ECAC: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The final piece of the puzzle in the upcoming conference scramble appears to be falling into place with reports last week of Hockey East and UConn inching closer together. Reports are that the Huskies are likely to join Hockey East in 2014-15, one season after what we referred to last offseason as "the tsunami" strikes college hockey's shores, irreparably changing the landscape as we know it.

With Hockey East now apparently destined for the 12 teams most everyone expected they'd finish with, there's only one question remaining - the long-term fate of Alabama-Huntsville. Given a reprieve by the school in December when the school reversed its much-maligned decision to scuttle the program, the Chargers will enter their third season without a conference this October and will still require a place to call home in order to secure their long-term existence.

With UConn set to depart Atlantic Hockey, that leaves the ECAC as the only conference to be completely untouched by "the tsunami." 12 teams when the process started, same 12 teams when it concludes.

Some, especially the powers that be in Albany, would call that a pretty good outcome. Stability is a good thing, as the schools which scrambled to find a home as the CHA and CCHA each disintegrated will tell you.

But how stable is the ECAC, really, and given the current state of the college hockey world, how much benefit is there for teams in the stable ECAC? We've long said that the league no longer qualifies as a "major conference" (at least since the very late 1990s) and that is even more likely to be true once the landscape changes in favor of the new big three: Hockey East, the NCHC, and the Big Ten. With an additional new "mid-major" likely to develop from the new WCHA and basically all of the big power schools concentrated in the Big Three, it's not out of the realm of possibility for the ECAC's decline to accelerate.

What could change things? There are two potential events on the horizon that could very well help tip the apple cart - neither are sure to happen, but neither would be a shock to the system, either.

1) The Ivy League. As we've said before, the Ivy six represent a veritable Sword of Damocles hanging over the integrity of the conference, and the sword has hung for decades, especially the last three following the Hockey East split. The Ivy League competes as its own entity in... pretty much every sport known to man. Men's and women's hockey is a very notable exception.

What would the Ivies gain from a split? They would stand to gain quite a lot, as Harvard's Brendan Roche (WHRB play-by-play announcer and all-around good guy) pointed out in a post last year while discussing the possibility of the ECAC losing RPI or Quinnipiac to Hockey East. First and foremost could well be scheduling: the Ivy League is limited to 29 regular-season games a year, and with 22 of those games earmarked for ECAC contests, that leaves them with only 7 non-conference games to play around with - just five for Harvard, which plays two of its NC games in the Beanpot every year. A six-team league could feature 4 games a season with league teams (all better draws than the non-Ivies currently are), and open two more non-conference opportunities.

Most of Roche's other points are very well taken. It makes sense for them from a marketing standpoint. With the Big Ten coming into being next year, it would give them the ability to showcase an all-sports brand, something that could come in handy when competing with the Big Ten, the NCHC, and Hockey East for talent. They'd also gain their own autobid to the NCAA tournament, though this is a bit of a wash with 9 of the last 11 ECAC autobids going to Ivy teams (Clarkson in 2007 and Union in 2012 the exceptions).

There's nothing the six non-Ivies can do about this, not anymore. None of them would fit into the west-centric NCHC (not that the league would want them if they tried) or WCHA, Hockey East is closed, and the only way out is to a lower league in Atlantic Hockey. The only reasonable option if an Ivy exit happens would be to reconstitute with programs from Atlantic Hockey that are seeking to move up in the world. We're talking about RIT, Niagara, Robert Morris, Holy Cross, and the like.

Of course, the non-Ivies could proactively split, but it's the same scenario. Compare the Ivies to the teams mentioned. With no disrespect intended to those teams (which are honestly trying to boost their competition level), but it's a step down for the ECAC non-Ivies as much as it's a step up for those teams. The only silver lining in all of this seems to be the autobid, but this would in all eventuality be a conference with only marginally better chances of attracting at-large bids than Atlantic Hockey currently does. The ECAC, at the very least, typically draws at least one at-large bid every year, giving some incentive for the non-Ivies to hold onto the marriage as long as the Ivies are still OK with it.

