** Reply to note from [log in to unmask]         Mon, 14 Oct 1996 18:57:01 -0400
>
> Stephen Bernhardt wrote:
>
> > The bottom line is if you try and attack the Gopher recruiting strategy
> >  based on winning national titles you have NOTHING!
>
> My claim has never been that the Gophers would win more titles by dropping
> their recruiting policy.  In fact, I think that, in the long run, it is at
> best a break even proposition in terms of wins and losses.  My point is very
> simple: the underlying purpose of colleges and universities is to broaden
> horizons and promote cosmopolitanism (well, one of the main purposes).  A
> philosophy of recruiting from a limited locale flies directly in the face of
> this.
 
Cosmopolitanism? Take a look at the home towns of most players (any sport) and
you'll see that most come from small towns and rural areas, that's probably especially
true for Canadians. I've never thought of Moose Jaw as being cosmopolitan. If
cosmopolitanism (couldn't you have picked an easier word to spell?) were important,
schools would recruit from cosmopolitan areas only.
 
> Spending several years with a few teammates  from Massachusettes, or
> Alaska, or Ontario or (god forbid) Russia can only serve to provide a fuller
> educational experience than only dealing with people from no farther away
> than Warroad.
 
Don't these guys go to classes? There are 50,000 students at UMn (+ the cities of
Mpls/StP). I find it hard to believe that hockey players are so insulated from the rest
of the student body and general population that they won't occasionally bump into a
non-Minnesotan. Besides, what guarantee is there that they'll necessarily interact in a
positive way with their non-minnesotan teammate(s)?
 
Also, you seem to be ignoring
the real reason these guys are in school in the first place; to make money for the
university. If educational experiences were the real reason these guys were on the hockey
team, then recruiting outside of Mn would be important, but then again winning, and
everything that goes with it (league playoffs, and the national championship, etc.),
wouldn't be.
 
> >  In closing, for those of you that are bothered by the Gophers ALL MINESOTA
> >  recruiting policy get over it! Us fans of the program really, really,
> >  really like it!
>
> Speak for yourself.  I, and most of those I spend time with outside the list,
> are slightly embarrassed to be associated with a program that has such a
> narrow-minded, chauvanistic idea of its mission.
>
> Maybe it's time to open up and spend some time rooting for players from
> outside your own geographic area.
>
> J. Michael Neal
 
I  don't understand. Every university would love to have UMn's problem; a state full of
some of the best high school athletes who would kill to play for you. What need is
there to recruit outside of Minnesota? You want to recruit players so you have a
geographically balanced team? I can hear the bench talk now... "So what's Moose Jaw
really like"? With most Mn recruits you have a loyalty and desire to play, and win, for
your team that's been cultivated for years, if not decades. You're not likely to get that
level of commitment from outside players. I don't think UMn has had the problem of key
players leaving early, like some other schools have had. Murphy and Simpson at Michigan
State come to mind. Ask Ron Mason if he'd like to have the recruiting problems UMn has.
 
Now, that being said I should mention I'm not a Gopher fan. I only cheer for them when
they play Michigan. They have a successful and honorable program. When people talk
college hockey, one of the first schools mentioned is invariably UMn. Frankly, I'd be
tickled pink to be a fan (and I'll assume you're an alum) of a program so highly
regarded. As Ann Landers, or is it Dear Abby, would say...Quitcherbellyaching. Be
thankful you got what you got.
 
 
 
On the banks of the Red Cedar there's a school that's known all,
Their specilaty is farming and those farmers play...HOCKEY!
  _______________
 /   _________   \
|   /         \___|
|   \____________       MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
 \____________   \    THE Pioneer Land Grant College
 ___          \   |
|   \_________/   |
 \_______________/
 
Michael Smar ([log in to unmask])
 
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