Charlie and others my be wondering why I, as an academy graduate, do not believe that the academies should play Division I league hockey. Consider these points: 1. There is a five year commitment upon graduation to serve in a military service. 2. The military academies can not recruit Canadians. 3. The demands of the academies are more rigorous than at most US universities and colleges. In addition to sports and academics, students must serve in leadership building roles and usually must perform military duties during the Summer months. 4. While technically, a military academy entrant must not be 22 by July 1 of the year entering the academies, most entrants are recruited directly from high schools (with exceptions.) This does not allow for Jr. Hockey League play. For any talented hockey player who foresees an NHL carreer, these requirements are prohibitive. Quite frankly, the playing field is not level for the military academies when competing with the high quality hockey schools such as exists in all of the Div I leagues. I believe that in many aspects, the education at the military academies is superior to that of most universities and colleges. However, it is not optimized for a professional atheletic carreer nor should it be. Therefore, in such sports as hockey, basketball and football, where the NCAA top divisions are essentially professional league training camps, the best that the military academies can hope to do is to have a Roger Staubach or a Robinson every decade or so that has the ability to compete at that level. Otherwise, they will dominate the league cellars as was the case when Army was part of ECAC. I certainly do not want these fine schools looked upon as "losers" as result of structural differences that must and should exist if the military academies are to produce officers for our combative forces. In reality this would be the same as putting Colorado College in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the NHL. CC would not be able to compete becasue of the structural difference. Walt Olson USMA '73