LIU adding D-1 Men's Hockey Program

kij

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I don't know what parent would want to send their kid to LIU if they don't have their own rink. Part of the mystique of playing D1 college hockey is the whole college experience itself. That includes having a nice rink and locker room on campus, and the student body comes to watch you play.

Playing in Syosset is a joke, and although Northwell health is an awesome rink to play at, it is still small in comparison to real D1 rinks. Also sitting in LIE traffic to go to practice or games from campus will get tiresome over the course of the season.

I just dont understand why they are rushing headfirst into this. Seems like making a club team or d3 team first would be the move while they build their coaching staff and recruit players. Also gives them time to find funding for a nice rink to be built on campus.
Was that already announced somewhere that they will be utilizing Syosset? Please provide a link otherwise this is purely speculation.

As far as a club team coming out first, that would be better than jumping the gun into D1; but they would struggle to build a program abiding by ACHA rules if they intend to make a quick transition to D1, wanting to play by NCAA rules to get prepared. To top it off, the program would then be forced to say goodbye to many players that helped build the program when they are not good enough for D1.

Honestly, Long Island is such a saturated hockey market as it is that they will severely struggle to draw a crowd anyway, making it even worse is that the student body is split amongst 2 separate campuses and I feel for any player on the Brooklyn campus trying to commute back and forth to Long Island. As far as putting another rink up, it is illogical to do so. Nassau and Suffolk Counties combine to have 17 permanent sheets of ice by my count, not including the Nassau Coliseum or anywhere that has temporary or half sheets (Syosset has a 2/3s rink in addition to their full sheet, Northwell Health puts up an outdoor sheet in the winters that is used for youth). Those counties combine to have roughly 3 million residents. If LIU were to put up their own rink, which campus and where would they do it? Where would even more funding come from when they can barely afford to pay a coach the proper salary?
 

CrazyEddie20

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Plenty of colleges don't have their own rink or have an interest of owning one. I can think of AUH, AIC, Canisius, RMU, UConn off the top of my head that meet those two conditions.

They are rushing because they have rushed all their sports. Women's hockey was added last year with late notice as well. Making a club team is difficult because it is a huge jump between even the highest level club and NCAA DI. It would be the same as starting a brand new team. They can't have a DIII team as a DI program. They likely don't have the funding for a nice rink to be on campus. If they did, they would have built it with the announcement of the girls program.

UConn has an on campus rink - the men's team uses it as a practice facility, though. Canisius doesn't have an on-campus rink, but plays within walking distance of campus.

Women's Hockey, I'd argue, can be rushed because they're not expecting it to be a revenue producer. You don't add men's ice hockey to an athletic program unless you expect it to build revenue for the athletic department.

More notable, I think, is that Furman, a school with three times the endowment of LIU, dropped men's lacrosse and baseball today. You're going to see more schools drop programs in the next year than ever before, and very few, if any, get added.
 

Barclay Donaldson

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UConn has an on campus rink - the men's team uses it as a practice facility, though. Canisius doesn't have an on-campus rink, but plays within walking distance of campus.

Women's Hockey, I'd argue, can be rushed because they're not expecting it to be a revenue producer. You don't add men's ice hockey to an athletic program unless you expect it to build revenue for the athletic department.

More notable, I think, is that Furman, a school with three times the endowment of LIU, dropped men's lacrosse and baseball today. You're going to see more schools drop programs in the next year than ever before, and very few, if any, get added.

UConn men plays all their games at XL Center, that's enough of a qualifier to not have an on campus rink. Canisius plays at the downtown Harbor Center 5 miles away from campus, I wouldn't exactly call that walking distance.
 

CrazyEddie20

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I said Canisius is walkable to the Harbor Center because I've walked it, but I guess I'm a more ambitious walker than most. UConn's men's team played their games on campus for years. They practice on campus. If people are going to complain about traffic getting to practice being a fatigue factor for LIU, at least concede that that's not a factor when the team has a rink on campus to practice in.

That said, given the news out of Furman and what I'm hearing from athletic administrators elsewhere, I'll be surprised if LIU's men's team ever plays a game.
 

mk80

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As for Zombo, he has been the bench the boss for some great LU teams, this season's had potential for another National Championship too in my biased opinion. He is definitely a top coach for the ACHA, but I'll put it this way, if/when Lindenwood would go NCAA D1 I wouldn't be surprised if he turned down being the head coach.

Per today's St. Louis Post Dispatch article, I stand corrected on anything regarding Zombo coaching or not if/when Lindenwood adds NCAA D1 men's hockey. Ex-Blue Zombo is St. Louis' other championship winning hockey coach

Zombo would love to take the men’s team to the Division I level and take advantage of the increasing number of quality players coming out of St. Louis. He just needs the go-ahead.
“We just need a rubber stamp from the president,” Zombo said. “Our AD is doing the work already. Any time you’re starting out, the bottom line is going to be in the red. You’ve got to let the community know you’ve got a program. We just need a go-ahead from the people that write the checks.”

