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Post by Chu Chu on Jul 24, 2019 10:58:23 GMT -5
woorat - with your intimate knowledge, could you explain your understanding of where and how this decision will be made (or not)? Who should we direct our comments to? Is our new AD the person? It seems to be hung up somewhere, and the college powers that be are typically cryptic about where things stand.
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Post by gks on Jul 24, 2019 11:38:51 GMT -5
The HoJos lot probably does not have a large enough footprint to put up a facility. Even if it was, parking would be a big problem. I would think that if HC was interested in building a facility, it would be in front of the current rink. Having said that, it would probably be necessary to build a parking garage in Hogan 2-3 to handle the parking. I am not sure if the new lot outside of Luth could handle the traffic. You could connect the new facility to the existing one. I would also say if they were ever to do something like this, make it multi-purpose for both hockey and basketball. That way HC can also get the Hoops alum involved in fundraising. Now you have 2 rinks and 2 bball facilities (actually 3 with practice). Maybe "Pie in the sky" but it would certainly put HC in the forefront for Athletic Facilities for certainly NE and across the country. It could also open up a nice revenue stream for rentals, graduation, etc. This may not be financial possible, but you have to think big. Look what Quinnipiac did. None of us thought, when they applied to ECAC, that they would do what they say. But they built that beautiful facility for $75M with a $100M endowment!! Not bad. But I would first investigate to see if the current rink could be expanded to meet league specs. HE requires 4,000 seats of which 20% need to be chair backs. There are a list of several other requiements, but I just do not remember what the are. I did have a document years ago that spelled everything out. Not sure if it have changed. Many do not know that when the Hart Center was originally designed, the rink was going to be a pool. One of the goalies, Patrick Butler '76,(RIP) started a petition for a rink over a pool and secured 2,300 signatures. This is why there is only stands on one side of the rink as it was already in the planning stages. Another little known fact is that Fr. Brooks was approached by a group wanting to build a rink on Freshman Field before the Hart Center and lease it back to the college for $1 per year, but he turned them down.As you can see, my hockey interest goes back to the early 70's. I thought back then with the new rink, that we belonged in the old ECAC. Boy.....how things would be different if that happened. Ugh...when I read stuff like this I want to smash my head against a wall.....awful and just plain dumb.
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woorat
Climbing Mt. St. James
Posts: 66
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Post by woorat on Jul 24, 2019 14:43:22 GMT -5
I am not sure where things lie as we speak. Like I indicated before, the whole landscape has changed. I have a hard time believing that the 11 HE AD's voted Joe out.(See the USCHO website). Joe is one of the most knowledgeable hockey guys in the country as well as a super human being respected by the whole hockey world. I do think it does lie with our new leader, Marcus. He certainly must understand what it takes to join the league having worked at both PC and BC. From what I know, HC leaders were behind our moving to HE, but not sure at what financial obligation. Using the DCU would work in the short term, but we need a new/renovated facility to be considered. I am afraid to say, in my opinion, we were closer getting in 2 years ago than we are now. That is why I said "Full court press" is needed now. I also feel that our lack of competitiveness in AH certainly does not help, but that will hopefully change. HC needs to show a HUGE commitment and that will be a big undertaking from our new leader to convince TPTB to support. And you never know what other school will come out of the woodwork like the Q-Pac or ASU. I know some of the HE leaders may be interested in them with their new 5,500 seat on campus facility being built. Our biggest asset right now is our location. It fits perfectly with the other schools. I hope that this move is still in the cards. Let's hope that this thing is not dead. Enough said!!
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jul 24, 2019 15:00:09 GMT -5
Please continue to post, 'rat.
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Post by bfoley82 on Jul 25, 2019 2:41:03 GMT -5
I am not sure where things lie as we speak. Like I indicated before, the whole landscape has changed. I have a hard time believing that the 11 HE AD's voted Joe out.(See the USCHO website). Joe is one of the most knowledgeable hockey guys in the country as well as a super human being respected by the whole hockey world. I do think it does lie with our new leader, Marcus. He certainly must understand what it takes to join the league having worked at both PC and BC. From what I know, HC leaders were behind our moving to HE, but not sure at what financial obligation. Using the DCU would work in the short term, but we need a new/renovated facility to be considered. I am afraid to say, in my opinion, we were closer getting in 2 years ago than we are now. That is why I said "Full court press" is needed now. I also feel that our lack of competitiveness in AH certainly does not help, but that will hopefully change. HC needs to show a HUGE commitment and that will be a big undertaking from our new leader to convince TPTB to support. And you never know what other school will come out of the woodwork like the Q-Pac or ASU. I know some of the HE leaders may be interested in them with their new 5,500 seat on campus facility being built. Our biggest asset right now is our location. It fits perfectly with the other schools. I hope that this move is still in the cards. Let's hope that this thing is not dead. Enough said!! When you have a racial incident witnessed by one of your officials and you don't suspend the kid, it looks terrible for the conference in the public eye. Declining attendance at the Hockey East tournament since BU/BC have been down lately, no TV contract for the league and mist schools doing time buys...it wasn't looking good for Joe.
