> I was reviewing some of the discussion about new teams and realigning leagues with a friend of mine who is a member of the Badger Blue Line Club. He brought an entire new twist onto the scene. He claims that if one more Big Ten team starts a Division I hockey program, (both Penn State and Illinois have made rumblings about this), then by Big Ten Conference rules, they would have to form a Big Ten conference for hockey since the majority of members of the conference play that sport (6 out of 11). I had never heard this before, but it does seem at some point that if there are enough schools in a conference playing a sport, they must play it within that conference. While previous discussions have pointed out that Title IX considerations and financial constraints may prevent this from happening in the near future, I would think this must be a concern when there is consideration of major, long term, realignment in the West, which would be seriously jolted if the Big Ten team! >s all leave to form their own conf >erence. I agree. Having more Big Ten teams would really mess things up. However, I think expansion would benefit the leagues more than anything. I have a feeling college hockey is going to take off with the arrival of the southern franchises in professional hockey. The Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes (next years Winnipeg Jets), and the Florida Panthers are going to really help college hockey. Could we see teams like Miami(FL), University of Florida, U of Texas, Arizona State.. and the such.. have teams in the future? It could happen. Especially now that Tampa Bay and the Panthers are in the NHL playoffs. The interest may start to be there, and in the future, could bring college hockey to the south. The only problem would arise with the talent level. Pondering thoughts........ Nat Malen University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire [log in to unmask] HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.