Quinnipiac Makes Major Commitment to Collegiate Ice Hockey
Plans for Arena, Upgrade in Menıs Program and New Womenıs Team Among
Changes
Friday, December 4, 1998
Hamden, Conn. - President John L. Lahey today announced that Quinnipiac
College will continue the development of its Division I athletic program
by making men and women's ice hockey ³sports of emphasis.²
Lahey and Athletic Director Jack McDonald outlined several key moves
that will assist the college in this effort:
Construction of a new ice hockey and basketball facility to be
developed on Quinnipiacıs new Rocky Top property in Hamden
Implementation of women's ice hockey as an intercollegiate varsity
sport, beginning in the 2000-2001 academic year
Promotion of part-time menıs ice hockey coach Rand Pecknold to
full-time status
Addition of U.S. Olympic women's ice hockey head coach Ben Smith as a
consultant for the development of the Quinnipiac men and womenıs
programs
Upgrade of menıs ice hockey scholarships, schedules and recruiting
Relocation of practices and games to the new Northford Ice Pavilion
beginning with the 1999-2000 season
³The college is very pleased with the tremendous progress all
student-athletes and coaches have made during our Division I
transition,² Lahey said. ³In this region, college hockey is extremely
popular and it is our hope to compete with the country's best men and
womenıs teams.²
The research and design of a new hockey and basketball facility has
already begun. The institution has purchased the 135-acre Rocky Top
property, located off Sherman Avenue in Hamden. The proposed facility
will have two separate sections for ice hockey and basketball that will
each seat approximately 3,000 spectators. This will also include home
and visiting team locker room facilities. A start date on this new
facility has not been determined, but preliminary design plans have been
developed.
Lahey also announced that Quinnipac will add womenıs intercollegiate ice
hockey, beginning with an exhibition season in 1999-2000. It will be
elevated to varsity status in 2000-2001. Quinnipiac will immediately
apply for membership to the ECAC Women's Ice Hockey League, which
includes Boston College, Brown, Colby, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard,
Maine, New Hampshire, Niagara, Northeastern, Princeton, Providence, St.
Lawrence, and Yale.
A search for a new coach will begin immediately. The team will practice
and play exhibition games during 1999-2000. Quinnipiac also will commit
to the maximum amount of scholarships allowed by the NCAA to the women's
ice hockey program.
U.S. Olympic womenıs ice hockey head coach Ben Smith will act as a
consultant to Lahey and McDonald. Smith has had outstanding success in
a variety of coaching positions. He led the United States to the gold
medal in the inaugural womenıs ice hockey competition at the 1998
Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Smith also served as head menıs
ice hockey coach at Northeastern and Dartmouth.
Smith will assist Lahey and McDonald with the development of both the
men and womenıs ice hockey programs and the new Athletic Center. ³I am
extremely pleased that Ben will provide us with his advice, ideas and
many years of NCAA and Olympic experience,² Lahey said. ³I am sure he
will help to generate successful men and womenıs ice hockey programs
here at Quinnipiac.²
Quinnipiac also will upgrade its men's ice hockey program immediately
with the full-time appointment of current Bravesı Head Coach Pecknold,
who has spent the past five years as a part-time coach. Quinnipiac, in
its first season of NCCA Division I and a founding member of the Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference Menıs Ice Hockey League, also will commit
the maximum amount of athletic scholarships allowed in the MAAC Hockey
League.
Quinnipiac also will improve the recruiting of student-athletes in the
program and the scheduling of nationally-competitive opponents. ³I am
confident our men's teams under the leadership of Coach Pecknold, and
our new women's program will give our campus community, alumni and fans
the very best of college hockey,² Lahey said.
Pecknold is in his fifth season as head coach. He led Quinnipiac to its
second straight Quinnipiac Cup championship in October and currently has
the Braves in first place in the MAAC. Quinnipiac is 8-1-0 overall and
7-1-0 in the MAAC. Last season, Pecknold guided the Braves to its best
season winning percentage in schoolıs history. The Braves skated to a
19-3-1 record in its final season in Division II.
Quinnipiac Ice Hockey also will move from its current home at East Haven
Rink in East Haven to the new Northford Ice Pavilion, which opened in
September. The pavilion seats up to 1,000 spectators and is complete
with two regulation National Hockey League-sized rinks. The building
contains 15 locker rooms, two of which will be used exclusively for
Quinnipiac men and womenıs ice hockey. The Northford Ice Pavilion is
located 6.8 miles from Quinnipiacıs Hamden campus in Northford.
Quinnipiac College is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational institution
located in Hamden, Conn., 1 ½ hours from New York City and 2 ½ hours
from Boston. The College has approximately 230 full-time faculty and
enrolls 3500 full-time undergraduates and 2000 graduate students in its
Schools of Business, Health Sciences, Law and Liberal Arts. Quinnipiac
is rated among the top ten northern regional universities in US News and
World Reportıs 1999 edition of Americaıs Best Colleges. Quinnipiac
sponsors nine menıs and nine womenıs varsity sports, and is playing its
first season of NCAA Division I competition in all sports in 1998 as a
member of the Northeast Conference.
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