>Rich asks:
>
>>What are invitation requirements and guidelines for various invitationals
>>around the nation?
>
>As for the Great Lakes Invitational, there are 3 teams which automatically
>recieve an "invitation":  Michigan Tech, Univ. of Mich., Michigan State Univ.
>Each year there is one "at large" team which is invited, but the team is
>usually from the Great Lakes area.  This years at-large team is Northern
>Michigan.
>
>Go State!
>Scott Preadmore
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The above reply that Scott sent to Rich is not entirely correct.  Even
though Michigan State has participated in the tournament regularly since
1979, they are not a co-host.  The tournament was started by Michigan Tech,
and in 1976, Michigan was asked to be a co-host.  The fact that Michigan
State has participated since 1979 is due to geographical location, and the
strong fan/alumni support in the Detroit area.
 
As for the "at large" teams that are invited to the tournament, they are
not invited based on their proximity to the Great Lakes Region.  The fact
that there have been teams from the region in the last few years
(Wisconsin, Northern) that have participated is due to the fact that there
are a lot of D-I programs in the area.  RPI, Clarkston, Cornell, BU, BC,
Princeton, North Dakota, Maine, and Harvard, along with other schools that
I can't remember at the moment, have all participatd in the tournament.
 
I don't want to sound like I am ripping on Scott.  It's just that Michigan
Tech doesn't seem to get any credit for OUR tournament anymore.  I have
seen the TV ad for the tournament a number of times in the last few days;
it is focused almost entirely on Michigan and Michigan State.  I realize
that economics plays a big part in this, but credit should be given where
credit is due.
 
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Lets Go Yous Huskies!
Scott Bershing
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