2) Notre Dame and the Big Ten. This is something that has been discussed, literally, for almost a century, since the first overtures between the parties were made in 1926. While the first possibility revolves entirely around hockey, this one revolves almost entirely upon football, with ripples that could now be felt in the hockey world, given the recent changes to the landscape.

Notre Dame's independence in football is storied - it gives their historic program the opportunity to set their entire schedule, and allows them to negotiate their own national television contract (with NBC) with an exclusivity that helps keep their brand front and center. But Notre Dame football isn't what it was for decade after decade of the 20th century. They haven't won a national championship since 1988 and haven't played for one since 1991. No Heisman Trophy winners since 1987. In the 14 seasons of the BCS, they've played in a BCS bowl only three times, losing all three. They haven't finished the season in the Top 25 of the national rankings since 2006 and only four times since 2000.

What's more, Big Ten football is beginning to eclipse Notre Dame in drawing power and revenues, especially with its Big Ten network. Big Ten schools are now pulling in more TV revenue individually than Notre Dame and their exclusive contract, and as the Irish continue to struggle to be nationally relevant on the gridiron, that inequity may only increase as the years progress.

What does this have to do with hockey, you ask? Well, Notre Dame has long seemed a perfect fit for the Big Ten, and if the economics of it all push the Irish to move football (and everything else) to the Big Ten, it'll take hockey right along with it.

That would create a dilemma for Hockey East. Now back to 11 teams and missing a star attraction, what course of action do BU and BC take? Both reportedly spurned NCHC bids previously, thought in large part to be because of Notre Dame's potential addition to Hockey East. Does that suddenly become an option for those teams? Either way, you're then looking at a 9 or 11 team Hockey East, with openings once again.

These scenarios illustrate the tricky spot the ECAC finds itself in, both as an integral unit and as two different halves. For the non-Ivy League teams especially, there could be a glass ceiling forming just as Minnesota-Duluth, Ferris State, and Union were proving that the Division II and III schools still had room to succeed at the highest levels.

Tsunami Watch: Night of the Living CCHA

It's alive!

Well, not quite yet. But it does sound like reports of the CCHA's demise may have been exaggerated.

Last week, we mentioned that Bowling Green appeared to be out of options when it came to their final destination, with a rapidly expiring WCHA offer sitting on the table and not much else.

Now, via the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune, comes news that instead of trudging off to the WCHA, the Falcons may instead channel their inner North Dakota, and take the lead on the formation of a new league... or at the very least, rebuild the CCHA around themselves.

In yesterday's paper, the Sentinel-Tribune stated that Bowling Green was in talks with those dissatisfied Atlantic Hockey programs we've already mentioned - Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris - on joining together. Those schools had previously been in discussions with the CCHA as a whole before the majority of the remaining members bolted for the WCHA (and WMU for the NCHC). But that only makes for five programs - one less than needed for an automatic bid.

Enter Bucky Gleason's dream team.

You may remember our artful dismantling of The Buffalo News reporter Bucky Gleason in May 2010 following an over-exuberant reworking of college hockey in his apparently uneducated image. We stand by every word of that today, but you'll note that we never pooh-poohed the idea of the University of Buffalo one day having a team, just that it wouldn't necessarily be as easy as Gleason made it sound - not to mention, coming equipped with a silly arrangement by which Clarkson and St. Lawrence would, for some reason, join up with the Bulls.

At any rate, it does sound like UB is at the very least interested enough to be a party to discussions with Bowling Green and the AHA insurrectionists. However, the university told WGRZ-TV that "there are several things that would need to occur both fiscally and within conference alignments for this to work for UB at this time."

Additionally, when it comes to small conferences, this new Zombie CCHA wouldn't necessarily be on the world's greatest footing. They'd probably want at least one, if not two more programs.

So where do we now stand with this news?

Bowling Green: To be quite frank, Bowling Green didn't seem like the type of program that would be taking a lead on forming what in essence would be a brand new league even if it may end up being a new-look CCHA - which is why we're calling it the "Zombie CCHA" for the time being. Sure they've got a national title in their history, but the program has been in rough shape for some time, to include a period of time a few years back in which the program seemed to be in danger of folding (which serendipitously led to Nick Bailen's arrival in Troy). Together with ongoing renovations to BGSU Ice Arena, this may be part of a WMU-like rebound for the program. At any rate, the Falcons have until Oct. 7 to let the WCHA what they want to do for the 2013-14 campaign, so we'll probably know more soon about whether this Zombie CCHA is a real thing.

