There was an article in today's (I think they got the date wrong) Daily
about the possibility of Minnesota's women's hockey club eventually
becoming a varsity team.  It's kind of long, but I'll post it here,
because I think it might be of interest for those who follow women's
hockey.  It also mentions the effect gender equity might have on the hockey
program, but I think it's wrong in saying that men would lose if women's
hockey became a sport.  On the contrary, the men would gain, because that
would give them more female athletes to count toward gender equity.  The
article follows
Pam
 
Headline: Women's hockey might become a varsity sport
Publish Date: 02/15/1993
 
By Scott Bradley
 
For The Daily
 
Gopher varsity hockey is touted as ``Minnesota's Pride on Ice'' for
its winning ways, but for all its success putting pucks in the net,
the program lags on another important front: putting women players on
the ice.
 
As early as the 1920s, University women played hockey on campus,
either for recreation or at the club level, which began in the 1970s.
 
Given the University's recent push toward gender equity in athletics,
however, women hockey players may compete on a varsity level someday,
officials said.
 
``There's a movement right now to upgrade women's hockey to a varsity
level,'' said club coach John Gilbert. ``There could be a way . . .
to compete at a varsity level even if it's not technically an NCAA
sport.''
 
With increasing numbers of girls playing in Minnesota peewee leagues,
the trickle up to the University should continue, if not grow
stronger, he said. The number of women playing hockey in Minnesota is
estimated at more than 1,000.
 
A varsity squad could develop as a new team with new players, or as
a restructuring of the club program with the incorporation of
scholarships and other varsity benefits.
 
``There are some players here who are still in high school who are
likely recruits for collegiate hockey,'' Gilbert said. ``But there
are many more students at the University who might play (women's
hockey) if they knew the sport existed.''
 
Senior club forward Wendi Thell began playing hockey in 1975 on a
small pond near her home in Anoka. She said her mother was hesitant
about her hockey interests, but like many Minnesota youngsters, Thell
developed an unrelenting love of the game.
 
``Our (club) league is very strong and women's hockey in the state is
growing into a very popular sport,'' Thell said. ``The overall talent
in the (girls') leagues is improving and there's no longer a huge gap
in competition.''
 
In the eastern United States, women's hockey has already reached the
Division I level. Harvard, Dartmouth and Brown universities are among
the schools where varsity women's hockey is offered.
 
Those schools are doing some recruiting in Minnesota these days, and
Forest Lake High School senior Traci Carlson is one student being
sought after.
 
Although Carlson has the talent to play for a varsity team, she said
she wants to remain with the Gophers and attend school at the
University.
 
``Hockey in Minnesota has always been a predominantly guy sport, but
girls are just as good,'' she said. ``Once we get more publicity,
more women will play hockey.''
 
Should women's varsity hockey come to exist at Minnesota, however, it
could be at some expense to the men's program.
 
One of the University's options  to meet its goal of a 60-40 ratio of
male to female athletes is to cut players from men's teams.
 
Walk-on players are most vulnerable to cutbacks in men's programs,
and hockey has a considerable share of those with more than 20.
 
``Instead of having 36 to 40 players on the team I think there will
be a significant reduction,'' men's hockey coach Doug Woog said. ``I
anticipate that our junior varsity will be cut (altogether).''
 
If there's any doubt about women's interest in hockey, the weekend of
Feb. 13-15 should have expelled it when 18 college-level club teams
from around the country competed in Mariucci Arena.
 
 Next year, women's hockey enthusiasts -- including USA Hockey chief
executive Walter Bush -- will sponsor a women's Division I hockey
tournament on campus, made up of teams mostly from the east.
 
``The tournament will underscore the fact that women's hockey is
alive and well and could be promoted and upgraded to higher
standards,'' Gilbert said.