A Shot In The Heart

Loss of Wayne State hits harder than previous folds

Sept. 27, 2007

By Dave Starman

Special to CSTV.com

	DAVE STARMAN Dave is a CSTV game and studio analyst, and contributes regular insight to CSTV.com. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- STAR TREATMENT 1/18: Irish Not Just About Football 1/11: Been There, But Not Done Yet 12/30: Tech Is Back 12/30: Michigan Is A Team Again 12/29: History Made, Revisited At Great Lakes Invitational 12/29: From Stripes To Suits 12/27: Go West Young Men 12/21: More Questions Than Answers 12/21: Forechecking Makes Things Happen 12/19: Not All Holiday Surprises Are Happy Ones 12/7: Feeling The Love 11/30: How About Next Time? 10/19: Home Sweet Home 10/10: What's The Worst That Can Happen? 9/27: A Shot In The Heart 9/25: CCHA Media Day Notebook 9/25: DelCastillo's Balancing Act 6/20: College Well Represented at NHL Draft 5/16: Morris Back in the Saddle 4/6: Numbers Game At Frozen Four 4/6: Notes On The Frozen Four 4/6: At Maine, There Is No Off-season 4/6: Behind The Scenes 4/5: Heart On Your Sleeve 4/5: Nothing New For Cavanaugh 4/5: Frozen Four Storylines 4/4: Even Keeled Whitehead Suits Maine Just Fine 4/3: Comley Calm Behind Spartans' Bench 3/24: The X-Factors: Saturday Edition 3/23: The X Factors: Friday's Semifinals 3/23: Sitting On The Panel 3/12: Two Expressions Told It All, One Is Lasting 3/7: Officiating, Conference Alignment and More 3/1: In A Fantasy World, Five Trades In College Hockey 2/7: Here They Come Again 1/31: Revamp The NCAA Tournament 1/26: No-goal Controversy Needs Another Look 12/29: Team USA Has Talent To Be Much Better 12/14: Composite or Wood? 12/6: Making Sense of the Senseless 11/24: Hensick Working On His Two-Way Play 11/7: Wisconsin is Fully Equipped 11/3: Pooley Receives Ultimate Honor 11/2: Off Wisconsin 10/6: NCAA Rules Committee Lays Down Law 6/27: NHL Entry Draft Thoughts 6/16: Collegiate Stars Making Mark In Finals 4/7: Damon and Moore: Maine Men 3/25: Women’s Frozen Four Notebook 3/23: At The Frozen Four With SLU 3/23: UW's Slusar Wins Off The Ice 3/7: Questions Asked And Answered 2/16: Pioneering Spirit 2/15: Playing Five Questions 12/20: Christmas Edition

Here's the problem with Wayne State folding.

When you think about some of the programs that might have folded in recent memory, they've been in areas where hockey was popular, but it's not grassroots, and it's not part of the fabric or culture.

When you lose a Wayne State -- which is Detroit, which is "Hockeytown" -- it's alarming. It's a bad thing for college hockey. I'm not going to speak for them, but I'm quite sure that some of the Michigan-based CCHA programs have to say, "How could we possibly lose a school in our own state?"

Of course, Wayne State had been trying to get into the CCHA, and one thing that I know was important to Wayne State was to be able to play schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. It was important for their attendance to be able to get those schools in, or to play at those venues. But schools have to be careful with their home dates, because you don't want to give up too many home games.

Hypothetically, if they could have gotten out of the CHA into the CCHA, maybe that makes a big difference, but without knowing the finances and knowing the school's priority on athletics, it's hard to say what might have been done to avoid this. It's certainly not a case where they didn't have a coach with a reputation, because Bill Wilkinson is about as respected -- not only in the state of Michigan, but in college hockey -- as anybody. That wasn't the problem.

Of course, the next question is where we go from here.

For the CHA and its remaining members, now it becomes a question of geography. The women's CHA has four members and no automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, and if the men's side goes that route, it'll be harder for those schools in recruiting, because they won't be able to tell a kid that if they win the conference, they'll be in the NCAA tournament. 

The other route, obviously, is dissolving the conference, and then it becomes a question of who fits into which conference. Will the Big Four and Atlantic Hockey be willing to absorb these schools? Can Niagara play in Atlantic? Can Bemidji play in the WCHA? (The fact that they don't is a crime.) Robert Morris could be game for Atlantic -- it's close enough. And then, there's Alabama-Huntsville. What do you do with Huntsville? Does Huntsville survive? It'd be a shame if Huntsville doesn't survive, because they've got a coach with a Stanley Cup ring.

Now, if it becomes a question of programs being absorbed, then some will say that puts an end to expansion in college hockey, since the CHA has been seen as a starting point for fledgling programs. Personally, I don't think it can kill the growth of anything as long as you have schools that have got the ability to put a team out there. Title IX is a factor more than anything, and facilities are a big factor as well, bigger than which conference you'd play in. I think that for any school that wants to put in a Division I hockey program right now, you'd better have your building in first before you do anything, because recruiting kids to play in a municipal rink is tough.

The other issue that's going to come up if you're down to five conferences in college hockey is whether the NCAA tournament will go back to 12 teams. I don't think that's going to happen. I think the powers that be probably realize that if you add one more team in from a "Big Four" conference instead of the CHA winner, you increase your chances of getting a marquee team in there. I think that for a national tournament to generate more interest -- with no disrespect to some of the lower-profile schools -- schools that have Big Ten football and basketball counterparts need to be in it. Boston University and Boston College need to be in it. North Dakota needs to be in it. Notre Dame needs to be in it. Those big name schools need to be in it. You can market the big name matchups. The only way to grow is to get the non-hockey community fans to buy in.

Of course, these are all issues that are going to have to be discussed, and one thing I'm very confident in is the people who are going to be discussing these issues. My feeling is that if CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos and Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna are involved in any of this, it'll get done the right way. I've always felt that way. ECAC Hockey commissioner Steve Hagwell is also starting to prove that he's as committed to growing the game as anybody, and Bruce McLeod in the WCHA has been around forever and he knows the landscape. If things don't get done that need to get done here, I seriously doubt it will be their fault.

In the meantime, it's very tough for the college hockey community to see a program go in "Hockeytown."