Canisius: Noteworthy in the Sentinel-Tribune story is the little tidbit - alluded to in Gleason's comedy bit - that Canisius may be working out a deal with none other than Terry Pegula, the man who donated the seed money to get Penn State's program off the ground. Pegula, who also owns the Buffalo Sabres, would apparently be seeking to use to use the facility as a practice rink for the Sabres as well, which would only mean good things for the Griffins and their program, especially if they can be part of a conference like the CCHA that will allow them to offer a full slate of scholarships. This could be a program on the rise.

Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris: Nothing really new to report here other than that the rest of the teams who had already been in contact with the CCHA are still apparently looking to leave Atlantic Hockey if they can.

Buffalo: Something about UB's statement has me a little skeptical that they're actually going to pull this off, especially since BGSU has a timetable of their own that they need to adhere to that expires in a couple of weeks. Still, if the money is there - reputed to be coming via Buffalo billionaire Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the Boston Bruins, who's been generous to the school before - this is certainly something that is possible. About the only thing Gleason had going for him in that article was that he was right about the potential for college hockey growth in the Buffalo area, and if the Bulls can anchor the Zombie CCHA along with Niagara and Canisius, it would even have its own hub city. UB is trying to significantly transform itself into the undisputed top school in the SUNY system - a move like this wouldn't hurt that at all.

RIT: Notably, the other school that yearns for more than Atlantic Hockey still isn't a part of the discussion. This could well be a matter of the Tigers waiting to see if something becomes available in the ECAC, as it has been mentioned that RIT would love to earn a place in with the Ivies and some of their peer schools. That doesn't look likely unless a current team leaves, which, as we've said, is only probably going to happen if Notre Dame goes to Hockey East. RIT's probably waiting for the dominoes to fall. A Notre Dame move to the NCHC could trigger some interest in the Zombie CCHA, if it exists by then, from the Tigers.

Air Force: It hasn't been reasonably confirmed that the Falcons are eager to leave Atlantic Hockey yet (there have only been a few Twitter rumors here or there), but in the same vein, they could be a candidate for a Zombie CCHA or even the WCHA, especially if BGSU ultimately turns down the WCHA's invite (leaving them with just eight teams). The Academy already bailed on the CHA when it appeared that conference was ready to go down the drain, if several teams leave Atlantic Hockey their survival instincts may just kick in once again.

Atlantic Hockey: That leads into the obvious next step... if these wheels eventually get set in motion, it could be relatively disastrous for the AHA moving forward - the only teams not presently linked to a potential move from the conference are American International, Army, Bentley, UConn, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. The league's already lacking in fire power, this league would not only be relegated to the bare minimum of six teams, it would be very dependent on the seeming "it's just there" nature of the AIC program (as we discussed in AIC's Know Your Enemy) for survival. Something to consider.

Alabama-Huntsville: These new developments have been nothing but positive for the Chargers, who now could find themselves with as many as three decent options for conference membership if all goes well. We talked about the WCHA as a potential landing spot, but the Zombie CCHA or a vastly depleted Atlantic Hockey would probably be even better candidates for the Chargers. Right now, of course, their biggest hurdle is a temporary president who seems ready to throw the team away before they get the opportunity to try for a permanent home.

Notre Dame: Completely unrelated to the Zombie CCHA is the seemingly never-ending question of where the Fighting Irish are going to land. The Eagle Tribune's Mike McMahon said yesterday that independence is pretty much now off the table and the NCHC or Hockey East choice is all that remains - and at the very least, Hockey East doesn't seem to think that the Irish are leaning as far toward the NCHC as they originally were.

Hockey East: Today was Hockey East Media Day, which was abuzz with the possibility of Notre Dame joining the conference. McMahon got a chance to speak to Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna, indicating that the league would probably seek a 12th team if Notre Dame comes into the conference - and he also tweeted that the discussions at Media Day had RPI as the top potential choice with UConn as a longshot (there are Title IX issues at play in Storrs) and a little less discussion on Quinnipiac.

