Ken makes some interesting proposals relative to possible expansion in East,
sparked by Bob DeGregorio's comments.  I'd raise a couple of problems however.
 
First, Niagara belongs in the ECAC, period.  Western New York should be staked
out as ECAC territory.  Recent years have seen a number of great hockey players
coming out of the Buffalo area (can you say Marc Magliarditi?) and that area
should be considered ECAC home turf.  Why?  The historical ineptitude of the
ECAC leadership in marketing, league strategy, competition, etc.  I've voiced
my opinions before, but the ECAC has to decide to upgrade it's skill level vis a
vis the other leagues.  You can let another league cherry pick your talent base,
and allowing the HE into Western New York would be a big mistake. If Niagara is
serious about building a competitive D-I program, that program belongs in the
ECAC.  The problem is how to do it.
 
Second, breaking up into division is probably the answer.  I also am sympathetic
about allowing the Ivies their own division, since they seem to place it in such
high regard.  But two issues stand out as deal-busters.  How do you allocate the
regular season champion NC$$ bid?  This is a similar problem for the WCHA sp
splitting into two.  In the ECAC there would be a competitive problem between
the Ivies and non-Ivies.  The former would feature probably 3 consistently
champions caliber teams, while the non-Ivies would have 4 or 5 top level teams.
A guarantee of three bids would go a long way toward solving the problem, but
the other leagues would justifiably scream bloody murder.  And an eventual
expansion of the NC$$ to 16 teams is a non-starter, as others have pointed out
previously.
 
Third, the problem of travel partners will pose a problem no matter how you
split up the league.  Who goes with Niagara?  Assuming the divisions would be
split along geographic lines there is no one to pair with Niagara, it would
take another team to bring the league back to an even number.  Colgate and
Cornell are the teams lying on the Western edge, but breaking up their pairing
would be completely unfair. Beside the fact they are only an hour apart, they
have begun to build a real rivalry, and should remain together.  Trying to
remember the old ECAC days I think Colgate was paired with RPI.  That must have
made for some memorable experiences for teams driving Route 20 between Albany
and Hamilton during the dead of winter.
 
Of course maybe Niagara could go ECAC and RPI go HE :-) but Byron Pipes is not
going to let that happen.
 
Regarding CW Post--that one seems a little speculative.  Post is a commuter s
school, like Merrimack only more-so.  I could see a team playing there to 200
fans each weekend, and getting regularly beaten up in the process.  I don't seee
much incentive for either HE or ECAC to lust after Post.  I wonder if the
rumored school could have been Hofstra--home to the NY Jets, and located next
door to the Nassau County Coliseum.  Hofstra hs similar student body
characteristics as Post though.  Long Island does have a number of credible
hockey programs though producing players like the Ferraro twins.
 
My guess is that initially Niagara will play in the ECAC as an associate member,
eligible for Lake Placid but not playing a full home and home schedule.  At
some point in the future the league will sort itself out expansion-wise.
Hopefully the ECAC fathers won't draw the ball on this one.
********************************************************************************
Brian Morris                   RPI Engineers--it's  new year (?)
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