From Friday Dec 5 Minnesota Daily:
http://www.daily.umn.edu/daily/1997/12/05/sports/puck05/
Graphic of possible alignment at:
http://www.daily.umn.edu/daily/1997/12/05/sports/puck05/g1puck05.html
 
WCHA, CCHA ask: Is change good?
Aaron Kirscht - Staff Reporter
 
Related Links: U responds but doesn't get a reward | Men's hockey
 
 
The annual College Hockey Showcase, which wrapped up its fifth
installment last weekend, has built a following as a sort of informal
Big Ten tournament in its short history. The entrants -- Michigan State
and Michigan of the CCHA, and Wisconsin and Minnesota of the WCHA --
include four of the five Big Ten schools with Division I hockey
programs, with CCHA-affiliated Ohio State being the fifth.
 
And since its inception, the Showcase has renewed discussions of
realignment between the CCHA and WCHA, with the Big Ten members from
each conference at the crux.
 
Informal realignment discussions occurred two years ago, prior to the
1995-96 season, WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said. The talks were
geared toward setting the table for more concrete agreements rather than
hammering out a deal, but they have since fizzled.
 
"We kind of have to establish some new connections," McLeod said, "but I
think that with the people we have talked to in the CCHA, the door is
still open. They have to get a new commissioner in place, but my hope is
that we will continue those talks this spring."
 
After 13 years at the helm, CCHA commissioner Bill Beagan will step down
following this season. But he maintains some enthusiasm for a compromise
that would allow the Big Ten teams to meet each other on a more regular
basis. In fact, he said such a move might be a necessity.
 
"I just think that to move to the next level," Beagan said, "in terms of
national visibility, we need to have Minnesota and Wisconsin playing
Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan more often.
 
"The only thing standing in the way of it is the athletic directors at
the respective institutions getting together on a conference call and
saying, 'How do we make this thing work?'"
 
There are several options. One would have the five Big Ten schools
secede from their respective conferences, add a sixth school -- possibly
Notre Dame -- and form a "superleague" of their own. Another option
would be to bring the CCHA and the WCHA under the same umbrella and
form several divisions, one of which could include the five Big Ten
schools.
 
In any plan, a level of accommodation toward the Big Ten and its
hockey-playing institutions is central because of the possibility of
gaining benefits -- both financially and traditionally -- from the
dual-conference rivalries that exist between the teams. That Penn State
and Illinois could soon elevate their club programs to the varsity level
is also a factor.
 
But the superleague strategy is largely considered extreme, as it would
force the Big Ten schools to abandon their respective leagues
altogether. That could weaken, if not topple, the CCHA and WCHA;
Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the centerpieces
of each conference.
 
"I think that would lead to the dismantling of Division I hockey as we
know it today," Beagan said, "because we're such a small constituency.
If it were to manifest itself where (the Big Ten teams) only play each
other, I think there would be a lot of collateral damage, in terms of a
lot of teams folding their programs."
 
The provinciality of the sport -- its popularity not nearly as
widespread nationally as basketball or football, for example -- has
historically forced provincial decisions. Recently, however, there seems
to be a greater emphasis on how shuffling the deck could benefit college
hockey as a whole.
 
An informal merger of the leagues and an ensuing divisional realignment,
based on traditional and geographical interests, seems more feasible and
agreeable among the multitude of interests involved.
 
"There are varying types of opinions," McLeod said. "But I still think
that, for the good of hockey, we should all keep open minds and try to
accommodate some of the concerns of the Big Ten schools without breaking
everything up."
 
There are nine teams in the WCHA and 11 in the CCHA -- including
Northern Michigan, which transferred from the WCHA before this season.
Mankato State and Nebraska-Omaha are likely to be admitted to the WCHA
within the next few years, which would even the leagues at 11 teams
each.
 
In a supposed four-division split, that could set up the following
breakdown if the two leagues were to become one:
 
Northern Division (five teams): Ferris State (Mich.), Lake Superior
State (Mich.), Northern Michigan, Western Michigan, Michigan Tech.
 
Western Division (6): Alaska-Anchorage, Alaska-Fairbanks, Denver,
Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota.
 
Big Ten Division (6): Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota,
Notre Dame, Wisconsin.
 
Central Division (5): Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State, Mankato State,
Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green (Ohio).
 
Teams in each division would play each other four times (one home series
and one away series) and schedule one series against up to six other
league teams, perhaps on a rotating schedule. For the Gophers, that
would equal 32 league games, in addition to a preseason non-conference
series and the annual Mariucci Classic, totaling 36 games.
 
These placements and assessments are only conjecture, but offer an
example of what college hockey in the Midwest could look like in the
future. How to structure a combined league, however, remains a sticking
point.
 
Big-conference mergers are not unheard of, as evidenced by the joining
of the Big Eight and Southwest conferences to form the Big 12 in 1996.
Still, between the CCHA and WCHA, dissolving one or both leagues to form
a new, unified league seems unlikely. But the commissioners of both
leagues said an agreement that would allow each league to continue
operating under its current leadership structure, while reorganizing
scheduling priorities to better reflect geographical and traditional
rivalries, is reasonable.
 
"It's very practical," Beagan said. "I think we would be prepared to
reduce our number of conference games to make an accommodation whereby
our Big Ten schools would play (the WCHA's) Big Ten schools more often.
It just makes sense to me, as a promoter, that the respective
conferences would play their counterparts more often, even though
they're in another league. It just makes sense."
 
From 1959 to 1981, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota -- then all
members of the WCHA -- competed for a Big Ten title based on season-long
point totals. But when the Michigan schools transferred to the CCHA for
the 1981-82 season, separate Big Ten standings were discontinued.
 
NCAA bylaws now require six teams to compete for an official
championship sport -- a figure that could be met by the inclusion of
Notre Dame into such a configuration.
 
"In my mind," McLeod said, "understanding those traditional
relationships, what we could do is try and find some ways to make things
work if they wanted to play each other more and in a more meaningful
way. That's why we should be open to some realignment in order to
maintain what we have. We have to keep an open mind."
 
The CCHA seems to be on board, as does the WCHA. The Big Ten, however,
has not yet taken a stance on the issue of realignment or whether they
would recognize a Big Ten "champion" that came out of a CCHA-WCHA
venture.
 
"There is interest," said Mark Rudner, an associate Big Ten commissioner
and staff liaison to conference athletic directors. "Obviously, hockey
is very big at a number of our schools, and our athletic directors do
talk about it periodically and try to figure out how best to structure
one league that comes from two leagues. That's the biggest stumbling
block right now."
 
It's a push-pull situation all around. Should both leagues agree on a
plan that would put more focus on Big Ten match-ups, that would still
force some teams to abandon -- at least occasionally -- equally
traditional rivals. The Gophers, for example, might not face opponents
like North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State or Colorado College
as often. And Michigan and Michigan State could lose out on intrastate
games with the other five Michigan schools.
 
"It's something we should look at and consider," Minnesota coach Doug
Woog said. "It interests me to play the Big Ten schools, but you don't
want to leave all your good friends and the league that's been so good
for so long. There are a lot of things to think about with a change like
that."
 
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