Moves leave possibilities for MU hockey

Options for RedHawks could be varied with impending move of Big Ten teams in 2013.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer Updated 8:28 AM Wednesday, June 8, 2011

OXFORD — A multitude of possibilities for the ultimate re-configuration of college hockey — Miami University Athletic Director Brad Bates calls them “models” — are being tossed around in news stories and blogs.

The latest comes from the Bangor (Maine) Daily News, which has reported that Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said “it’s a possibility” that his program will leave the Central Collegiate Hockey Association to join Hockey East, a 10-team conference that includes Boston College and Boston University.

There is no indication that such a move is imminent or even probable, but it’s another in a long line of speculative jolts to college hockey’s spine since the announcement that Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State would leave the CCHA to become a part of the new Big Ten hockey conference.

Bates’ reaction is that everyone needs to take a deep breath.

“Hockey is a great sport, but it’s got to be handled very carefully, and delicately,” Bates said Tuesday, “because the number of Division I programs is not excessive.”

The CCHA, for instance, would consist of four schools that are Division I across the board and four schools that are Division II in other sports (Alaska, Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State and Ferris State) once the three Big Ten teams depart prior to the 2013-14 season.

The point is that smaller schools might have trouble coping with drastic changes to the landscape of college hockey, especially if the bigger schools merely fend for themselves.

“Sure, every school is looking out for their own self-interest,” Bates said. “My hope is that the national leadership in hockey is carefully anticipating the ramifications of any of these models.”

Other models that have been discussed in some form include Miami joining Hockey East; Notre Dame or Miami becoming an associate member of Big Ten hockey; North Dakota and Denver (of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association) joining the CCHA; or the WCHA and CCHA joining forces to form a mega-conference.

“There are other (models) that are out there,” Bates said. “Rather than being in a position where I feel like I can predict the future on those models, I think probably the better questions revolve around what the ramifications are of those models.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.

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