>    Just a passing comment on Vermont's bid to join Hockey East.  I
>sincerely hope that the powers that be in Hockey East look on this
>exactly as they did when UMass Amherst asked to join back in the early
>1990's.  UMA was given, first, a "provisional" year before they went to
>full status as a competitive team.  In that first year, if memory
>serves, they didn't play a complete full schedule against league teams
>and were not listed in the weekly rankings and were not eligible for
>post-season play.

I guess that I'd agree only if for some reason UVM couldn't schedule a
full HEA slate of games.

>    If Vermont comes in as a full member and the league continues a
>three-game-per opponent schedule, the league schedule would increase
>from 24 to 27 games, giving each team three fewer games to schedule
>against outside opponents.  Since the NCAA allowable regular season is
>34 games, only seven would remain to help the RPI for post-season
>rankings.

Scheduling out of league games is no doubt difficult.  Would this mean
that scheduling only 2 HEA games per year is out of the question?
(Yes!)

Also, I would think that league games draw better crowds and cost less
than many non-league games, so HEA would not want to decrease the number
of (total) league games.  Someone mentioned a split league with 2 games
in "other division and 3 or 4 in own division ...  I don't like this for
symmetry's sake if nothing else.  Also, how would you split HEA?
Deciding how to split would take a big smoky room filled with ADs and a
bunch of expletives deleted!

Were I an AD, I'd argue for 1 division and 3 games with each opponent.

>    In addition, playing Vermont three times a year, initially, would do
>little or nothing to help the power ratings and all the league's teams
>would suffer -- especially those who are nearly perennial national
>contenders, like Maine, BC, UNH and BU.
>    So, this lady casts a vote for provisional status -- anyone else
>have a take on this?

I don't see how a UVM "provisional" status would affect rankings, unless
you're suggesting that UVM wean themselves slowly from the ECAC and
slowly into a full HEA schedule.  If they don't play a full schedule,
they should be "provisional"!  They're already a real D-1 team with
uniforms and everything.  ;-)  Hopefully they're done hazing.

With a full schedule, I'd think the HEA tournament would drop the bottom
2 teams or (better) have a play-in of bottom 4 teams with winners
advancing to a normal 8-team tournament.  There would be no effect from
that on rankings.

But these discussions may be premature.  The ECAC may want UVM to play
another year (Is much of next year's schedule in place now?) or there
may be bylaws that would delay a UVM exit from ECAC?

Would HEA require a full (NCAA) complement of scholarships?  Would any
other part of the program need to be upgraded?  UVM has talked about
replacing Gutterson Fieldhouse.  It's been a while since I've been
there, but it seemed a decent hockey house then.

cheers, wayne