I'd like to express my appreciation to Jeremy for keeping those of us
who love college hockey at any level of competition informed about the Icers'
fantastic season.
 
Jeremy's post concerning PSU's involvement in the ACHA could give the
wrong impression about the role of football in other sports at PSU.
First of all, let's make one thing clear.  Joe Paterno is NOT the AD
at Penn State.  The position of AD is held by Jim Tarman, who in my opinion
is the greatest obstacle to the Icers going Div. I.  It is well known at
Penn State that Tarman does not like ice hockey and has not given his
support to many attempts to improve the program.  To say that Joe Paterno
has done 'A LOT' to raise money for academic pursuits at Penn State is
an understatement.  However, to say that Joe Paterno (and the football
program in general) does not support other sports is just nonsense!
The football program not only pays for itself, but many of the other
varsity sports such as hoops, wrestling and gymnastics.  In fact, after
every home football game, the wrestling team (and perhaps other varsity
teams as well) spends the next day helping to clean Beaver Stadium to show
their appreciation for the support that the football program provides.  As
far as JoPa's personal support, it is not uncommon to see him in the stands
at most of the home basketball games and other athletic events on campus.
And to say that the football program should be scaled back, Jeremy, shows
your ties to a school where hockey is king and other sports take the back
seat.  If the football program was scaled down, all athletics at Penn State
would suffer.
 
Well, back to hockey.  I don't think that the Ice Pavilion is an obstacle
to the Icers going Div. I.  It does have a capacity of 1400, but as I
understand it, there is a false wall directly across from the current
seating area that can be removed if the seating capacity needs to be
increased.  The last I heard, the new Convocation Center (a.k.a. the
Bryce Jordan Center) will seat approximately 15,000 but will not have
facilities for ice hockey.  It will have a portable ice rink that could
be used for ice shows.  I can't believe that the planners would let an
opportunity like this pass, but it seems they are only interested in
hosting Big 10 hoops.
 
There are of course other complications with letting the Icers go Div. I
such as provisions for scholerships and maintaining parity with women's
sports, but I just wanted to clear up the confusion with who's in charge
of sports at PSU.
 
-----------------------
Tim Weiss
Software Engineer
Aries Technology, Inc.
Lowell, MA  01854