-- [ From: McArdle, Tom * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] -- -------- REPLY, Original message follows -------- Date: Tuesday, 09-Apr-96 10:09 AM Subject: OUR game "At these big schools hockey isn't even the major spectator port, with the exception of Minnesota. Even hockey mad Wisconsin was more excited about its recent success at basketball, and of course football. I can't imagine these seven schools providing a base from which college hockey would grow. I don't even think they would want to." ############################## ouch! Hockey IS a major sport in Madison! The athletic dept. expects the same contribution as it does for basketball and/or football if you want great seats for the Friday night OR Saturday night series. Basketball and football packages include all games, not just half of them. With ground breaking soon for the new Kohl Center, basketball and hockey could share the same facility at Wisconsin...and there won't be an empty seat when either the boards or backboards at in place. Just stand outside the Dane County Coliseum some sub-zero night and try and buy a ticket for a WCHA game, you'll find the pickin's slim, just as it is outside Camp Randall for football and the Old Fieldhouse for basketball (men's and women's teams). Hockey does provide a chance for schools of many different sizes and traditions to compete on an equal footing. This years final when down the wire between the largest (Michigan) and one of the smallest (Col. College) institutions in the sport. I'll never see that disparity in the other major NCAA finals. This year the big kid finally won, but you can't depend on size to pick the winner. Too bad Sports Illustrated doesn't cover us, but that's no big loss. There are other sources for the information we all need and want...with HOCKEY-L being a great way to follow the sport. And with expanded cable lines feeding much of the nation, new sports networks will increase coverage for those unable to make it to the arena. It's better than it was a decade ago and I expect the future to continue improving. Tom McArdle On Wisconsin -------- REPLY, End of original message -------- HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.