Amidst the excitement surrounding the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL joined NCAA hockey last week to announce a potential college equivalent: the intent to jointly explore expanding Division I hockey. With Penn State and Arizona State recently adding varsity programs, the University of Illinois will be the first in a group of colleges that will look to upgrade to Division I.
Illinois would theoretically slot right into the Big Ten and would be a compelling draw for hockey players. Not only does the university’s club program boast on-ice success, finishing 13th nationally in the ACHA, but the state ranks fifth in terms of natives playing in Division I.
According to staff report from College Hockey News, the NCAA hockey feasibility study will consist of examining whether the school could start and maintain a hockey program which would include “one-time and annual expenses, funding opportunities, facility needs, Title IX considerations, and community support.”
The other four schools that will undergo this study have not been named, but it does permit one to ponder who else could be in the mix for a Division I program. In no particular order, here are five schools that would make the most sense for a future feasibility study.
Rutgers
This would not be the least bit surprising based on a petition to join the varsity hockey ranks that has circulated among Rutgers alumni in the past. Besides that, New Jersey also boasts the sixth-largest population (right behind Illinois) of NCAA hockey players with 52. The state has also seen high-school hockey rise, and joining the Big Ten would allow Rutgers to take its football rivalries with schools like Penn State to the ice.
However, Rutgers has dealt with Title IX and has struggled to support its athletic programs as they currently exist. Undaunted, the likes of retired Brig. Gen. Bruce Bingham, the executive director at Capstone Valuation Services, could be a financial supporter.
“Just say the word. I want Rutgers hockey on the map,” said Bingham in an interview with nj.com.
Pegula was among those on hand for the NHL’s announcement of its NCAA hockey feasibility study. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
Pittsburgh
Chicago and Pittsburgh have an NHL rivalry in terms of deciding the current model franchise, but both markets may also be facing off in the quest to add an NCAA hockey program to the area.
Terry Pegula, the owner of the Buffalo Sabres, funded Penn State when its joined the ranks in 2012. While the NCAA will examine whether Illinois has enough money to fund a program, the University of Pittsburgh may already have the financial support it needs to make the jump. Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reports that executives with the Penguins, bolstered by Sidney Crosby and the Penguins’ success, have been trying to develop enough interest in the area to form a Division I team.
As Kennedy articulated Wednesday, “Pitt would also have a natural landing spot in Hockey East, where schools such as Boston College, UConn and Providence College would be familiar from past or present basketball and football rivalries.”
Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island may not be the most eye-catching name to join Division 1 hockey, but with its location in New England, it would not starve for fan interest. The Rams would form a natural rivalry with schools like Brown and Providence, and could join Hockey East or the ECAC.
The Rams also compete in the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League and went 21-12-7 this past year. With Boss Ice Arena already on its campus, URI would naturally find a home to support larger crowds.
Rhode Island is also the only state school in New England not to have Division I hockey. The other five are all in the men’s and women’s Hockey East conferences.
Former L.A. King Kevin Westgarth knows the potential for Southern California’s support of hockey firsthand, and has openly advocated for testing that at USC and UCLA. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Syracuse
With the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch recently making an appearance in the Calder Cup Final and Upstate New York serving as a hotbed of hockey interest, it would only make sense for the Orange to consider joining men’s varsity hockey.
Syracuse already has a women’s team playing at the Division I level. In addition, Syracuse it immediately have a host of potential regional rivals in Cornell, RIT and Colgate. And like the other candidates listed here, the Orange also have a strong club program, finishing in the top 20 in the ACHA in 2015-16.
However, barring a Pegula-Penn State type of investment, Syracuse may fall short in one aspect of the study: the location of its games. Tennity Ice Pavilion is a small rink that was never designed to host a large influx of fans and sharing the Memorial Ice Arena with the Crunch just would not conceivably work.
California schools
Admittedly, adding a California school to is a bit of a far-fetched concept for the near future. However, with Arizona State adding a program after a successful club hockey run, this could happen. Add the fact that the Golden State provides fans with the Anaheim Ducks, LA Kings and San Jose Sharks, plus five relatively new AHL teams.
According to Kevin Westgarth, the NHL Vice President of Business Development and International Affairs, the possibility of expanding into California may not simply be a dream.
“It would be amazing to see a UCLA-USC game before a Los Angeles Kings-Anaheim Ducks game,” Westgarth said to NHL.com. “There’s certainly some big dreamers involved in this. I think the goal really is with the raising of awareness and the NHL connection and being able to use our platform to be able to announce this and explore what the cost would be at a variety of schools.”
Forming a Pac-12 hockey conference with the likes of USC or UCLA around ASU would be a lofty undertaking, and each school would have to build a facility. So, for now, a California school may not undergo an NCAA hockey feasibility study this year. But it is hardly out of the question for the long haul.
Leave a Reply