RPI: So... we wait. And if Notre Dame declares their undying love for Hockey East... hold onto your helmet.

Tsunami Watch: Settling Point?

While we dry out a bit here in Irene-ravaged Troy (which was almost wholly to blame for this not running yesterday), here's the latest on the conference carousel that may soon be grinding to a halt.

Last week, the rumored WCHA-CCHA merger that had been discussed came to fruition as the WCHA offered membership to the remaining members of the CCHA with the exception of Notre Dame, which is still on the fence between the NCHC and Hockey East (and, apparently, becoming an independent).

Alaska, Lake Superior State, and Ferris State quickly accepted. Thus, the WCHA currently looks like this in 2013:

Alaska

Alaska-Anchorage

Bemidji State

Ferris State

Lake Superior State

Michigan Tech

Minnesota State

Northern Michigan

St. Cloud State

There's one thing that all of these schools have in common: Division II. That may be one of the things that is causing hesitation for the other two WCHA invitees, Bowling Green and Western Michigan, both of whom play at the highest level of Division I.

That leaves the following remaining question marks.

Notre Dame: Once again, it was something other than Notre Dame which moved first. We all thought the Irish would be the first to make a move... they're now almost certain to be last. Well... maybe next to last.

The options are still pretty much laid bare on the table. They're one of three remaining CCHA teams, so they can't reasonably stay there - not that that's ever been something that was realistic to begin with. They've got a standing offer from the NCHC, and Hockey East wouldn't say no if they wanted to join there.

If Notre Dame preferred to align themselves with the Big Ten, there's another option that the Irish could be considering - independence. Now, this wouldn't leave the Irish as independents in the style of Alabama-Huntsville, which will be in its second season of fully cobbling together a schedule this year, but rather, would be a situation where the Irish had long-term scheduling arrangements with other leagues, almost certainly with the Big Ten and probably with the NCHC as well. Such an arrangement would allow Notre Dame to keep playing the schools they're already used to playing without having to tether themselves to the Big Ten (which they've famously refused to do for decades) or a conference largely consisted of less prestigious institutions in the NCHC. They wouldn't be able to vie for an automatic bid and they'd have to find a way to keep playing into March (when the conferences are in tournament mode), but with the scheduling arrangements, a good Irish team with a solid record would probably be in contention for an NCAA bid without much problem.

Bowling Green: The Falcons are in an interesting position. They have the WCHA invite in their back pocket, but as a Division I school, they could arguably have the clout to join the NCHC, which would probably like to grow larger than just six schools - not to mention that BGSU's MAC cohorts, Miami, are already there. They're almost certainly going to wait to see what Notre Dame does before making a decision.

Western Michigan: The Broncos are, even more than BGSU, waiting to see what Notre Dame is going to do, in part because their proximity to South Bend could potentially allow them to latch on with the Irish as a travel partner in either the NCHC or Hockey East. It remains to be seen if the latter would be interested at all in WMU, though the former has apparently already extended an offer. Now they also have an offer from the WCHA. Options abound. It's amazing what one outstanding rebound season combined with a new commitment from administration will do for a program.

Atlantic Hockey: The WCHA-CCHA merger kills any chance that the four potential departures - Canisius, Mercyhurst, Niagara, and Robert Morris - had of being able to leave, since they had interest in playing in a revamped CCHA that will no longer exist. Those schools - and RIT as well - still have interest in improving their station in college hockey, however. What options do they have? Honestly, they don't have many places to turn. They could seek to join the ECAC, but even with the WCHA filling back up again, there's not much of a reason for the ECAC to expand (further diluting the pool for the automatic bid). For the time being, they're probably stuck where they are.

Alabama-Huntsville: The WCHA-CCHA merger is kind of a nightmare scenario for the Chargers... unless they can somehow petition the WCHA to become its 10th, 11th, or 12th member. The problem is, we're already talking about a league that is going to have to figure a way to include a pair of schools as isolated as Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage, bringing on another isolated team - and another D-II school - might be a dicey proposition.

