Charles Bell wrote:
 
> Finally, judging by the letters pro and con on this subject,
>  those who attend the "larger" schools seem to be in support of the idea,
>  while those of us at smaller schools are not....interesting...
>
Actually, I don't find it surprising at all.  A large number of the non-Big
10 schools have a Big 10 member as their (or one of their) big rivals.  This
would make them reluctant to see anything endanger these rivalries.  Plus, of
course, there's the fact that it's easy to feel slighted when someone talks
about how much they get into playing someone else.  To which end, I'd like to
emphasize that I do enjoy playing the other WCHA teams.  But I'm a fan of
more sports than just hockey and have spent years building up a relationship
with Big 10 sports that a one sport rivalry such as that with North Dakota
just can't match.
 
As to the second half of my post, I'm worried that continued expansion will
dilute both the traditions and the quality of the competition.  I spent a
number of the years of the "Big 2 and the Little 8" at one of the Big 2.
 Quite frankly, having six football games a year that were pretty much a
foregone conclusion lost a lot of its appeal.  Big 10 football is much more
exciting now than it was then.  Particularly if OSU continues to improve,
that doesn't appear to be a huge worry in Big 10 hockey.
 
So, I'd like to see the current conferences continue much as they are, but I
want Big 10 league play in the mix somewhere.  I'll even admit that a Big 10
title would probably be more important to me than a WCHA one.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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