The WCHA has decided not to expand their conference, meaning Bemidji State will likely soon find themselves without a conference to play in once the CHA collapses, and could force BSU to drop their hockey program.
There have been critics that said Bemidji's program would be in dire financial straits with or without the WCHA, but my question is, why not at least give them the opportunity to fail? Maybe they wouldn't be able to make it in the WCHA, but they're almost guaranteed to die without any conference to play in.
And what's the argument for not letting them into the league? It ruins the 8 years of tradition built up by having the same 10 teams in the league? It makes an already unbalanced league schedule slightly less balanced? The real answer is most likely that the other teams in the league don't want to split the revenue from the Final Five another way.
The Beavers have more than proven themselves as a capable team. They've competed extremely well against the WCHA over the past couple years, despite having CHA-level resources. Playing in the WCHA would make the program even stronger. Yes, Bemidji still has issues, like the lack of a WCHA-level arena, but that could be solved by making their league membership, and cut of the league revenue conditional until they get a new arena.
It's really a disappointing decision from the WCHA. Having an extra 18 scholarships/26 roster spots for D-I college hockey players is never a bad thing, and this decision puts that severly in jeopardy.
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11 comments:
Bummer...I would agree with everything you have said. Shame on the powers-that-be that made this decision. I would've loved to have seen Bemidji in the WCHA with the same benefits current WCHA teams have knowing it's going to provide additional players the opportunity to play D-1 hockey in one of the best college hockey conferences. Very disappointing news!
I think this move is more of a way to prevent the collapse of the CHA. If Bemidji goes, that leaves four teams essentially homeless. The CHA would for all purposes dissolve.
The CCHA isn't going to give up any teams (as much as WCHA homers would love to add UNO and Bemidji to make it a 12 team conference) to take on Wayne State. Nor are they just going to adopt Wayne State.
That still leaves three teams. If those teams get absorbed or fold their programs, that leaves full conferences all around. Any new upstart program would be turned away because "Our league is full."
As much as the five member CHA hurts us fans, not having the five member CHA would hurt college hockey.
At least, that's just my opinion.
Chris,
There's some assertions made by Mike (Idle-Bus) over at INCH that certainly brings into question the veracity of Bemidji's Prez and his tactics in this situation.
I'm assuming you haven't read it. Here's the link.
http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/Columns/mike_check/0607/mc_0525.htm
http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Archives/
Columns/mike_check/0607/mc_0525.htm
The criteria for selecting a team into a conference has to go beyond whether or not that team can survive without being accepted. It's not up to the WCHA to be a savior for struggling programs.
As a BSU fan, I have mixed feelings on this. One, I like the CHA because it gives us a realistic chance year in and year out to make the NCAA Tournament. In the WCHA, I am afraid we would become another Mankato, SCSU or Tech, where you have one good run every five to seven years. But on the other hand, the travel that is involved in the CHA is killing the BSU hockey budget. BSU has to fly to every league game they go to, there is no bus trip in the league for the Beavers, something they would be able to do with seven of the ten WCHA teams (Denver, CC and UAA would be flights, obviously). Also, trying to get the big names to come to Bemidji to play the Beavers is hard to do outside of North Dakota and UMD. So that dries up the coffers also.
What does the WCHA gain by adding Bemidji? Oh yeah, nothing but more scheduling problems, a drain on revenue (cause Bemidji sure as shit won't add any revenue), and a diluted product. Do you think fans in Grand Forks want to see Bemidji on their schedule instead of Wisconsin? You think Minnesota fans circle the calendar for the series with Denver or Bemidji? Hell, I would venture a guess that every WCHA team would prefer to have the ability to schedule a decent nonconference series as opposed to the Beavers.
The WCHA is not a charity that should be expected to adopt homeless children "for the good of the game"
Donald,
I had read that article, and it was actually what I had in mind when I said, "There have been critics that said Bemidji's program would be in dire financial straits with or without the WCHA, but my question is, why not at least give them the opportunity to fail?"
If they think he's bluffing, then call his bluff. If they get in to the WCHA, maybe they fail, and maybe they don't. If they don't get into the league, they'll definitely fail.
Of the 10 teams in the league now, how many of them could survive without having a league to play in? Probably only Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, and the latter two would likely take a huge hit. Same deal with Bemidji. They're a solid program, but are languishing without a legitimate conference to play in.
What does the WCHA gain by adding Bemidji?
If the NCAA loses another team, they could be in danger of losing a 16 team tournament. That would cost the WCHA about 1 NCAA tournament participant a year.
Bemidji also reduces travel costs for a lot of the league. The occassional bus ride instead of flight to a game can have a huge impact on the budget.
It's also good for hockey in Minnesota, in general. It makes college hockey that much more of a reachable goal for kids. It helps promote the sport, which in turn, makes it more profitable for all involved.
This decision was a no-brainer. Time to move onto more important issues.
Chris,
I haven't reread the Idle-Bus article but I remember having a distinct dislike for the unseemly tactics of Bemidji's prez. For me that was just about enough for the league to decline.
As for their inclusion in the league (or anyone else's) I personally wouldn't mind seeing a couple more teams in the WCHA but only with some conditions. A twelve team league would be a perfect opportunity for the league to drop the # of conference games to 22.
The number of conference games, unbalanced schedule and the "lucia-variant" currently in use are all ridiculous in my not so humble opinion.
I see a change to 12 teams as an opportunity for WCHA teams to increase their revenue. It would give each team the opportunity to schedule one (or possibly even two) more home series per year. I'd like to see a Hockey East or EZAC team in my building once a year. As it stands I believe hockey east teams play non-conference games against one another. I know I'd rather see BU or Harvard or .... than play Mankato 4 times a year. I'd like to see UAA get a chance to go to a holiday tournament or whatever instead of going to Colorado Springs or Denver or Houghton.
Now I have to run off and hope that makes sense.
Chris,
Although adding Bemdji State may prove to be a good move for Minnesota, keep in mind that the best interests of the WCHA don't revolve around Minnesota. Minnesota schools occupy a large chunk of participants, but even as biased of a gopher fan that I am, conference decisions like these have no business factoring in what's good for the state of Minnesota.
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