>        Why should the league let in UNO right away?
I am not saying that (although it would be nice), but I also think the WCHA
owes us more than what they're giving us right now, which is dead silence
since Tech decided to stay.
 
>The thing I keep hearing is attendance.  But that was all sold out well in
>advance, and arguably as a novelty.  Let's see what kind of attendance
there is >2 or 3 years down the road when the team is struggling (and they will
>struggle).
It'll still be sold out, or close too. Give us Omahans some credit, most of
us know and like our hockey. But I guess you're right, hockey must be a
novelty even though we have 3 generations of hockey fans in this town and
that UNO hockey gets more attention than any other local sport but Husker
football. If anything, the fact that season tickets sold out in 16 days with
a year and a half before the first game was played means it isn't a novelty.
And we'll see about that struggling part. Alot of people said we'd be lucky
to win 5 games this year (for the record, we won 12).
 
>The Lancers long sellout streak recently ended
Barely, Omaha almost kept it alive. This was more due to the fact that
people were unaware tickets were availible for that game until the night
before than fans not showing up. Of the 2000 tickets availible on game day,
over 1500 were sold that day. and although that that 214/234/whatever game
sellout streak ended, a new one started the next night. Heck, if the Huskers
200+game sellout streak ended this year, would you say Husker football is
dead as well?
 
>and from what I've heard, UNO's sellouts weren't all bodies in the seats
>variety.
Any time corporations are involved, there will be empty seats. We aren't
alone in this.
 
>Perhaps Omaha has now reached a hockey saturation point.
Perhaps for the moemnt, but that's still means 14,000+ hockey fans on some
nighs (8,314 for UNO games along with 6,100+ for Lancer games.), and as more
people learn about hockey thru the greater availibility of tickets, we'll
start fillin the seats as well as keepin the sell outs. Hopefully we can get
a new arena and get an IHL team too.
 
>        As to why Mankato is further along in the process, they've been
>trying to get in the league for about five years, if not more.  They've
>actually been playing for fifty.
Only 2 in D1 though.
 
>They also have a brand new arena and are indeed close to several existing
>teams.
Omaha's looking into a new arena (never made it out of legislature this year
though because they want it but don't wanna pay for it and because the
committee wants to build it int he stupidest site possible), which would be
comparable size-wise to the Kohl Center (14,000 for hockey)
 
>They also seem more willing to play the game (polically, not on the ice)
and >aren't as pushy as UNO.
So now UNO is pushy, huh? I'd say eager, not pushy. Our players deserve to
have something to play for just as much as Mankato's do. Maybe this is why
I'd almost rather see UNO goto the CCHA, I'm not sure I want to see UNO in
an elitest league, or at least I get the impression that some people think
the WCHA is an elitest league (not many, but enough to disturb me a little).
From what I read on the message boards, the CCHA fans would welcome UNO more
as a whole more than the WCHA. I have heard alot of support from most WCHA
fans, its just I have yet to read a CCHA person say that anything but that
it'd be a mistake to pass on UNO, though I'm sure I will eventually. (CCHA
bonus, I think we get CCHA games on our Fox Sports affiliate more than WCHA
games, but maybe I just don't look at the tv listings close enough)
 
>        I'm a little leery of expansion bringing in smaller schools (this
>coming from someone who goes to a smaller school).
UNO is a small school in a big area with plenty of support, afaik, Mankato
isn't in a big city like UNO is.
 
>At least North Dakota
>has been in the big time of hockey for a long time and has the mindset of
>Divisions I.
This has to do with UNO/Mankato getting into a conference how? UNO may not
have  Division I mindset as you call it yet, but Omaha itself does from
Husker football to Creighton basketball to the College World Series to now
UNO hockey.
 
>It's a big step that Mankato, UNO, and possibly Bemidji and
>making.  I think they need time to prove they are committed, otherwise we
>will have Kent St. and UIC all over again.
UNO making 2.5 million this season off of hockey, which will bring all
current sports to being full funded and start up 3 womens sports between now
and 2000 to offset its title ix requirements, the support of the public, and
it making a bid for both an NCAA regional in 2000 and the Ice Breakers
tourny sometime down the line must mean UNO is only gonna keep this around
for a year or two. yeah, that's it, UNO isn't going to be serious about it's
only big money maker. If you aren't sure UNO is serious, you need to come
down to Omaha for a game or two or read the Omaha paper.
 
>For this reason, I like that the WCHA is moving cautiously.
I'm fine with them moving cautiously, I'm just ticked the WCHA is absolutly
ignoring us at the moment. I'd think they'd at least talk to us if they were
interested in us joining.
 
Ben F.
U!N!O! U!N!O!
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.