Tsunami Watch: Western Redux

Now that everything we ever knew about college hockey is basically wrong, it's time to re-examine the moving parts out west again, since everything we discussed in previous editions of Tsunami Watch with regards to those teams has changed somewhat.

By the way, we've been talking like this is all going down right away... 2013 is when the actual shifting will all take place. So we've at least got two more seasons of relative calm as it pertains to the actual product on the ice.

Big Ten: The Big Ten is still pretty much hunky dory. There's not much out there that is going to change, given the league's status not just as an all-sports conference, but as one of the BCS conferences. It's worth mentioning, I suppose, that because of the Big Ten's status as a new hockey conference, the teams within will have to forego an automatic bid to the national tournament in 2014 and 2015 due to the NCAA's requirement that new conferences wait for two years before receiving an autobid.

NCHC: The six teams that currently make up the NCHC are all set - North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, and Miami. Chances are pretty solid that they'd like to bring in at least one or two more teams, and Notre Dame is number one on that list, no question. More on them (and the other candidates) later. Like the Big Ten, the NCHC will have to forego an autobid until 2016, though it would be beyond shocking if the league's members didn't earn an at-large or two at minimum.

WCHA: The five remaining schools - Alaska-Anchorage, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, and St. Cloud State, appear to be rallying around the WCHA flag. There's no doubt that this league will be signifcantly weaker than the one we have known, and the MnSCU institutions (Bemidji, Mankato, and St. Cloud) are poised to take a leading role in the future of the conference.

Northern Michigan: They're on their way back to the WCHA, which they played in from 1984 through 1997. This reunites the Wildcats with their rivals from Michigan Tech, and it puts the WCHA back on somewhat more secure footing as NMU becomes the sixth team. If nothing else, the WCHA will continue to have their automatic bid come 2013 - the question now is whether the league can stay strong enough to be able to produce an at-large bid as well.

Notre Dame: We started out with Notre Dame as the pivot, but the NCHC clearly wasn't willing to wait to see what the Irish would do and took the second step themselves. Now we've got a third step with NMU moving to the WCHA and we could see other teams reacting to the Big Ten/NCHC combination, but no future step will be as big as where Notre Dame ends up. There are really only two options here - either the NCHC or Hockey East. The WCHA is no longer a viable option following the NCHC split since it doesn't offer the Irish anything they wouldn't get out of staying in the CCHA, which is now even less of an option as teams continue to bail. Word has it that the hockey staff prefers the NCHC, while the administration - i.e. the ones who will more than likely be making the final decision - are said to prefer Hockey East. What remains to be seen is whether the hockey people can influence the administration enough to get what they'd like.

We've already discussed the ins and outs of Notre Dame to Hockey East, what about the NCHC? From the administration's perspective, the NCHC is, like the CCHA following the Big Ten split, full of programs that may be hockey powers, but aren't among giants in other sports. The hockey people are certainly drawn to the regional hockey power aspect of the NCHC.

Western Michigan: Of the programs that make up "the rest," WMU actually seems to have the most options on the table. It's reported that they have a standing offer to join the NCHC. They could instead choose to follow NMU to the WCHA. They could hang with some of their CCHA conference mates and try to form the nucleus of a new CCHA. There are even rumors out there that WMU might be welcome in Hockey East if Notre Dame chooses that route, given the proximity of Kalamazoo to South Bend.

The last one is kind of a longshot - there's not much need for a team right near Notre Dame unless Hockey East decides to move to an ECAC-esque travel partner system, which doesn't make a great deal of sense. Right now, the most likely move appears to be a move into the NCHC to follow their Mid-American Conference brethren from Miami. The NCHC isn't doling out invitations on the cheap, and once WMU settles in with a new coach, they could well become the seventh team in the NCHC, though life would certainly not be easy for them there - they'd be a minnow among giants, at least at first.

Alaska: The Nanooks are in a tight spot. We've touched on why it's a bad idea for both Alaska schools to be in the same conference, and yet, when it comes to their survival, it might just end up happening anyway. Rumor has it that Alaska will apply for WCHA membership, which would put them with their rivals from Anchorage in what would then be an eight-team conference. That would almost certainly necessitate yearly trips to Alaska for the entire WCHA and require both UAF and UAA to get creative with non-conference games, but with the CCHA's existence in question, the Nanooks (and the Seawolves, who do depend on UAF for some games) probably feel that it's in their best interest to get themselves into an existing league.