Back to our regularly scheduled LIU discussion:

They need to scale back their ambitions in order to do things right, every day without a coach is a day wasted in getting established. It's better to slow down the process and add for 21-22 than rush and be at a severe disadvantage in every aspect. If anything add an ACHA men's team for this season, it still has hurdles to overcome this late into the spring/summer, but easier to overcome on short notice.
 
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mk80

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You let @TomTimm scoop you on this?! Another low point in your sports media career. :oops:
I'll take any LU sports coverage there can be! Especially when it involves more than just me suggesting a possible NCAA D1 men's team.
 
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Captain Crash

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Plenty of colleges don't have their own rink or have an interest of owning one. I can think of AUH, AIC, Canisius, RMU, UConn off the top of my head that meet those two conditions.

They are rushing because they have rushed all their sports. Women's hockey was added last year with late notice as well. Making a club team is difficult because it is a huge jump between even the highest level club and NCAA DI. It would be the same as starting a brand new team. They can't have a DIII team as a DI program. They likely don't have the funding for a nice rink to be on campus. If they did, they would have built it with the announcement of the girls program.

RMU does own its own rink.
 

mk80

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It looks like the Sharks have their first bench boss. With the axe coming down in Huntsville they might be able to pick up a few guys from there.

 

S E P H

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It looks like the Sharks have their first bench boss. With the axe coming down in Huntsville they might be able to pick up a few guys from there.


I am interested in if this happens because it will prove how reliable Bucci is in regards to his statement about Illinois being very close to joining DI.
 

JiggsNY

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It looks like the Sharks have their first bench boss. With the axe coming down in Huntsville they might be able to pick up a few guys from there.


Off topic, but does Buccigross rub anyone else the wrong way. Even as an NCAA hockey fan and he is one of the most notable college hockey fans, still he just annoys me. Like in this post, the constant promotion of his merch seems tacky. It's seems like nonstop pushing out his merch on anything and eveything. (If Cawlidge Hockey is his merch, if not im uninformed and could be wrong).
 

Barclay Donaldson

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Off topic, but does Buccigross rub anyone else the wrong way. Even as an NCAA hockey fan and he is one of the most notable college hockey fans, still he just annoys me. Like in this post, the constant promotion of his merch seems tacky. It's seems like nonstop pushing out his merch on anything and eveything. (If Cawlidge Hockey is his merch, if not im uninformed and could be wrong).

Cawlidge Hockey is his merchandise line. The proceeds from that line and Bucci OT challenge go to hockey-related nonprofits.

You can still be rubbed the wrong way by him. He promotes college hockey heavily, and sometimes he gets news wrong, like he did with University of Illinois, and sometimes he pushes his merch too much.
 

BOS358

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I am interested in if this happens because it will prove how reliable Bucci is in regards to his statement about Illinois being very close to joining DI.

Have you ever read USCHO? College Hockey News? SBN College Hockey (okay, I completely understand if you don't read that one)? Chicago Tribune?

All of those have been taken for a ride by Illinois. The first two are extremely reliable despite falling for it. SBN is garbage, and Illinois had nothing to do with that.

I don't follow Buccigross at all. I know nothing of his reliability. But if you write about college hockey in any way, you will have been taken in by the dog-and-pony show out of Illinois at some point.
 

JiggsNY

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Cawlidge Hockey is his merchandise line. The proceeds from that line and Bucci OT challenge go to hockey-related nonprofits.

You can still be rubbed the wrong way by him. He promotes college hockey heavily, and sometimes he gets news wrong, like he did with University of Illinois, and sometimes he pushes his merch too much.
Well that's good to hear it goes to non-profits. If i had known that he probably wouldnt be rubbing me the wrong way this whole time.
 

Slowe

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Have you ever read USCHO? College Hockey News? SBN College Hockey (okay, I completely understand if you don't read that one)? Chicago Tribune?

All of those have been taken for a ride by Illinois. The first two are extremely reliable despite falling for it. SBN is garbage, and Illinois had nothing to do with that.

I don't follow Buccigross at all. I know nothing of his reliability. But if you write about college hockey in any way, you will have been taken in by the dog-and-pony show out of Illinois at some point.

So the Athletic Director of a major university is on record about having a press conference planned to launch the hockey program when covid hit forcing a pause. You call this a dog and pony show and people have fallen for it. He would have what exactly to gain from this? It benefits the school how? Am I supposed to believe it’s more likely that he’s just messing with you with a years long elaborate hoax instead of it being a really difficult thing that takes time? You know, that only a handful of schools have managed to do in the last few decades?

This is why you all get the PR machine of “nothing to say at this time.” God forbid an AD be transparent about an initiative they are working on. People give them crap because a multimillion dollar project isn’t moving quickly enough for the internet to be satisfied...
 

mk80

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I am interested in if this happens because it will prove how reliable Bucci is in regards to his statement about Illinois being very close to joining DI.
I think had the virus not come along we would have had an announcement on Illinois adding a team by now. But we'll see when they do now, I imagine like anything else this will set them back a little bit longer.

