After Sept. 11 I do remember the NCAA talking about reducing travel for both
hockey and basketball come tournament time.  I didn't think much about it
again until a couple of weeks ago when I as at the monthly meeting of the
Friends of UNH Hockey.  The subject of the regionals in Worcester came since
it is the same weekend as the Women's Frozen Four which UNH is hosting.
There was speculation that, if UNH men were in Worcester, it would severely
cut down on the crowd for the Women's tournament.  Somebody mentioned that
even if UNH was third or fourth in the PWR they could be shipped out to
Michigan. At that point the UNH AD representative who always comes to our
meetings chimed in that it would not necessarily be so this year because of
the NCAA's effort to reduce travel.

I am thinking after reading John's comments that the asst. AD's comment may
not have just off the cuff but a point coming from these conference calls
which I am sure all the AD's are privy to.  Here's hoping that it is true
because I felt last year that the NCAA's efforts to reduce regionalism was
ridiculous.  The margins between most of the top four teams are negligible
and it is a disservice to the fans of these teams to have them either miss
the game entirely or have to make last minute travel plans in order to get
to see them play.

Greg Ambrose