The hockey community did a great job for the UAH program!
Alabama Huntsville Cuts Hockey
- Thread starter mk80
- Start date
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Just trying to think outside the (penalty) box here ... If there is truly a sustainable public support base for men's hockey to continue @UAH, why wouldn't the advisory committee consider & possibly recommend (or maybe the University move independently to have) the Chargers revert to club sport status? I presume that would give the program more flexibility in its operations, reduce costs significantly vs. NCAA Div I, and afford the team an opportunity to join up with the SECHC teams to better fit the school's geographical reach. 
Barclay Donaldson
Registered User
Just trying to think outside the (penalty) box here ... If there is truly a sustainable public support base for men's hockey to continue @UAH, why wouldn't the advisory committee consider & possibly recommend (or maybe the University move independently to have) the Chargers revert to club sport status? I presume that would give the program more flexibility in its operations, reduce costs significantly vs. NCAA Div I, and afford the team an opportunity to join up with the SECHC teams to better fit the school's geographical reach.
Usually most club hockey programs exist entirely out of the control of the school. There are rules they must abide by, but generally the school gives them no support, no direction, and the club team is in control of everything they do. The other SECHC schools exist in the same manner except for maybe Georgia who are going to be allowed to play at the school's updated 5500-6000 seat theater/entertainment/sporting center.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
And your first statement in bold is the original reason I thought of this option. Ardent hockey fans who want a men's team for the long haul can continue to provide emotional AND monetary support to the club team outside of University & NCAA oversight. It should cost them far less than $500,000 to fund the club team ops (I hope). And it truly becomes "our hockey team" for fans & benevolent donors to determine the long-term prospects of the club without the whims & priorities of higher level bureaucracies foiling them at every turn. I'm just trying to put some realism in the heads of those who believe that if you wish it to be then anything can come true.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
I was informed by a Hu'ville hockey fan that UAH already has a men's club hockey team in the SECHC. Somebody beat me to the idea. 
Hello everyone! I did my part and bought one of the #saveUAHhockey t-shirts. I am rooting for you Chargers!
In regards to many of those comments about club teams, at the ACHA D1 level, schools generally provide some forms of support. At Waldorf University (where I am currently a student) the players are all given $5,000 in grants and no team fees are charged. The head coach is a full-time salaried employee, ice time, travel, etc are covered. I know Midland University and Concordia Ann Arbor all have similar arrangements. As you go down the rabbit hole into ACHA 2 and 3 there are many student-run organizations that survive solely on team fees and fundraising. Coaches are generally part-time, volunteer status, or graduate students looking to get their start in coaching.
If UAH were to drop to club status, they would be best served to move the team into D1 status (schools with NCAA hockey are prohibited from joining ACHA D1, save for any program which was grandfathered in; see WMU). Many programs can make it work with 2 ACHA programs and the school might be able to maintain a few holdovers from the NCAA team if they were to drop down while still honoring scholarships.
If UAH were to drop to club status, they would be best served to move the team into D1 status (schools with NCAA hockey are prohibited from joining ACHA D1, save for any program which was grandfathered in; see WMU). Many programs can make it work with 2 ACHA programs and the school might be able to maintain a few holdovers from the NCAA team if they were to drop down while still honoring scholarships.
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SemireliableSource
Liter-a-cola
EMU? Do you mean WMU? EMU doesn’t have varsity hockey. Better examples would be Arizona State or Penn State. Both are obviously now NCAA D1 and retain their ACHA D1 teams. But, yeah, UAH’s club team would not be allowed to go to ACHA D1 unless the varsity program ceases to exist
Barclay Donaldson
Registered User
Are you positive? Mercyhurst, Niagara, Canisius, Cornell, Western Michigan, RIT and RMU all have ACHA D1 teams that weren't grandfathered in. Some of those schools have had varsity hockey since well before the ACHA was even founded, so that wouldn't make sense.
Agree with you entirely, except PSU does not have a ACHA D1 team, only a ACHA D2 team.
