Charles Bell wrote:
 
>   Several reports have been floating around that some of the Big 10 schools
>  would like to form a Big 10 hockey conference.  Does anyone else think
this
> is
>  a rotten idea?  It would eliminate many of the fun rivalries (UND/ UM,
>  UND/UW, UM/UMD...etc) and take away the one aspect which makes college
> hockey
>  different from other sports:  it allows small schools to directly compete
> with
>  the larger schools.
 
As far as I know, there are no plans to form a Big 10 conference in hockey.
 I still think that there is a possibility that the large western schhols
(i.e. the Big 10 plus Notre Dame) would break off if they felt that there was
enough money in it by combining their marketing strength.
 
A sideline to this is that Big 10 rules state that if a certain number of
member institutions play a given varsity sport, it must be made a conference
sport.  Thus, if a couple of other schools (Penn State?  Illinois?) were to
overcome the problems with doing so (primarily Title IX), then such a
splitting off would have to happen.
 
As to your comment about the desirability of this happening, I am quite a bit
more ambivalent.  I do like playing Minnesota's current conference foes, but
nothing gets me revved up like meeting the other Big 10 schools.  The College
Hockey Showcase ranks behind only Final Four weekend in terms of excitement
level for me.  None of the conference match-ups come close (except for
Wisconsin, which falls into both categories).
 
As things stand now, I'm happy with the current conferences.  With the change
to fewer conference games that the WCHA , I'd really like to find a way to
include Ohio State in some form of round-robin and decide a true Big 10
champion.
 
Much of my opinion changes, though, if more schools keep following Mankato
State and Nebraska-Omaha .  If more and more new schools are admitted into
the WCHA, then the tradition that holds me here is going to be diluted.  I
have a hard time seeing myself getting real fired up to see UNO come to town.
 
 
>  Also, did MSC broadcast both games on Saturday, or just the UMN vs. MSt.
> game?
 
Only the evening game was broadcast.  So someone needs to post some sort of
recap of the Michigan-Wisconsin game.  I'd like to know what went on.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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