. It would appear the Lindenwood administration got sold on Division I hockey by a coach looking to elevate his own profile, only to find out the coach didn't understand how much different the level of play is in Division I. They shelled out money they didn't have on a program they didn't really need in a sport that is only popular in that metropolitan area at the NHL level, and now they're holding the bag with a money-losing program in a money-losing athletic department at a school that's going broke because students realize the value of a degree from Lindenwood isn't worth assuming hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to obtain.

It's just one of the school's myriad problems, but it's a self-inflicted one. They could have never had men's hockey (or women's hockey, for that matter, which has never had a 10-win season) and saved piles of money that could have improved the athletic department's finances and the school's finances as well.

But here they are, with two losing hockey programs on the ice and on the balance sheet.