On Thu, 7 Apr 1994, Mike Machnik wrote:
> This is relevant to both HOCKEY-L and hockey3, so it goes to both
> lists. Many are ideas I have espoused here before, but I'm putting
> them all together into one post.
>
> IF IT WERE UP TO ME...
>
> ...there would be a DivII-III Hobey Baker Award, just like there used
> to be. Nothing in the Hobey criteria states that the winner must be
> from a DivI school, but it's been 5-6 years now since a non-DivI
> player has even made the list of 10 finalists, and we all know there's
> no chance anyone not from DivI will ever win the Award as it currently
> stands. There used to be a DivII-III East and DivII-III West winner.
> Why not at least give out a "University" (i.e. DivI) and "College"
> (non-DivI) Hobey, like the All-Americas do?
This would hopefully lend a bit more credibility to the level of play in
Div II-III.
> ...the DivIII final four would have to alternate regions from year to
> year.
Theoretically, there has been an alternate East-West format for several
years (with the exception of 1992-93 when the finals were held at the
Aldrich Arena in St. Paul, a neutral site). In practice, however, the
finals were held on-campus as follows: 1988-89 at RIT, 1989-90 at
Stevens Point, 1990-91 at Elmira, 1991-92 at Plattsburgh, 1992-93 at St.
Paul (Neutral); 1993-94 at Superior. While there is perceived advantage
to home ice, there are also several aspects that may outweigh this
perception:
1. With the tournament schedule that the NCAA has been following, the
location for the championship is not determined until well after any kind
of reasonable airfare arrangements can be made by fans. In addition, at
least in the NCHA, the schools are not located in major metropolitan
areas and do not have "hub" airports in the vicinity with flights at all
times of the day and night from multiple carriers. A neutral site
set-up, planned years in advance just like Div I, would appear to be the
answer.
2. With the present on-campus set-up, the home team is not necessarily
at an advantage. Unlike the incoming opponents, the home team is
constantly besieged by fans and well-wishers for the week preceding the
tournament. They don't have the opportunity to be sequestered and
concentrate on the upcoming games.
> a DivIII championship game played immediately preceding the DivI game,
> possibly in a format like Hockeyfest was, to get those players the
> exposure they deserve - but I don't think that's likely.
>And that DivIII championship should be on tv, even on tape delay in the
>middle of the night at least.
If both finals were held in the same place/same time, a package TV deal
could hopefully be made. As it is now, the DivIII schools have to rush
around trying to get underwriting for their student television stations
(if they have one) to "go remote" and broadcast back to the fans who
couldn't go (see airfare costs in first paragraph).
> ...if a top-ranked DivIII team like Fredonia State was unable to host
> the final four at their own rink because of size, then they could
> still host it nearby at another school's larger rink or at a nearby
> neutral site.
The only problem I can see with this is that it is pretty difficult to
find sufficient ice time for a tournament at what is basically the last
minute, especially at a facility that is not your own.
--------------------
Please remember that this is written from the perspective of the NCHA
where the schools are not clustered together. (Check a road map and
check out the distance from Green Bay, WI (home of St. Norbert's) to
Bemidji, MN.)
--------------------
Oh well, what would we do if we didn't have something to complain about
and world problems to solve ...
Debbie Somers
UW-Stevens Point -- Home of the 4-time Div III National Champs
(1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91 & 1992-93)
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