Mike Machnik explains:
 
>Actually, the NCAA still considers these programs (AIC, Sacred Heart) to be
>D2.  Lee Urton of USCHO clarified this with the NCAA recently.  They are D2
>but not eligible for the D2 NCAAs.
 
        After I sent the message, I realized there might be a
difference between schools (like Quinnipiac) that were trying to move
all of their sports to Division I and schools (like Nebraska-Omaha)
that wanted to begin NCAA hockey and do it at the Division I level.  I
suppose something like that is at play here.  (UNO is playing up,
right?  I'm not sure now if they're D1 in other sports.)
 
>Thus the MAAC will have two D2 programs and six D1 programs this season.
>In 1999-2000, AIC and Sacred Heart will become D1, and Bentley and
>Mercyhurst will join.  Those two will then be D2 programs (in their second
>year of provisional D1 membership) while the other eight will be D1.  In
>2000-2001, all ten MAAC teams will be D1 (unless others move up and are
>still provisional members).
 
        Here's an interesting thought: there was talk a few months ago
of the MAAC getting an automatic NCAA bid on that sort of timescale.
I would presume that they will not get such a bid until everyone in
the league is an eligble D1 school.  It sounds like they might get it
in the first season where that is true, though.
 
                                         John Whelan, Cornell '91
                                               <[log in to unmask]>
                      <http://www.cc.utah.edu/~jtw16960/joe.html>
 
Attention ECAC:   Eight is Enough--Flush the Final Five!
 
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