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FORWARDED FROM: McDonald, Jack A.D.
Microsoft Mail v3.0 IPM.Microsoft Mail.Note
From: Berger, Bill
To:  Barrett, Michael
     McDonald, Jack A.D.
     Pecknold, Rand
     Sumby, Peter Prof.
     [log in to unmask]
     Kahn, Burt
     'USA Today Online - Ice/Other'
     WQAQ Sports
     Ice Hockey 3
     John Tkach - USA Today
     NESN
     College Sports News Daily
     Connecticut Post
     Providence J-B Hockey Notes
Subject:  Press Conference for MAAC Ice Hockey League
Date: 1997-09-12 18:13
Priority:
Message ID: A2BDB67B
Conversation ID: A2BDB67B
 
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Quinnipiac Sports Information
203-281-8625, FAX 281-8716, www.quinnipiac.edu
 
Story copied from 9/12/97 edition of the New Haven Register.
 
AREA ROUNDUP: New Division I hockey
conference to include area schools
 
By Brian Dohn
 
Jack McDonald first pontificated about a fifth Division I ice hockey
conference nine months ago during the inaugural Q-Cup.
 
Thursday, the Quinnipiac athletic director will see the fruits of his
labor
realized when the formation of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Ice
Hockey League is announced at the Hartford Civic Center.
 
Spearheaded by McDonald, the league will feature four Connecticut
schools -
Quinnipiac, Fairfield, UConn and Sacred Heart - as well as American
International, Canisius, Iona and Holy Cross. The league will begin play
in
the 1998-99 season.
 
"This is great for college hockey and great for the state
of Connecticut and for Quinnipiac," said McDonald, a respected member of
the
 
college hockey community since his days at the University of Denver. "We
still have to meet and see if we're going to play each team three times
or
four times. We need to all play 25 Division I games (by NCAA
regulations.)
 
 "Instead of us trying to get into a conference, we created one."
 
 For Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac, the move was necessary
to comply with their moves from Division II to Division I athletics. But
it
should also increase the level of play of UConn and Fairfield and
intensify
the recruiting efforts at each school.
 
But how this is recognized on the national level won't be
known for a while, especially in the small world of ice hockey that will
see
 
its Division I foes stretch from 46 to 54.
 
 The MAAC joins the CCHA, WCHA and Hockey East, the
traditional powers of collegiate hockey, and the ECAC itself, still
searching
for respect from the hockey community.
 
 With the stature of the league not withstanding, McDonald
and MAAC Commissioner Richard Ensor are preparing to solicit the
NCAA for an automatic bid into the 12-team NCAA tournament field,
although
it's not expected to happen for a few years.
 
"I think it's going to be sooner than people think,"
McDonald said. "This leaguedeserves an automatic spot more than some
basketball leagues. We'll apply for an NCAA automatic bid immediately,
realistically knowing we need to mature a little bit. A four-year cycle
is
how we do things, how we usually judge things."
 
In addition, attempts to lure Army and Niagara are expected to be made
by
the
league while Quinnipiac tries to work Air Force into its schedule.
 
###
 
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