Bowling Green: The Falcons, like their MAC colleagues from Western Michigan, also have options, but theirs are a little hazier. They could try for the WCHA, but they're a little far away from the rest of the conference and they'd be the only Division I program unless WMU decides on that path. They could stick around in the CCHA, especially if WMU chooses that path. NCHC or Hockey East bids would both be longshots.

Lake Superior State and Ferris State: These schools are absolutely stuck in limbo until something else happens. Neither are appealing to the WCHA or the NCHC due to the size of the schools and their geographic locations - which means they could well be dependent on the eventual survival of the CCHA in order to have a conference in 2013. They'll need to be proactive in recruiting new members, because it's going to require more than a few, and they're almost certainly going to come from Atlantic Hockey and the independent ranks (of which, there is only one, who we're getting to). That is a very difficult position to be in. They could forseeably try for WCHA membership, but remember, that conference is now completely comprised of smaller schools with smaller budgets and still involves a school from Alaska, if not two. The footprint can't grow by much more.

Niagara, Robert Morris, Mercyhurst, and Canisius: Recent reports have these four programs, known to be interested in moving up in the world, in discussions with the CCHA about joining that conference. The biggest problem right now? It's hard to know exactly what teams are concerned with the makeup of the CCHA in 2013. It seems that there's at most four - LSSU, Ferris, and maybe BGSU and/or WMU. That's a tough place to start from. One thing that is generally agreed upon here is that these four schools are almost certainly going to want to come into an Alaska-free CCHA. The inclusion of these four institutions would move the CCHA's footprint east, but it would guarantee the conference a minimum of six programs, even if four of them were new to the conference.

Air Force: If the above four teams leave Atlantic Hockey, it puts some additional pressure on Air Force to consider the new-look WCHA since it would leave AHA basically with Air Force, RIT, Holy Cross, and an assortment of low-budget or low-attention programs. The difficulty now, though, is that a WCHA comprised entirely of Minnesota, Alaska, and Upper Peninsula schools may not be terribly keen on bringing in a Colorado school, especially when both Alaska schools are involved.

Alabama-Huntsville: If the Big Ten was the best thing that could happen for UAH given the log-jam created by four full conferences and an 11-team CCHA unwilling to bring the Chargers on, the formation of the NCHC is probably one of the worst. It puts the power teams of the west, the ones with the most money and therefore most willing to bring in a team that requires more travel than the average program, into elite segments that UAH cannot hope to break into. That leaves the Chargers with two options - a CCHA largely comprised of teams that did not support their inclusion in the past, or an Atlantic Hockey that has lost some of its current programs. As with the Atlantic Hockey teams looking at the CCHA, UAH would almost certainly require Alaska to move out of the conference before they would be considered, but for the opposite reason: the existing schools of the CCHA would not be willing to deal with both UAH and UAF in the same conference, but might be more willing to stomach the Chargers without also having the Nanooks around.

MSU-Moorhead: WHO? Oh, you don't know the Dragons? That's probably because they don't have a varsity program. And yes, I said I wasn't going to engage in rampant speculation over schools without programs, but Moorhead has gone beyond speculation, announcing a fundraising drive last week for what they hope will be a new program in the near future. As a MnSCU school - the "MSU" stands for Minnesota State University - the Dragons would fit perfectly into the WCHA, given its new outlook. Let's not count them in quite yet, but they're hoping to be able to make an announcement of a new program in the coming months, so they're worth keeping an eye on.

So that's about where we stand right now. Waiting to see who the WCHA's new suitors are, what Notre Dame is going to do, and who WMU (and Northeastern, by the by) chooses as their new coach. Join us next time for another exciting edition of "As the Tsunami Turns."

Tsunami Watch: Atlantic Hockey

Trying to step around the nuclear bomb that is the now confirmed "superconference" in the west, we now cast our gaze to the east (or mostly east, hello there Air Force). The most intriguing conference on our end of the map is Atlantic Hockey - not entirely because of the Big Ten, mind you, although the ripple effect of the tsunami could well have its own effect on the AHA.

