> Jeremy says:
> >Boy, I bet Ohio State loves this arrangement....
>
> What do they care? Although Ohio State may be a "Big Ten" school, they
> certainly do not support their hockey program in a "Big Ten" way. Their rink
> is a dump, their teams have been consistently at/near last place in the CCHA,
> and they have no fan support. In a nutshell, they do not care about hockey at
> OSU.
 
Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Keith is right.  OSU doesn't care and
in fact, even if he were contacted by the group about including OSU, I am sure
coach Welsh would have declined seeing no reason to go up against these teams
if all it would be is two guaranteed losses.  Of course, coaches at programs
like OSU would normally see it as an opportunity to give his players experience
and maybe use the increased scheduling difficulty as a recruiting tool, but
neither OSU or coach Welsh is very committed to reviving this team back to the
form of its glory years in the late 70's/early 80's when the Pooley twins were
here, OSU won 30 games (in 1981 I believe) and actually achieved a #1 ranking
in the nation.  It is obvious from those days that talented hockey players will
come to OSU, but that the lack of commitment from the university, and more
surprisingly from the coach, has made it so they go elsewhere.  I mean, when
all this stuff about reducing full-time assistants to just one came down, Welsh
said he didn't care because it would mean everyone else would have to deal with
>what he had been dealing with for years.  He didn't care about improving the
game or the quality of instruction for the players, he was just glad to see
that everyone was coming down to OSU's level.  Nice attitude.
 
>
> Hah! Why kick out MSU or Michigan for a year just to let OSU in? Why lose
> all that revenue? How many fans would OSU draw in the state of Michigan?
> Zero. How many fans would OSU draw in Minnesota or Wisconsin? -500! ("Why go
> to see UW beat OSU? I want to see a good game.") Would you like to hold this
> tournament in Columbus?? Egads.
 
Well, if it were held here in Columbus, they would no doubt reserve the
Fairgrounds Coliseum where the Chill plays instead of using the Ice Rink.  It
is hard to tell what the fan draw for OSU would be elsewhere.  Guaranteed, it
would not be what the other four schools would bring in, but the OSU alumni
network is huge in numbers and in geographic area covered, and could probably
send out a decent number of people.
 
As Keith said though, until they decide they really want a true Div I quality
program here, let the schools who care play and keep the Buckeyes out of it.
 
 
 
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        *        Dave [log in to unmask]         *
        *                  Cornell '91 OSU Med '95                     *
        * I may be in debt for the rest of my life, but I get to wear  *
        *             this cool, white lab coat all the time.          *
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