Hi Ralph and All:
 
Now that I looked it up, yes the Div I of ECAC hockey formally organized
in the 1961-62 season, but it was my sophomore year at RPI and I tell you
it was not something that was a big deal. I don't even recall it, as the
NCAA selections were still selected by coaches voting , I believe. So
league was kinda irrelevant. There were over 30 teams! Ivies, and all
kinds of divisions. SO RPI's 7th place was not bad :-)
 
In fact, I see MIT listed in several years!! Clearly league winners and
league standing were irrelevant in picking the four teams for the NCAA.
 
It looks like 64-65 was the year they split off and became a true D-I
league with "only" about 16 teams including lots of current HE teams.
 
I also recall a TriState league or somesuch, consisting of St Lawrence,
Clarkson and RPI... dont know where Tri - State came from, sonds more like
Uni-State :-)  That was the one that RPI fans pointed two, 4 games and we
always lost 2 on the north trip.
 
BTW, RPI finished 4th in 1961 reprenting the E with St. Lawrence. In thsoe
days, they put the 2 eastern teams head to head in the semis to guarantee
one eastern team in the finals, but hat year, for example, St. Lawrence
beat RPI in the semis 6-3 and then lost to Denver 12-2 in the finals. the
real final was the semi between Denver and Minn which went to Denver 6-1.
 
Similar results during my senior year, 1964 when it was RPI and Providence
but here the eastern teams were getting stronger and they matched
east-west in the semis. Still both eastern teams lost: RPI to Denver 4-1
and Prov to Michigan (the eventual winner) 3-2. But things were getting
muc closer. In those days, the bottom teams in the east were at least as
good as most of the best eastern teams, and the west schedules included a
huge number of games, like 26 while the east's were about 20.
 
So much for history!
 
Tony Buffa
RPI '64
 
==============
On Thu, 19 Nov 1998, Ralph Baer wrote:
 
> > Does anyone know if they have always done this? Ralph/Tony - Did RPI
> > do this before the joined ECAC?
>
> Well, since I was asked, I better say something.  The ECAC as a
> hockey league was founded, to the best of my knowledge, for the
> 61-62 season, or at least that was the first year there were
> playoffs.  A year later, I think, Div. II broke off.  Anyway, this
> was before I attended RPI, so I have no idea what was done at that
> time.
 
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