One of the subplots to the suspected conference carousel comes straight out of the nation's

weakest overall conference. In May, the league voted on a proposal to increase the number of allowed athletic scholarships from 12 to 13 (all other conferences allow 18). A supermajority was needed to pass the measure, it failed by one, with 7 in favor and 5 against. According to College Hockey News, a number of those teams voting in favor of increasing scholarships may well be interested in increasing significantly.

The "superconference" may sack the possibility of some of these teams leaving for greener pastures - because there may not really be any green pastures available. The WCHA is too far out for any of these schools (save Air Force), while the CCHA's remnants may seek to jump aboard with the WCHA rather than admit western AHA teams. But the scholarship vote pretty clearly shows that like those other two leagues, there are teams in Atlantic Hockey that have different visions of the future, and that could well have ramifications down the road.

Niagara and Robert Morris: The CHA refugees. They're using the cost-contained Atlantic Hockey as a virtual lifeboat, though they both would rather be able to give out a full 18 scholarships as they had before. That's why both, before the superconference arose, were almost certainly eyeing the depleted CCHA as a possible option. Depending on what the remaining CCHA teams decide to do, these schools could certainly bring a bit more stability. Both are Division I programs and both certainly have their eyes on improving their position in the college hockey world.

Niagara has flirted with the CCHA practically since the establishment of their program, but will they still be interested minus the geographic connection that Michigan, Ohio State, and Miami could have offered? Spurned for years, the tables appear to have turned significantly. They do have trump cards, however - the media markets of Buffalo and Pittsburgh, both with solid hockey bonafides.

RMU has a small facility that they don't sell out every night, but they do at least have a displayed commitment to hockey that would be attractive to the CCHA.

Mercyhurst and Holy Cross: Two Atlantic Hockey schools that, in the past, have been known to harbor plans for bigger and better things, as both were applicants to the ECAC in the mid-2000s after Vermont left the conference and created an opening. Mercyhurst's western location may make them another attractive addition to the CCHA, but not nearly as much as Niagara or RMU since they're a Division II school with only fair facilities.

Holy Cross, meanwhile, has other issues that it needs to wrestle with before they can go anywhere - they may have even been one of the teams that voted against the scholarship increase, but no real improvement has been done on their facilities since they were a major stumbling block to their hoped for accession to the ECAC, either.

RIT: The Tigers are in an interesting position. A D-III school that moved to D-I after the Prop 65-1 grandfather rule that RPI fans know so well, they can't offer athletic scholarships, and yet they've been one of the most dominant teams in Atlantic Hockey since their move to D-I. This is in part because of the institutional support and commitment to hockey, and in part because Wayne Wilson has proven to be an outstanding recruiter.

In all likelihood, they voted to increase scholarships despite their inability to offer them. Why? Because they're clearly in need of a bigger challenge - they have been in Atlantic Hockey for five seasons and have claimed four regular season crowns. Despite that, they've only reached the NCAA tournament once because they still have to win the AHA tournament to play on, and one bad night can end your chances of winning that tournament.

It's fairly obvious that RIT would love to join the ECAC, but right now, there's really not much room for them unless the conference decides to ditch the travel partner system and/or bring two new teams into the mix. A minor rumor floated that RIT, a newly minted member of the D-III Liberty League, would be a member of a D-I hockey version of the Liberty League with the other hockey-playing members (RPI, Union, Clarkson, and St. Lawrence) and Colgate, but this makes zero sense for anyone but RIT, especially for Colgate but certainly for RPI and the other three as well.

Could RIT be interested in the CCHA instead? Maybe. It would be a step up, especially if they go with Niagara and RMU to bring stability, and the CCHA, if they don't merge with the WCHA, is going to be interested in bringing in anyone they can. We'll have to wait and see with the Tigers.

