There was an interesting article on college hockey in USA Today either Thursday or Friday. The headline is "Number of teams see a future in Division I" and the lead to the story goes like this: College hockey appears headed toward a much-anticipated growth spurt, although the timetable remains hazy. Among the nuggets in the story: - CCHA commissioner Bill Beagan is quoted as saying he sees 10 Division I programs coming. - 3 of the leading schools mentioned are Oakland University in Michigan, Niagara in New York and Nebraska-Omaha. - The athletics director at Nebraska-Omaha, Dan Leahy, says ``It is not a go yet, but we are encouraged. We aren't going to run it on a shoestring budget. We are going to be fully capitalized or we aren't going to do it.'' The story says if $1 million is raised, they will apply to the WCHA (called Western Conference Athletic Conference) and begin play in 1997-98. - There is a junior team in Omaha that averages more than 6,000 per game in attendance. - Niagara is building a $6 million facility with twin rinks. Initial plans are to compete in the ECAC West with a move to Division I possible. AD Mike Jankowski says ``I'm told this is a can't-miss opportunity for us.'' - The story says several college club teams are expected to upgrade their programs and notes schools such as Connecticut, Holy Cross, Canisius and Villanova are playing on the II and III level. It quotes ECAC hockey commish Joe Bertagna: ``I think some of those schools are starting to get ansy.'' +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ + Lynn Burke - Newport News, Va. + + Reorganization will solve all of our problems + +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.