In response to Dave:
 
> Powers indicated that the lack of a decision on a migration to Hockey East ha
> nothing to do with his decision.  "This is just a progression for me as a coa
h
> and strictly that.  I think we all want to try and have the best opportunity
o
> win when we can, and BG's goals are trying to win on a national scale.  The
                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> scope of program is just a little broader."
 
 
>Did the inference in this quote leap out at anyone else?  Has Buddy ha any
>squabbles with the administration over the program's direction?
 
I left out sections of the article which were already discussed on Hockey-L.
A preceding paragraph included a discussion on the current impediments (at
least in Bob Croce's opinion) to the current Engineer program.  They include
the oft-discussed academic index, fewer games (than HE), no regular season
television, etc.  Powers had indicated he felt constrained in recruiting a
nationally competitive team while adhering to the strictures of the ECAC.
It's a common refrain, one which RPI fans have heard continually since the
days of Mike Adessa.  I don't think many out there realize the miraculous
quality of the 1983 and 1984 recruiting classes.  IMHO they rank as one of the
truly great recruiting jobs of all times in college hockey.  Not only were they
incredibly gifted athletes, they also possessed the academic wherewithal to
gain admission into one of the more challenging universities which offer
hockey programs.  And most of that '85 team graduated.
 
The point is that the expectations of fans have been raised, perhaps
unrealistically so, since that wonderful 1985 season.  RPI alumni and fans are
no longer content to field a team that is competitive in the ECAC.  The
goal is now to field teams that are competive nationally, and certainly to
gear each season toward participation in the post-season gang of 12.  I think
when Buddy was hired he believed that was the goal of the program: to win a
national championship.  While I'm not saying that the administration at that
time didn't share that goal, I think they were more inclined to stress the
importance of recruiting a team that fit the character of the parent
institution, that is a high calibre institution of higher learning.  The
administration at that time was not ready to abandon the advantages it
saw in competing with other high calibre schools like the Ivies and their old
rivals of Clarkson and Colgate.  In other words the hockey program was seen
as an inducement to attract quality scholars to the university, instead of the
university acting as an attraction for quality athletes.
 
Buddy followed the Addessa regime fully expecting he would put together a
program that would be capable of competing for a national championship.  And
he has for the most part succeeded, but most fans would argue that the
progress has reached a plateau.  The expectation by fans was that this year's
team was THE team, with all the pieces in place.  I think Buddy shared that
view, but was caught by a number of factors he didn't anticipate.  First the
scholarships were reduced to 18, which left Buddy critically short at the blue
line.  Without strong puck-carrying defensemen, Buddy's system of turning the
forwards loose doesn't work.  I think that was probably the main reason that
this year's team couldn't reach the upper echelon of college hockey.
 
The reduction in scholarships hurt Buddy's ability to bring in the final pieces
of the puzzle.  The academic index inhibited Buddy's recruitment of the blue
chip players, the kind that can fit into a program at a BU or BC, and now,
obviously, Maine.  And without the additional scholarships he could offer to
those players who might be late bloomers, or risk on lower-touted players (like
Lowell's Greg Bullock) Buddy couldn't assemble the team that would bring the
championship back to the Houston Fieldhouse.
 
I would again repeat that I do not fully ascribe to the importance of the
academic index in inhibiting RPI recruitment, but I would agree it is a factor.
Buddy strongly held to that view however, and saw an  HE move as the only way
that the Engineers could have a realistic shot at a national title.
 
I don't think there was friction between the administration and Powers.  I
think he gained a good degree of respect, and the fact that the administration
seems to be strongly considering an HE move underlines this.  I think that
prior to the new president, any talk of movement out of the ECAC would have
been dismissed immediately, and that would certainly have created friction
between Powers and his bosses.
 
Well this response turned out to be quite long-winded.  But to sum up, I
think the administration told Buddy what to expect when he took the job.
During his tenure they have become more open to loosening the reins on the
program, and may be prepared to take the plunge.  I don't know what's going on
regarding their deliberations, and I haven't found anyone close to the program
who does.  Whatever squabbles that might have arose I can only guess were of
the minor variety, and certainly did not play a part in his decision to jump
jobs.
 
My, what a confusing summer it has become for Engineer fans.
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