Rick Feldhoff writes:
>Maybe Mike or some other NC$$ expert can tell us whether or not schools can
>play down.
 
I certainly wouldn't call myself an NC$$ expert. :-)  But I do know
that with very few exceptions, schools are not allowed to play below
their division in the NC$$.  Playing up a division or two, however, is
allowed.
 
If Kent chose to de-emphasize hockey but still keep it as a varsity
sport, it could be done.  Several DivI schools effectively play
"below" their division in the regular season, in that their
competition is primarily from DivII or DivIII.  These schools are
Villanova, Canisius, UConn, Holy Cross, Fairfield, Iona.  Adding them
to the 45 schools I referred to in an earlier post, you get the quoted
total of 51 DivI hockey teams.
 
Those six schools, however, are not eligible for any NC$$ tourney.  They
do not play the required 20 DivI games per year to be eligible for the
DivI tourney, and they cannot compete in the DivII or DivIII tourney
because you cannot compete in an NC$$ tourney in a division below that
of your school.  Kent would be in the same boat if they "dropped down".
 
Yet, unlike the six schools I mentioned above, Kent isn't in an area
where DivII or DivIII hockey is big.  I suppose they could slide into
the ECAC West, since they're not far from Mercyhurst, PA, and they'd
still be able to compete for a conference title.  But I would expect
that they'd either stay at the DivI level or drop it completely and
just have their club program (where divisional restrictions are less
stringent).
---                                                                 ---
Mike Machnik                                          [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                  *HMM* 11/13/93