Union's Division 1 hockey program is in a very precarious position.
Slowly, but surely, each of the ECAC schools (non-Ivy)
has instituted their own version of athletic scholarships.
Someone jokingly commented about the Ivy schools only giving financial
aid based on need, but if the hockey team "needs" a goalie.....
I suspect that this wasn't really a joke, that the system is and
will continue to be manipulated to get around school and league rules
without really breaking the rules.  The point about the MAAC is very
valid. Most of those teams are Div. 1. I assume at least some of them
award athletic scholarships. That dilutes the available pool of players
and will hurt Union more and more as the MAAC improves over the next few
years.  To resolve the problem, Union must look inward. The school's
administration must look at its committment to a Division 1 program
and decide to do what it takes to compete.
Union is a very expensive school with a good academic reputation.
That may not be good enough any more to get the more talented players.
They can continue as they are now and be perennial cellar-dwellers
or they can throw in the towel and drop back to Division 3 or they
can decide to change their attitude toward athletic scholarships and
compete evenly on the Division 1 level. So far, the administration
has shown no interest in changing the current policy.
As an RPI fan and a Capital District resident, I hope they change their
minds. I look forward to the day when an RPI-Union game makes my blood
boil as it does today for Clarkson or Cornell. Besides, it's in RPI's
best interest if Union becomes a force in the ECAC. When your travel
partner is strong, it makes life a little easier as the opposition
has to prepare for both teams rather than just keying on the strong team.
As far as NCAA rules are concerned, there are a lot of Division 3
schools just hockey elevated to Division 1. There are a lot of options that
Union can explore.
 
>On that note, what do people think is happening with the Union
>program?  It really was only a few season ago that they finished with
>18 wins and ended up in fifth place in the ECAC.  Yes, it does seem
>like a long time ago.  Will the strategy that got them to that level
>no longer work?  Maybe the addition of more Division I teams (a whole
>league in fact) is going to take away that group of players Union was
>going after - ones good enough to get into the school but not the
>top-flight players who get the scholarships elsewhere.  Is Union going
>to be stuck fighting for that 10th playoff spot every year unless they
>make some significant changes?  Do NCAA rules even allow them to
>change those rules, given that they are a Division III school with
>just one sport elevated to Division I?
 
 
Mark Lewin
RPI '69
 
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