I am glad to see that interest in hockey is growing in communities like
Dallas-Fort Worth though it remains to be seen whether there would be
support for college hockey programs there.  I suppose there is a good
chance the community would stand behind any new college hockey programs
as there has been such a wave of interest at the high school level.  I
have never been to Dallas and I was not making a strict comparison to
New York.  I was merely demonstrating that a city's support for it's NHL
franchise does not always translate into support for college hockey.  If
we are lucky, D1 college hockey programs will sprout up in places like
Dallas.  (Bob wouldn't it be great to not have to travel 1300+ miles to
see a game...you must be a die hard fan!)

But i'm not sure I support having the Frozen Four in one of these areas
"just" to generate interest.  I don't think they would do this for other
sports. My opinion has nothing to do with not wanting to "break the
mold".  I am OK with taking a risk on what could be a "worthy cause".
It is also not a matter of "hell freezing over" before I attend a Frozen
Four held in  a "non-college hockey community."  I just feel that
college hockey fans and, to a greater extent, the NCAA should embrace
those communities that already do support college hockey.  I believe
that interest could (and should) be generated and guaged in "non-college
hockey communities" by proper marketing and with local/regional/national
television or radio broadcasting.

As for giving college hockey communities the opportunity to show that
they ardently support college hockey....Well, for example, most college
hockey fans know that college hockey is popular in cities like Boston.
I'm sure relatively few fans have traveled to places like Omaha or
Alabama-Huntsville to see a game.  Prior to going to Omaha in 2000 I had
no idea there was so much support for UNO and college hockey there.  It
was exciting to see.  Having a Frozen Four in a place like Omaha would
give that city the opportunity to showcase it's enthusiasm for college
hockey.   Same holds true for other "lesser known" college hockey
communities.  Obviously logistics and infrastructure would factor
greatly in getting a major college tournament in these places.

Brian