There has recently been some discussion about small school hockey
budgets which has mainly focused on division II and III schools, but perhaps
the most interesting case is Colorado College.  As far as I know (please
correct me if I'm wrong) CC is the smallest school (1,900 students) with a
major division I hockey program.
 
        There has recently been much debate on the CC campus about whether to
retain division I hockey and what place a big-time program has in a liberal
arts college that is ranked in the top twenty academically in the country.
After the NC$$ violations involving former coach Brad Buetow, it looked as if
hockey would surely be terminated.  The faculty was completely in favor of
abolishing hockey, and the students were divided on the issue, although those
who supported abolishing hockey were much more vocal than those who favored
retaining the program.  The arguments against d-I hockey were that a school of
our size and character had no business being in d-1 and that even though CC is
in excellent financial condition, division I was just too expensive.  CC's d-1
budget, which includes only men's hockey and women's soccer (our soccer program
has traditionally been a major power house), is over one milliion dollars.
 
        Because we had an interim president, the decision on d-1 hockey was
delayed for over a year, and when we hired our new coach, Don Lucia, we had to
tell him that there was no guarantee that the program he was coaching would
remain division I.  Another reason for delaying the decision was that the
Tigers' home arena, the Broadmoor World Arena, was slated to be torn down in
one year, and the college wanted to know what the prospects were for having a
new arena to play at.  Without the prospect of a new arena in Colorado Springs
(not funded by the college) the decision would be to scrap d-1.
 
        The next season, lo and behold, CC hockey went from worst to first in
the WCHA, winning national attention.  I'm not sure how our winning
effected the d-1 decision, but I know one of the major factors in deciding
whether to keep d-1 hockey was the class the Don Lucia has shown.  After Brad
Buetow, many had argued that a team could not succeed in d-1 without violating
NC$$ rules and being somewhat "slimy".  Lucia's class seemed to refute this
argument.
 
        The final decision on d-1 sports came this semester from president
Kathryn Mohrman.  The premise of the decision was that if CC didn't have their
strong tradition of college hockey (college hockey was started by the Penrose
and Tutt families, major benefactors of the college, and every national
championship used to be played at the Broadmoor), the college would not even
consider starting a program.  However, giving the hockey tradition (not to
mention alumni support for Tiger hockey), the program
would be retained, given some very strict conditions.  First, that the Colorado
Springs World Arena be built within the next couple of years (CC now has to
play all home games at the Air Force Academy) and that it have at least a 6,000
seat capacity.  Second, that within a few years, at least 40% of the d-1 budget
must come from external sources, mainly increased ticket sales at the larger
arena, liscensing and increased sales of CC apparel and donations from alumni.
If 40% of the d-1 budget does not come from external sources, the program will
(supposedly) be cut.  The third condition for retaining division I hockey is
that if there is ever another scandal such as the one that happened two years
ago under Brad Buetow, the program will be terminated immediately, even if it
is in the middle of the season.  NC$$ violations will not be tolerated, nor
will a program that does not appear "classy" and give the college a good name.
 
        With Don Lucia as coach, it looks like CC hockey will have no problem
continuing.  Since the d-1 decision and its conditions were announced, numerous
alumni have come forward to donate to the new arena, as well as to the hockey
team itself.  With CC in first place in the WCHA for most of the past year and
a half, ticket sales have been good as have been merchandise sales.  On top of
this, Lucia is not only classy, but very smart, and will not do anything to
endanger the program.  I know this is a major disappointment to all you Denver,
Minnesota and Wisconsin fans, because now none of you will have a chance to
win the McNaughton Cup this year, nor for many years to come.  This is also too
bad for Maine, BU and Michigan, who now have no hope of winning a national
championship.
 
 
                                Jeff Brune
                                GO TIGERS!!!!
                                1994 WCHA Champions