Mike writes: > > I don't think that money coming from the state of Minnesota means SCSU must > therefore go after Minnesota players. Not at all. I don't recall hearing > about any restriction placed upon the school as a condition of accepting the > money for the arena. Massachusetts appropriated quite a bit of money for > the new arena at UMass, but no one expects the hoop team to start taking > mostly Mass. kids, and when the hockey program starts, I am sure they are not > going to force the hockey team to just grab the kids who don't go to BC/BU/ > etc. > Mike is absolutely right. I'm sure the state put up the money with the intent that SCSU would have a competitive team. That attracts fans and adds to the environment at the school for all concerned. If the only intent is to provide a place for Minnesota kids to play, then a town recreational rink would do (and no scholarships). Let's be realistic here....if Minnesota couldn't compete using only in-state players they would go out of state in a heartbeat. Otherwise, that expensive new rink they are building would be empty. Since they have been very successful with in-state players that has not been necessary. But let's not take a "holier than thou" attitude toward those schools that don't have such a luxury. If on the other hand, SCSU can get enough top in-state players to be competitive....and by that I mean that they beat Minnesota in some seasons (don't tell me that competitive is a .500 record but always losing out to the big guys)...then I might agree with restricting the source of students. Until then, it would be hypocritical and condescending to tell a school "you can play Division I but we are going to write new rules after the fact which ensure that you are cannon fodder for our team." Jon Greene [log in to unmask] P.S. I wasn't an interested spectator to the negotiations which preceded the funding of the rink.....if SCSU actually committed to using only in-state players then the argument above is invalid (but I would then argue that SCSU and the state were foolish for agreeing to such terms without first seeing whether they could compete for the top players in the state).