I just read J Michael Jackson's treatise, and I must admit that I'm impressed. My first thought to the thread on UNO's possible move from zilch to D-I was "wow, there must be a big youth hockey program around Omaha". That not being the case (?), I can easily forsee things that Mr Jackson fears coming true, though there are precedents to the contrary (specifically, the increasing popularity of women's basketball -- national powerhouses still include Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion, and many large schools are still not seen in the top 25, but Wisconsin is an example of a large school "coming of age" in that "new" arena!). I've often read on hockey-l and on rec.sport.football.college that Wisconsin gets some plum bowl bids / NCAA tournament seedings because the powers that be in the NC$$ realize that UW alumni will turn out in force. I think the same can be said of Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State, and (to a lesser extent) Ohio State. In other words, the thought that the power of the dollar affects the NCAA is already in many people's minds. If D-I does increase by 15-25%, I don't see how the current 4 conferences can survive, especially in the west. Travel is just hell, unless logical tavel pairs can be formed. And the WCHA's format of playing 4 games vs anybody will have to go out the door. I could see 5-6 conferences of 10 teams each, arranged along regional lines, with travel considerations very important in forming the conferences. That may cost some traditional rivals when it comes to leag play vs each other, which won't be appealing to the alumni (read that "the $a$l$u$m$n$i$"). It would seem reasonable for Hockey USA, or the NCAA, or the AHCA to form a (shudder) committee to plan for expansion; sort of a roadmap to 2000, or some such thing. Is anything like this being done (that anyone knows of)? This promises to be a good thread. Steve G PS I'll compile and present the results of the "top 5 current coaches" thread next monday. If you haven't voted yet, please do so. I'll also include a section about non-current coaches so, while I really want your top 5 current ones, I'd encourage you to add a mention of any other coaches (etc) for my other section. HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.