At 12:25 PM 3/16/99 -0600, Joseph LaCour wrote:
 
>The MAAC has not gone through any of the CCHA growing pains (yet).
 
Given that college hockey didn't have the same structure 28 years ago,
that's no surprise. One could argue that schools like Quinnipiac have been
going through the growing pains of waiting for D1 status for quite a long
while.
 
In Hockey East, UMass-Amherst joined the league and had to wait what, one
year before being eligible for the NCAA tournament? Not a big pain. For
that matter, Hockey East has only been around for 15 years, just over half
the age of the CCHA.
 
If a school like University of Colorado or Colorado State were to instantly
throw hundreds of thousands into a D1 hockey program (OK, millions) and
within 2-3 years be accepted into the WCHA, should they not be eligible
because they didn't go through any "growing pains?"
 
 
I understand you're talking about entire leagues here, but the CCHA did
start with only four teams -- Bowling Green, Ohio State, Ohio University
and St Louis.
 
You say:
 
>By
>then the CCHA had dropped a few teams  and picked up the Michigans and
>ND.  Suddenly, the CCHA became "respectable" and got an invite to the
>NCAA via a playin game (It may have helped that St. Louis hosted the 1977
>NCAA championship).
 
As you say, the CCHA "suddenly" becamse respectable and got the berth --
but not because of St. Louis. Bringing in Michigan took care of that.
 
Today it's highly unlikely that a school with the heritage of Michigan will
just up and join the MAAC, bringing sudden credibility. As the conferences
are odd entities amongst themselves, it's just as unlikely that we'll see
any significant conference realignment anytime soon, either.
 
Growing pains don't really matter; what really does matter here is the
almighty dollar. Quinnipiac in the tournament simply won't generate the
kind of money that Princeton, Michigan, or just about any other
"established" D1 program can.
 
 
greenie
 
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