Brad Edward Toberman asks: > Who contols the economic side of (A.C.H.A. hockey)? I take it the athletic department has nothing to do with it since it is just a club sport. By sounds of it UI makes a lot of money off hockey. Where does it go? Do the players get payed? Who arranges the TV and radio deals? Who sells the tickets? Why is it just a club sport? I can tell you how things work at Illinois - and from my experience, most A.C.H.A. teams operate, more or less, the same. By the University's standards, the team at Illinois is a club - just like the Pre-Law Club or any other club on campus. We generally sell 2,000 tickets per game (for 14-16 home games per year) at $3.50 to $5.00. Keeping in mind that we are a club, we pay for all our ice-time - practices and games. Everyone involved with hockey knows how expensive ice-time is - for us it runs $40-$60 per hour (and that's cheap). We practice three to four times per week from August to March. For games we must rent the entire Arena, paying for the ice-time and approximately 30 people to work (including security, clean-up, concessions, officials, etc.) There goes much of our revenues! We also pay, out of gate receipts, for all our roadtrips - transportation, hotels, and meals for 23 players and the coaching staff. There goes more of our revenues! Finally, we provide equipment for the players; we spend several thousand dollars advertising our games; and there are always other incidental expenses. At Illinois, the players do not get paid. However other A.C.H.A. teams (including Arizona and Ohio) do provide scholarships. He also asked who manages the team's affairs. At Illinois, the players do. The *club* has an executive board consisting of players. Last year I was the club's Vice President (Marketing) ... and the starting goalie (A.C.H.A. Division I All-American). Fortunately, we also have several volunteers who help manage the team. Last year it was my job to arrange the team's newspaper, television, and radio advertising deals. Other exec. board members handle the team's money matters, community relations, etc. Having been around since 1957 our team is well-known in the community, and local businesses and individuals enjoy helping and supporting us. Despite all the work we do off the ice (and believe me it's a lot!) we have had lots of success on the ice, too. Last year we finished the season ranked No. 6 in the A.C.H.A. Division I poll. During the year we beat Penn State and Ohio (the eventual national champs). Five of our players were named to the All-American teams. In essence, I believe A.C.H.A.teams operate the way all college teams should. It's pretty rewarding to beat a top-ranked team like Penn State at home before a sold-out crowd, knowing that not only did I have a part in our success on the ice, but off the ice too. Thanks for listening to me jabber, Terry Kasdan ---------------------------------- http://students.uiuc.edu/~t-kasdan HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.