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woorat
Climbing Mt. St. James
Posts: 66
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Post by woorat on Jul 25, 2019 6:55:23 GMT -5
I noticed today in an article on USCHO that the Chair of the HE AD's, Jeff Shulman, Vermont's AD was talking about what the league was looking for in a commish. He did mention that the 11 schools (12 if Holy Cross enters).......... That is a positive sign that we are still on the minds of the AD's. Maybe we are closer than I thought, but I still contend that we have to be pro-active.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jul 25, 2019 7:34:04 GMT -5
I noticed today in an article on USCHO that the Chair of the HE AD's, Jeff Shulman, Vermont's AD was talking about what the league was looking for in a commish. He did mention that the 11 schools (12 if Holy Cross enters).......... That is a positive sign that we are still on the minds of the AD's. Maybe we are closer than I thought, but I still contend that we have to be pro-active. The full quote is not grounds for optimism. HC is already a member of HE. www.uscho.com/2019/07/24/looking-at-potential-replacements-for-bertagna-as-hockey-east-commissioner/_______________________________________ woorat, thanks much for your insights. For reasons I gave in the capital campaign thread in another subforum, it is hard to envision HC making the financial commitment to building a new rink, or expanding seating in the Hart rink, over the next five-ten years without lead donors coming forward with the money for such..
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woorat
Climbing Mt. St. James
Posts: 66
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Post by woorat on Jul 25, 2019 8:23:56 GMT -5
Your may be right, phreek, but I do know that the executive committees are different for both. In any event, our "Window of opportunity" could be closing quickly. I certainly hope I am wrong.
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Post by bfoley82 on Oct 4, 2019 7:53:01 GMT -5
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Post by Tom on Oct 4, 2019 8:32:35 GMT -5
I just consulted a map. Arizona is not in the East. On the other hand, Colorado isn't exactly on the Atlantic
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Post by bigfan on Oct 4, 2019 9:12:02 GMT -5
If ASU joins HE, once again HC will be left out. Time for the administration to get moving and tell HE we are available and we want to join the league.
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Post by hc87 on Oct 4, 2019 11:16:31 GMT -5
ASU possibly to the HE is just the cherry on top of the overall inanity sundae of the NCAA today.
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Post by bfoley82 on Oct 4, 2019 11:49:19 GMT -5
ASU possibly to the HE is just the cherry on top of the overall inanity sundae of the NCAA today. PHX to Boston direct flight is 4 hours and 55 minutes compared to Orono to Hartford by bus is 5 hours and 41 minutes. Plus with Hartford, Burlington, Providence, Manchester or Portsmouth (I believe they take charter flights), and Bangor all having airports nearby, it is a pretty direct trip.
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Post by nhteamer on Oct 4, 2019 13:29:41 GMT -5
I cannot take another ball drop
I just cannot.
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Post by matunuck on Oct 4, 2019 15:03:22 GMT -5
ASU possibly to the HE is just the cherry on top of the overall inanity sundae of the NCAA today. PHX to Boston direct flight is 4 hours and 55 minutes compared to Orono to Hartford by bus is 5 hours and 41 minutes. Plus with Hartford, Burlington, Providence, Manchester or Portsmouth (I believe they take charter flights), and Bangor all having airports nearby, it is a pretty direct trip. Door to door, Orono to PHX will be a lot longer than 5 hours and 41 minutes.