Canisius: The Griffins are stuck in neutral, although they do have designs on improving their station. First and foremost, however, they need a new building, which has been the main stumbling block for years as they've been forced to play second fiddle to D-III Buffalo State at the Bengals' home rink on the Buff State campus. If you don't even have your own place, you're not going anywhere, but beyond that the program is making strides in recruiting and would love to be able to offer additional scholarships to assist in making those strides. But until they've got a place of their own and can boost attendance at that place, they're not going to be leaving Atlantic Hockey.

UConn: The Huskies are frequently brought up as the next Hockey East program for two reasons - first and foremost, they're a New England state school, which puts them along the same lines as UVM, UNH, Maine, and UMass. Second, their women's team plays in Hockey East. But neither of these is really sufficient for UConn to join. Why? Well, it's very simple.

The women's team playing in Hockey East is a matter of convenience for both the school and the league, given that the UMass schools and Merrimack don't have women's hockey teams and, at the time UConn joined, UVM was in the ECAC and BU didn't have a varsity team. They were necessary as the sixth team so the conference could have an automatic bid, and Atlantic Hockey didn't (and still doesn't) have a women's league to boot.

As for the men's team, they have a small building that they're lucky to fill halfway, have no real history, and practically no institutional support as partially evidenced by their lack of athletic scholarships. This is not attractive to Hockey East. UConn's not going anywhere.

Air Force and Army: The service academies. Technically, neither of these schools offer scholarships, since cadets are essentially getting a free education in return for expected military service after graduation. Air Force, however, may have been in the same position as RIT as far as being interested in more scholarships for Atlantic Hockey if only to boost their prospects in a league they've dominated since their arrival.

Army is satisfied with where they are, for a lot of the reasons we discussed in last week's edition of "Know Your Enemy." They're finally in a place where they can compete in Division I and have a shot at playing in the national tournament if they can succeed in March. More scholarships would only make things harder for them.

Air Force, on the other hand, would love to be in a position where they could possibly reach the national tournament without being required to win the AHA championship. To determine the Falcons' aims, you have to figure out just what's important to them. After all, they're a geographical anomaly in Atlantic Hockey, being that they're in Colorado and the next farthest west team is in Pennsylvania. They did set off the last, much smaller realignment when they left College Hockey America. The move made sense in two ways - it paired them with Army, a natural rival, and ensured that they'd have a confirmed spot outside of the always tenuous CHA.

But does the link with Army override all? If not, the Falcons could be taking a serious look at the new look WCHA, which won't be anywhere near as strong as it used to be and therefore could be more attractive to Air Force, boosting their place in the college hockey world and requiring a lot fewer cross-country trips to play games in front of 100 to 900 people.

American International, Bentley, and Sacred Heart: Look, uh... they're not going anywhere anytime soon. That's the blunt of it for three teams generally struggling to amount to much even in the AHA as it currently is. Bentley and Sacred Heart, to their credit, at least seem to try to be competitive within the conference as it is, but at they end of the day they have a lot of UConn's problems without the big name to go with it. AIC... well, you'll read more on AIC on Wednesday.

Upcoming Podcast: Chris Lerch

Well, less than a week after saying we were going to settle into having podcasts every week on Wednesdays at 8pm... yeah, about that...

Wednesday at 8 will be the usual time for our broadcasts, but occasionally, things will come up in life (and sometimes, with our guests) that will require a little flexibility. So this week, we'll be broadcasting at 8pm on Thursday, October 21st instead.

Our guest this week is long-time RIT radio man Chris Lerch. For 15 years, Lerch has been broadcasting Tigers hockey on WITR-FM (89.7, Henrietta) and is an RIT alum himself, so he knows his stuff when it comes to talking about the Tigers. With RIT riding a wave of excitement following their Frozen Four appearance and a big night in front of a huge crowd at Blue Cross Arena last weekend, we'll ask him about their outlook and what to expect from the Tigers on Friday. Chris also covers Atlantic Hockey as a whole for USCHO.com, so we'll touch on issues in the conference, including Niagara (our opponent on Saturday) and Robert Morris entering the league and the early season expectations.

As always, we'll run down the highlights and lowlights of the past weekend for the Engineers and take a look around the nation as well.

Last week, we talked to WRPI's Tim Heiman and newly inducted RPI Athletic Hall of Fame member Cindy Acropolis. Check it out below.

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