We should have a poll of some kind to guess the 12th team (which reminds me of my favorite Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt movie, Twelve Monkeys). We have a few candidates already mentioned - Nebraska-Omaha and Northern Michigan. Plus at least one upstart in Moorhead State. Was it last year by popular vote that North Dakota State was going to move all sports to Division 1 and then didn't get the money? They could jump into the mix, possibly. I still like Air Force coming in.

I wonder if anybody out there wants to take a poll of who people think is most likely and then we can somehow declare a winner?

Nathan


On 5/5/09 9:45 AM, "Michael Bohler" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I haven't seen this news come across the list.  Passing it along.  From
yahoo.com

Bemidji State gets good news from WCHA
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Sports Writer Apr 29, 12:21 am EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)-Bemidji State has been trying to get into the Western
Collegiate Hockey Association for years, and the powerful conference might
finally be relenting for the first No. 16 seed ever to reach the Frozen
Four.
The 10-team WCHA lifted its long-standing moratorium on expansion Tuesday
at the league's annual meeting in Marco Island, Fla. The league hasn't
officially approved Bemidji State's application for admission, but
Commissioner Bruce McLeod said he will be more aggressive in pursuing a
12th school to accompany the Beavers into the mix.
"Our issue at this point was not Bemidji State University and their
membership," McLeod said in a teleconference. "Our issue was more with the
number. We've been through quite a few things in the last six months or so
trying to work through the number of 11."
Unlike the 11-member Big Ten, the WCHA is firm about having an even number
of teams to make a balanced schedule.
McLeod said he hopes to have a resolution by mid-summer.
Time is of the essence for Bemidji State, which made a stunning run to the
NCAA Frozen Four this season. The school's College Hockey America
conference will fold after next season.
While the WCHA didn't hold a formal vote on the Beavers' application, the
Beavers came away with the impression that they took a huge step closer to
a new hockey home.
"We have been patient for 10 years-what's a few more months?" coach Tom
Serratore said. "I'm confident the WCHA will be able to find a 12th
member, and I feel very confident where we stand with the WCHA. All we
need to do is be patient and things will work out."
It's been a long climb up the hockey ranks for the school of 5,000 in
northern Minnesota. The Beavers won 13 national championships in Division
II, III and NAIA before making the jump to Division I in 1999.
It wasn't until this season that the Beavers finally caught the attention
of hockey fans across the country.
The final seed in the 16-team NCAA tournament, Bemidji State defeated
Notre Dame and Cornell in the first two rounds to advance to the national
semifinals in Washington, D.C. The Beavers lost to Miami of Ohio, but the
feel-good run could only have helped them in their quest to join the
mighty WCHA.
While McLeod said the program's success this year didn't make the school's
application any more or less attractive, the commissioner did say it
raised Bemidji State's profile.
"We were just real conscious of not trying to get caught up in all that
enthusiasm," McLeod said. "We were very happy for them and it probably put
a little pressure on us from a public standpoint more than anything."
Now it seems the only thing in Bemidji State's way is the lack of another
program to reach that round number of 12. Nebraska-Omaha and Northern
Michigan have been floated as potential members, but McLeod declined to
comment specifically on those two schools. He did say an upstart program
at Minnesota State University, Moorhead would be a "long shot."
McLeod said he is willing to be flexible with schools to make joining the
WCHA an attractive option and is confident he will be able to find a 12th
school to make it happen.
"We've reached a real critical point in collegiate hockey, especially in
the West," McLeod said. "The direction I've been given is we have to be
more aggressive in our approach."