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Post by bfoley82 on Oct 4, 2019 21:24:25 GMT -5
PHX to Boston direct flight is 4 hours and 55 minutes compared to Orono to Hartford by bus is 5 hours and 41 minutes. Plus with Hartford, Burlington, Providence, Manchester or Portsmouth (I believe they take charter flights), and Bangor all having airports nearby, it is a pretty direct trip. Door to door, Orono to PHX will be a lot longer than 5 hours and 41 minutes. Bangor Airport is 17 minutes from Orono...these teams have the money to charter flights once or twice a year. ASU would have 11 Hockey East road games so that would be five or six flights in a season for them. Not terrible as they are always on a plane anyways
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Post by gks on Oct 4, 2019 22:46:44 GMT -5
ASU looks to be proactive on this. Maybe Hockey East is just kicking the tires but who knows. No one has any clue what HC's position is on this. Not that I really expect them to openly state their intentions but you would figure there would at least be rumors and speculation.
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Post by HC92 on Oct 4, 2019 22:54:27 GMT -5
Hey, at least we’re going to be carbon neutral by 2040.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Oct 4, 2019 23:24:11 GMT -5
Door to door, Orono to PHX will be a lot longer than 5 hours and 41 minutes. Bangor Airport is 17 minutes from Orono...these teams have the money to charter flights once or twice a year. ASU would have 11 Hockey East road games so that would be five or six flights in a season for them. Not terrible as they are always on a plane anyways OK but if traveling coast-to-coast that many times is so easy and cost-effective why is there any geographic pattern whatsoever to conference alignment? Shouldn't Gonzaga and St. Mary's be in the Big East then? I still think Air Force playing in AHA is strange. Is there a reason they haven't gone West?
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Post by longsuffering on Oct 4, 2019 23:32:05 GMT -5
I don't think HC can pay as much tribute to HE as ASU can to gain entrance. So, I'm not holding my breath but our chances with MB as AD with his background at multiple HE schools have to be better than with NP.
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Post by bfoley82 on Oct 5, 2019 1:10:08 GMT -5
Bangor Airport is 17 minutes from Orono...these teams have the money to charter flights once or twice a year. ASU would have 11 Hockey East road games so that would be five or six flights in a season for them. Not terrible as they are always on a plane anyways OK but if traveling coast-to-coast that many times is so easy and cost-effective why is there any geographic pattern whatsoever to conference alignment? Shouldn't Gonzaga and St. Mary's be in the Big East then? I still think Air Force playing in AHA is strange. Is there a reason they haven't gone West? ASU has ten flights this season so what is the difference? Here are the road games...Mankato, Minnesota, Colorado Springs, Fairbanks, Alaska, East Lansing, Michigan, Omaha, Nebraska, Irvine, CA (playing Harvard there), Providence, RI, Potsdam, NY, Worcester/Waltham, MA, and Madison, Wisconsin.
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Post by matunuck on Oct 5, 2019 7:06:17 GMT -5
It makes little sense to have ASU in HE when they could add RIT etc for the long haul. Prediction: if it does happen it will be short-lived, few years at most. The ultimate goal of the NCAA and ASU is to have some PAC-12 schools jump to D-1, which I believe will happen down the line. If HE is okay with that then fine, but if they believe ASU is a long-term solution they are fools.
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Post by bigfan on Oct 5, 2019 7:47:47 GMT -5
We have to apply to HE as soon as possible before ASU takes the open slot. We would be better off in HE, less travel and better competition. I don't think playing AIC & Bentley helps our recruiting efforts.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Oct 5, 2019 8:02:37 GMT -5
OK but if traveling coast-to-coast that many times is so easy and cost-effective why is there any geographic pattern whatsoever to conference alignment? Shouldn't Gonzaga and St. Mary's be in the Big East then? I still think Air Force playing in AHA is strange. Is there a reason they haven't gone West? ASU has ten flights this season so what is the difference? Here are the road games...Mankato, Minnesota, Colorado Springs, Fairbanks, Alaska, East Lansing, Michigan, Omaha, Nebraska, Irvine, CA (playing Harvard there), Providence, RI, Potsdam, NY, Worcester/Waltham, MA, and Madison, Wisconsin. Ok I understand the reasoning. Because theyre such an outlier geographically for DI hockey, the difference between flying regularly from Arizona to the Midwest versus New England is trivial (maybe an extra hour flight time), they might as well apply for HE. Anyway HC needs to get on it ASAP.
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Post by crusader12 on Oct 5, 2019 9:00:20 GMT -5
In my opinion Holy Cross will blow this opportunity just like every other the past 40 years. 4 scariest words "It's different this time".
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