Crap my bad, WMU. I confused them so many times. I will fix that. Funny thing is, the WMU club team is not allowed to use the school's normal moniker, the "Bronco", instead having to use the name "Stallions."
If they had a club program before the ACHA added that rule, they got grandfathered in. Mercyhurst's current incarnation of the club team has existed since the formation of the ACHA.
Furthermore, I’ve always felt like it’s a breach of etiquette for fans to pull that HF Business board “don’t deserve a team” shit amongst college hockey fans.
CrazyEddie20
Hey RuZZia - Cut Your Losses and Go Home.
No coach there has had any administrative support since Danton Cole left the last time the rumors of the program being snipped were going around.
And for all the talk of Huntsville being such a great hockey city, the "great fans" show up for cheap beer and bad fights in the SPHL and don't realize that during their best years, UAH would have waxed the Havoc. Maybe not in recent years for the Chargers, but an average Division I team would beat most SPHL teams.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Latest news out of Hu'ville, each according to College Hockey News ...
Alabama-Huntsville Secures $17 Million to Stabilize Program
Alabama-Huntsville Not Out Of Woods
Alabama-Huntsville Secures $17 Million to Stabilize Program
Alabama-Huntsville Not Out Of Woods
CrazyEddie20
Hey RuZZia - Cut Your Losses and Go Home.
The trustees of the University of Alabama system don't care about hockey in Huntsville, and they never will. The program is always going to have its' proverbial head on the chopping block unless they can come up with their own arena and a $50 million endowment for the program. Then we can talk about it being "stabilized."
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
mk80
Registered User
- Jul 30, 2012
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I just saw a player announce his transfer to UAH not more than a few days ago.... wonder what he is thinking now.
This is unfortunate because of the work they did to meet their goals, but the geography is biting them again. And looking at their efforts to get into Atlantic Hockey, LIU likely has the first crack at membership over UAH. Then there's the question of would Atlantic Hockey expand beyond that.
CrazyEddie20
Hey RuZZia - Cut Your Losses and Go Home.
Geography undoubtedly is a piece of it, but UAH and the UA System trustees wanted to get out of the college hockey business. They wrote the terms of the deal for UAH to continue to have the program, and they probably knew or had a pretty good feeling that, given the past history, UAH would have difficulty getting into a conference. It doesn't help that a lot of the same people who were in charge of the old CCHA (which rejected UAH over a decade ago) are still around in the new CCHA.
As far as geography goes, Houghton (Michigan Tech) is farther from Bowling Green than Huntsville. Huntsville has direct Delta flights to Detroit and United/American flights to O'Hare daily. Five of the eight schools (St. Thomas, Bemidji, Mankato, Ferris State, Bowling Green, and Mankato) are relatively accessible. The other three (Lake State, Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech) are equally as remote as Huntsville.
The story, if someone were to actually attempt investigative journalism, is what is in the emails between the UAH AD and the UA System trustees. They're public records. File a FOIL request for the emails.
mk80
Registered User
- Jul 30, 2012
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- 8,586
If they had been able to get into the CCHA, or Atlantic Hockey this year either way they are on island. That challenge remains going forward for them, and I don't know if it works out long term even within a conference.
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Perspective on UAH and the need to grow the game in general with some insight from Frank Serratore
Growing College Hockey: Why all fans should care
Growing College Hockey: Why all fans should care
Would really love to see some college hockey here in the Southeast. I love watching college hockey, but my alma mater (U of Alabama), has a club team, so I have no one to really get behind.
North Dakota's arena is slick though.
North Dakota's arena is slick though.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
CrazyEddie20
Hey RuZZia - Cut Your Losses and Go Home.
Glad to see someone helping to grow the game!
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
I'm not inclined to dismiss club hockey watching as a pastime like most others seem to be. Different strokes, different states.
CrazyEddie20
Hey RuZZia - Cut Your Losses and Go Home.
Desperate alcoholics have been known to drink mouthwash. If you've got nothing else, you'll take what you can get.
