---Mark Lewin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> its members to establish their own presence on the net,
> Newcomer MAAC has started the GOW but none of the current
> MAAC members has an established presence on the net. In addition,
 
I would argue that it makes more sense for the MAAC to have a Game of the
Week than any other league for the exact same reasons that you pointed out
as far as why Hockey East seems to be moving away from a Game of the Week
(and one can assume why the ECAC won't be looking to start an audio Game of
the Week anytime soon).
 
If 50% of the teams in a league have a presence on the net, then an average
listener should be able to tune into over 75% of the league games and a Game
of the Week does little to improve that percentage.
 
If 0% of the teams in a league have a presence on the net, then an average
listener should be able to tune into 0% of the league games and a Game of
the Week improves this percentage from 0% to 12.5%.
 
> attendance numbers for MAAC games have been awful with some
> games drawing under 1000.  It's much too early to draw any
 
I would not call the attendance figures that the MAAC has been receiving
awful.
 
When a rink only holds 1000 or 1500 people, it is very difficult to draw
more than capacity.
 
And each week I have gone to a game, everyone associated with the program I
have talked to has always talked about how impressive the crowd has been.
The fan interest is growing and that is part of why several MAAC teams are
coming out with announcements about new larger rinks.
 
> conclusions about hockey in the MAAC but it may be tough to
> justify an internet presence for MAAC schools when they draw
> so few at home and most of the schools have little, if any,
> hockey tradition at the D-1 level. This tradition is usually
 
I reiterate my point above regarding why a Game of the Week makes more sense
for the MAAC than any other league.
 
> prerequisite for establishing a presence on the net since the
> internet broadcast is most easily justified financially by the
 
I do not think you can financially justify any college hockey broadcast at
all.
 
> argument that the broadcasts will draw geographically dispersed
> alumni back to school sports events which can and does directly
> translate to an increase in alumni donations. With no hockey
 
Maybe there is some correlation.  I don't donate anything more to B.U.
because their broadcasts are on the internet but maybe I am the exception.
 
> tradition at these schools, that argument can hardly be taken seriously
> this early the MAAC's existence.
 
The overall driver behind putting athletics on the internet is because it is
the cool thing to do.  That is why schools and radio stations do it.  Part
of this coolness involves alumni, but another part is recruiting, and surely
there are many other parts that I can't think of.  Profit is not a driver.
It is about added exposure for particular teams and college hockey overall.
 
The people who I talk to in the MAAC are always thrilled when they learn
that their team is going to be on the MAAC Game of the Week.
 
The MAAC Hockey League Game of the Week is but one of many spokes in the
wheel of how impressive the MAAC Hockey League has been so far this season.
 
The competition between the teams within the league has been great.  The
opportunity to win games outside of the conference will continue to improve.
 
I never attended a hockey game at a MAAC institution last year but I have
gotten the impression that the crowds are growing.
 
The attention that the MAAC has received on this list & on U.S. College
Hockey Online has been fantastic.
 
And this is only the start.  The snowball has just started creeping down the
hill.  Soon enough, this snowball will help bring not only the MAAC Hockey
League but all of college hockey to new heights.
 
Jason Patton
Play-By-Play Announcer
MAAC Hockey League Game of the Week
 
        _______   ______
       |__   __| |  __  |  Jason Patton        http://www.gojp.com/jp/
 ____     | |    | |__| |      Following College Hockey Since 1991
|____|    | |    |  ____|  Boston U. 1991-1995     Princeton 1995-1998
        __| |    | |       1995 NCAA Champions     1998 ECAC Champions
       |____|    |_|        MAAC Hockey League Inaugural Season 1998-
 
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