Patrick Lethert writes:
>I am working on an article on the top college hockey programs in the
>U.S. I have checked internet resources, all too many newspaper and
>magazine articles, and some yearbooks. Interestingly, my premise is
>that US college hockey will turn a corner (as recently suggested on
>this list) within the next 10 years.
My question would be, turn a corner in what way? Before the 1980s, it
was rare for college players to make the transition and become pro
players who got more than the standard cup of coffee in the NHL. I
believe the 1980s saw a dramatic increase in the level of play and in
the number of players who would go on to the NHL *and* make
significant contributions.
However, a recent discussion here dealt with whether or not the game
had already experienced a high in the late 1980s and overall is not
being played at the same level today that it was about 6-7 years ago.
This was my contention, and I believe that part of the reason is the
lessening in stature of public school programs in places like
Massachusetts. This is, I believe, a direct result of the fact that
hockey has become much too expensive both for local towns to fund and
for parents of young children to support. I fear that hockey has been
becoming too much of an elitist sport and is being closed off to the
members of US society that helped lead it (again, my contention) to
its zenith in the late 80s.
But one could write an entire paper and more on this topic alone!
Anyway, it also wasn't that long ago that a sellout of both the NC$$
semifinals and finals was something to celebrate. It has only been
within the last few years that we have come to expect a sellout of the
event.
An interesting question would be how the sport might grow in coming
years in terms of number of schools playing it. In DivI, we saw a
jump from 35 teams in 1979-80 to 44 this coming season (not including
the 6 "minor" Independents). However, this number of 44 is the same
as 1989-90. While some schools like Union and UMass have moved up to
DivI, others like Kent and Alabama-Huntsville have either dropped the
sport or moved down to lower divisions. The prohibitive cost and
Title IX have undoubtedly played a part in this, and they will play a
part in determining if the number of teams will grow in the future.
I expect to see the NC$$ tournament continue to grow in popularity in
coming years. One could draw a comparison with the NC$$ basketball
tournament, which really came into its own in the early 1980s but like
hockey had trouble attracting interest and selling out before that.
And, a discussion of the future growth of the college game would
probably have to include a discussion of the growth of the sport of
hockey itself in the US. It will be interesting to see whether the
popularity enjoyed by youth programs in places like California will
result in US players coming from those areas in 10-15 years or so.
I think the most interesting aspect of the growth of US college hockey
involves women's hockey. I don't think it will be long before the
NC$$ sanctions its first national championship for women. The recent
establishment of a women's World Championship, the appearance of
women's hockey as a medal sport for Japan in 1998, the growth of
women's high school hockey in Minnesota, and again Title IX
will all help to make women's hockey an attractive venture for schools
and should continue to result in many, many more women playing the
game. I believe statistics announced recently by USA Hockey show that
the sport is growing the fastest among women, and it shows no signs of
letting up.
I guess I think you've got a daunting task ahead of you. :-) Good
luck...
--- ---
Mike Machnik [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93
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