From today's (10/30/95) Minnesota Daily
http://www.daily.umn.edu/~online/daily/10301995/news/hockey/=20
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> NEWS
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> Women may get varsity hockey
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> Scott Bradley and Jeff Sherry - Staff Reporters
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> The University appears poised to include women in
> Minnesota's fabled hockey history.
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> The women's athletics department has scheduled a press conference
> for Tuesday on center ice at Mariucci Arena. Director Chris Voelz is
> expected to announce plans to add women's ice hockey as the school's
> next varsity sport.
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> Minnesota would be the first Big Ten school to have a varsity
> women's ice hockey team.
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> The department handed out pucks bearing its "Ms." logo Friday
> afternoon to announce Tuesday's press conference. But officials kept
> their lips sealed when asked for details.
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> "Find out Tuesday," Voelz repeated several times Friday.
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> University men's athletics director Mark Dienhart and Gophers hockey
> coach Doug Woog are anticipating the news. Dienhart said no one
> would be happier if women's hockey was added than administrators in
> the men's department.
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> "We are strongly in favor of adding a women's sport, if not two,
> because if we don't, it will hurt our competitiveness," Dienhart
> said. "We will have to begin seriously slashing the sizes of our
> (men's) squads if a sport is not added."
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> In 1993, the Big Ten said all member schools must comply with a
> 60-40 ratio of male-to-female athletes by 1997. University
> administrators said 65 percent of the current varsity athletes are
> male, so the school either has to add new women's sports or cut from
> the men's programs.
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> For Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson, that would mean eliminating
> walk-on athletes like sophomore Brad Flaherty. As a walk-on,
> Flaherty agreed to wrestle at the University without a scholarship.
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> Dienhart said, "The day I tell (Robinson) that he can't have any
> walk-ons and the day I tell (baseball coach) John Anderson that he
> can't have any walk-on baseball players, is the day we become a
> second-division finisher."
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> Dienhart said Friday he was confident a new sport would be added.
> The women's department added varsity soccer in 1993, and Voelz has
> talked about adding other sports, including women's crew.
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> "One arguing factor for ice hockey over crew is that the facilities
> for crew aren't in place for the program," Dienhart said. "You've
> got to build a boat house and a rowing facility so you have capital
> expenditures. With ice hockey, we have an arena, and the arena is
> suitable for the two programs as it is."
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> In an interview earlier this month, Voelz said she would recommend
> to the Assembly Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics that the
> University add another women's sport. She also said she would base
> her decision on how the sport would reflect on the state's
> interests.
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> Although Minnesota is known as a hockey state, it wasn't until
> recently that girls could play the sport at a varsity level. Last
> year was the first official season the Minnesota State High School
> League held a girl's hockey state championship.
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> State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, has been one of the
> biggest advocates for increasing women's athletic opportunities in
> the state and at the University. Kahn said the University's
> anticipated announcement is long overdue.
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> Kahn said about 50 girls' varsity high school hockey teams will play
> this year.
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> At the University, women's ice hockey has been played at a club
> level for years. Kahn, noticing the sport's increasing popularity,
> helped organize a tournament at Mariucci Arena to promote the sport.
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> The third annual All-American Ice Hockey Tournament runs Nov. 9-11.
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> Woog optimistic
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> Gophers hockey coach Doug Woog has a message for his team's fans:
> Don't worry about women's hockey; be excited for it -- the new team
> shouldn't negatively affect the men's program.
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> "I've talked to Chris (Voelz), and I think when things are
> eventually all said and done, there's going to be a lot more
> cohesion than people would have anticipated," Woog said.
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> "It's understood that (Mariucci Arena) is a men's facility," he
> said. "It was initially set up that way. It's kind of like the men's
> hockey building. But that doesn't mean we can't share and share very
> effectively."
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> Woog said the University used foresight when constructing Mariucci
> Arena. Facilities like extra locker rooms and training rooms are in
> place. And Woog said he doesn't expect practice schedules for both
> teams to conflict with each other.
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> "There is ice time available for practice," Woog said. "Between 1
> and 6 o'clock, we can get a couple teams in there. We used to have
> the (St. Paul) Vulcans here, and in the old building we used to have
> the (junior varsity). So all we have to do is cooperate with
> schedules and make sure we set our practice times up."
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> Mariucci Arena could also be connected to another skating rink
> constructed where the tennis courts stand on Fourth Street.
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> Woog said when the new Mariucci was built, refrigeration was
> installed to accommodate a second sheet of ice. He said the extra
> facility could have been constructed then for $1.5 million but
> wasn't built because the budget had already been set.
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> With the women's team likely to move into Mariucci Arena, renewed
> interest in another skating facility has surfaced. Dienhart said the
> University is considering building the rink, which like Mariucci
> Arena, could generate revenue by renting out practice time.
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> "The decision to build an additional ice sheet would pay for itself
> and more, based on the demand for ice time," Dienhart said.
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> Dienhart said if the additional sheet of ice is built, new tennis
> courts would be built next to the Sports Pavilion across the street.
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> Woog said he is optimistic about the prospects of a new women's
> team. Along with giving additional opportunities to women, Woog said
> the new team will reflect well on the state.
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> "I think this is in the spirit of (John) Mariucci, who tried to
> promote hockey whether it was old-timers hockey, young-time hockey
> or whatever," Woog said. "For women, it's a sport they love. It's a
> sport (men) also loved growing up. I don't see any reason why we
> can't go ahead collectively and in a cooperative spirit."
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> =A9The Minnesota Daily
 
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