Apologies to those of you who will receive this twice... I thought this might
be of interest to both the Div. I and Div. II-III folks...
 
In today's _Cornell Daily Sun_, there was a column by former editor Michael
Osipoff, in which he mentions an AP wire story about the SUNY (State University
of New York) schools planning to upgrade their athletic programs from Division
III to Division I.  Quoting from the article (w/o permission):  "Led by Buffalo,
which already has made the transition from scholarship-less Division III to
scholarship-based Division I, and now Albany, the SUNY system seeks to even-
tually match the athletic prowess of the Nebraskas and Oklahomas of the world."
Etc. etc. (the article is not very flattering)
 
I have not seen the original AP story and cannot vouch for the accuracy of the
above (I've learned to trust our college paper about as far as I can throw an
aircraft carrier).  Is there anyone out there who can shed some light on this
supposed move by the SUNYs to Division I?  This is the first I've heard of such
a thing.  And if the schools are in fact moving to Div. I (and if Buffalo has
done so already), what, if anything, does this do to varsity hockey at those
schools?  For those who don't follow Div. III hockey, the eight hockey-playing
SUNYs (Brockport, Buffalo, Cortland, Fredonia, Geneseo, Oswego. Plattsburgh,
and Potsdam) form the SUNY Athletic Conference -- which I suspect exists for
other sports besides hockey -- and, since the SUNYAC consists solely of Div.
III schools, the winner of the SUNYAC tournament receives an automatic bid
to the NC$$ Div. III tourney.  (Other Div. III conferences, like the ECAC West
and the ECAC East, include some Div. I and II schools playing at the Div. III
level, and thus do not get auto bids.)
 
Anyway, if Buffalo has indeed already moved up to Div. I, and they're still
playing hockey in the SUNYAC, I would assume that kills the SUNYAC auto bid.
But I'm wondering what will happen if the entire SUNY system does move up.
The SUNYAC would thus become, in effect, another Div. I conference... which
might not be so bad for expanding the sport at the Div. I level, but might do
awful things at the Div. III level (then again, it might open up the NC$$ Div.
III tourney to schools in the ECAC North, Central, and South, which to this
point have been ignored come tourney time)
 
Again, has anybody out there heard anything on this?  It could turn out to be
quite a significant development, if it happens.
 
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95
LET'S GO RED!!
Thank you, Schafer!                                             DJF  5/27/94
"I thought I was a procrastinator 'til I met Winnie... Winnie got a birthmark
 when he was eight."
-- Steven Wright
 
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