On Thursday, January 3, 2002, at 09:13  AM, Jim Love wrote:

> Greetings from snowy Solomons -
>
> --<snip-snip>


> Are
> regular season CCHA/WCHA games vs. UAA and/or UAF played in Alaska
> exempt
> for the visiting team (I hadn't thought so) ??  I'm at a loss - can
> some-
> one with more knowledge of NCAA-scheduling arcania solve this mystery
> for
> me ??
>
>   Cheers from the Chesapeake - Jim
>

=====Reply=====
Hi, all--

Yep, these games continue to be exempt, though the need for the
exemption is less clear, now that UAA and UAF are accepted members of
the WCHA and CCHA, respectively. The initial intent was to provide
impetus for teams from "America" to play up here, but, now that Alaska
is just another road trip, it seems that many coaches are finagling the
exemption into a mechanism to (a) schedule extra games and (b) try to
make them home games to increase program revenue.

Interestingly, UAA and UAF don't get any exempted games for playing one
another, so we're stuck at 34 plus the odd exhibition, while our
opponents get to play in the GLI, the Mariucci Classic, Everblade, etc.,
as a reward for the "hardship" of travelling to a place that is more
readily accessible than either Marquette or the Soo. Go figure.

And, yes Jim, there's darn near as much snow in the Solomons as there is
in Fairbanks this winter.
--jeff partnow
--Fairbanks