"Hampton, Nathan E." <[log in to unmask]> writes: 
Subject: Re: 12th team 

>Northern Michigan is taking a classic bargaining position, which says "under 
>current information, we decide no" which can change to something like "given 
>the previous information plus the monetary payment and other additional 
>benefits offered by the WCHA (or alumni, or higher costs from the CCHA who 
>now require us to travel to Alabama, or WHATEVER), we have decided yes." 
>Information changes and that changes decisions. As long as a move to the WCHA 
>still includes the Great Lakes Invitational, they maintain exposure to the 
>home state student population. The last time Northern Michigan won the 
>national title, they were in the WCHA. 

Nathan , 

I agree with your assessment that they may just be putting forward a bargaining position. 
However, one piece of your assessment doesn't hold -- Northern Michigan has no formal 
position with respect to the GLI and isn't in the tournament very often. The tournament 
is co-hosted by Michigan Tech and the University of Michigan, and Michigan State 
has been part of the tournament every year since 1979. The fourth team is chosen 
as the "invitational" team; Northern Michigan's last appearance was in 1998. 

There would be no real incentive for the tournament format to change -- realistically 
it would not survive financially without the ticket sales generated by the Michigan - 
Michigan State rivalry. 

So with a move to the WCHA, it is true that Northern Michigan would lose almost all 
visibility of their hockey program in lower Michigan. 

Garrett Lanzy (Michigan Tech '84)