OK, I've been talking about this on hockey-l and USCHO for about 8 years,
always taking the same line (because this topic has been going strong since
about 1990, year 5 of the HE).

It's been obvious for a decade that the ECAC was headed for 4th league
status.  There is no mystery why:

1. No scholarships.  Johnnie can go to Yale for $100k or Michigan for free.
Where does Johnnie go?

2. Entrance requirements/selectivity.  Bobby is the #1 prospect, has the
cash, wants to come -- but Bobby can't get in.

3. Administrative idiocy.  25 year old commissioners; decisions voted on by
school without hockey; incompetence.

Equally apparent is that even under the best of circumstances:

1. Will never change for the Ivies.

2. Will never change for *any* of the members.

3. Might well change - it's never too late to start doing things right.

I'm strongly of the opinion that ECAC Hockey should form its own hockey-only
conference.  The only strong allegiance any member has is the solidarity of
the Ivies, and they can well keep it by making the move en masse.  First
things first: put hockey people in charge.  Can you imagine where ECAC
hockey would be today if say Bill Cleary (this from a Harvard-hater,
remember...), or some other absolutely unapologetic booster of the game, had
been at the helm?

Some ECAC requirements are no more than cosmetic -- there is no reason on
earth to go to an October 15 start date and a total 12 NC games matching the
other leagues -- not doing so is just puerile obstinacy.  I hope it will
change, when the people in charge have an inkling what the game is about.

Some ECAC requirements are far more than cosmetic -- the focus on academics
is not "missing the point," it *is* the point.  Just because the other
majors sacrifice more and more of their purpose, doesn't mean the ECAC
should.  At the end of the day, yes I want a winner, but I want a winner
with some semblance of honor.  I don't want the ECAC to hedge on their
academic excellence -- I want them to USE it.  If that means coming off as
elitst, tough crap -- the day the other conference members can boast of the
same level of selectivity will be a day when the game as a whole is better
off.

Princeton did something very interesting lately when it inaugurated a policy
of replacing all student loans with grants.  If this wwere adopted by all
the ECAC schools, it would tremendously boost their competitiveness for
everyone from physicists to violinists to left wings.  They sure have the
endowments to support those policies.  Let's see them put up the cash to
back their high-minded rhetoric (in this it's a real shame that my own
Cornell, the "popultist Ivy," was not way ahead of the others.

OK, make it less expensive, take away the self-imposed schedule
restrictions, and promote the strength of the schools to death.  It may not
make us all North Dakotas, but I guarantee it will make us all better.