Off topic, but does Buccigross rub anyone else the wrong way. Even as an NCAA hockey fan and he is one of the most notable college hockey fans, still he just annoys me. Like in this post, the constant promotion of his merch seems tacky. It's seems like nonstop pushing out his merch on anything and eveything. (If Cawlidge Hockey is his merch, if not im uninformed and could be wrong).

I don't follow him closely enough to really have an opinion on him, his tweet popped into my Twitter feed via someone else I follow retweeting him.
 
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BOS358

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So the Athletic Director of a major university is on record about having a press conference planned to launch the hockey program when covid hit forcing a pause. You call this a dog and pony show and people have fallen for it.

After five years of "never mind," yeah, I call the annual imminent announcement about Illinois going varsity a dog and pony show. Go read all my posts on the subject. And yes, in the past, many reputable sources have reported this before it evaporated. The only difference this time is that the pandemic provided a plausible cover for nothing happening.

He would have what exactly to gain from this? It benefits the school how?

Create buzz that it's "imminent," attract interest and therefore donations from alumni, rinse, repeat.

Am I supposed to believe it’s more likely that he’s just messing with you with a years long elaborate hoax instead of it being a really difficult thing that takes time?

Not messing with me, personally, but this has been going on for at least three years with nothing to show for it. And really, as Penn State and Arizona State have shown, money is far more important than time.

Let me ask you a question: after the Chicago Tribune reported last year that "Illinois was in the 'red zone' for starting hockey," what is that supposed to mean? That one would be ready for the start of last season, or that a few more false starts would happen?

Oh wait, we're talking Illinois and the "red zone," so judging by the football team the latter would make more sense.
 

Slowe

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Consider who’s making these imminent announcements. I don’t claim to know all the behind the scenes. I’ve been more hopeful than believing. The AD has been working on it for three years. Anything before that was internet hopes and dreams. Yeah money is more important than time. I’m sure if there was one Pegula this would’ve been done ages ago. So failing that, what amount of time is reasonable from when it goes from challenging to this must be an elaborate deception? The AD has said they were “close” and more time has passed. Is it frustrating? Sure. But to say he’s pulling one giant public scam is quite the leap. I’m sure donations to the athletic dept have strings. So this elaborate con is just for the donations from the public to the university in general because they’re excited? What’s that, a few million maybe? Good theory. Real solid risk / reward on that one. No one in the giant athletic dept that “is supposed to be working on this massive project” isn’t going to leak.

I’m not going to convince you so I won’t bother. My best hope is reading about your revised conspiracy once the team hits the ice.
 

S E P H

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Have you ever read USCHO? College Hockey News? SBN College Hockey (okay, I completely understand if you don't read that one)? Chicago Tribune?

All of those have been taken for a ride by Illinois. The first two are extremely reliable despite falling for it. SBN is garbage, and Illinois had nothing to do with that.

I don't follow Buccigross at all. I know nothing of his reliability. But if you write about college hockey in any way, you will have been taken in by the dog-and-pony show out of Illinois at some point.
I read all of it and you're right it seems like there is a lot of bad data out there concerning Illinois. However, Bucci right before the virus impacted USA, he was one the few who report that a major rumour out of nowhere that they were about to announce it. I think we all agree that Illinois adding DI hockey is not "if", but "when". In the case of UoI though, it would've been nice to see if Bucci is a reliable source for the future concerning college hockey. And not just retweeting rumours from other very average or poor sources.
 

Slowe

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February 27 Buccigross tweeted “sources” say an announcement will come in the next few days.

March 6 Sports Illustrated quotes Josh Whitman, IL AD, “We’re committed to doing everything we can to make it happen and hope to have good news in the not-too-distant future.” The IL dept also clarifies Buccigross was “a little premature.”

April 20 the News Gazette, a local paper, quotes Whitman as saying “Candidly, we were bracing and preparing for a big announcement as early as next month,” Whitman said Monday. “We felt like we had put everything in the order that we needed. We had all the partners around the table. We had a good, solid plan to move it forward. Then, of course, everything changed.” “We’re still in very active conversations with all the different partners who have come around the table to help move that forward. I’m hopeful that’s a short-term pause and not a long-term no.”

Considering those are quotes from the source I consider them very reliable. Buccigross wasn’t on the money but it was pretty close.
 

GindyDraws

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So, what will the over/under total be on wins this year? Let's put it at 5 and I'm willing to take the under.

This program is trying to build a program from nothing, has virtually no money for coaches, and will likely have to build a schedule on games that likely will be against ACHA opponents.
 

BOS358

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So, what will the over/under total be on wins this year? Let's put it at 5 and I'm willing to take the under.

You're probably right on this one.

This program is trying to build a program from nothing, has virtually no money for coaches, and will likely have to build a schedule on games that likely will be against ACHA opponents.

They'll probably be playing a hybrid schedule this season (assuming there is one) with NCAA D1, D3, and ACHA opponents. With schools being averse to travel right now, I'm thinking Atlantic Hockey and ECAC teams can fill open non-conference dates with them. Sacred Heart, Army, AIC, Union, RPI, and Quinnipiac might have a date to fill and are relatively close by (feel free to correct my geography). Not so sure about the Ivies, though, simply due to their shorter schedule.
 

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