Should Jamestown be accepted into the NSIC?

[njmav1]

I think this has been brought up before, but wouldn't it be cool if these teams could elevate to NCAA Hockey and be DII in the NSIC. Add Winona as the sixth and they'd have a viable conference. There is one other DII league out east in the NE10, and the two could compete for an actual DII Hockey championship.

Why even move up? There are enough NSIC schools in ACHA to have some kind of affiliation with the conference. An actual NCAA conference sponsoring ACHA hockey would be really cool.

[SW_Mustang]

Why even move up? There are enough NSIC schools in ACHA to have some kind of affiliation with the conference. An actual NCAA conference sponsoring ACHA hockey would be really cool.

I'd like us to sponsor it at the conference level as a varsity sport like the NE-10 does. I think it would provide the most flexibility in scheduling, personally. But doing it under the ACHA is entirely possible too.

There's enough schools outside of the D1s in the NSIC to make it work - some have close proximity to junior teams like NSU, USF, Minot, (and even SMSU oddly enough).

Key is I want it to be varsity and not a student club - that's the tough part because it requires a whole lotta money most schools don't have.

[CheapSkate]

Key is I want it to be varsity and not a student club - that's the tough part because it requires a whole lotta money most schools don't have.

agreed ... but that is what makes it the pipe-dream

[njmav1]

I'd like us to sponsor it at the conference level as a varsity sport like the NE-10 does. I think it would provide the most flexibility in scheduling, personally. But doing it under the ACHA is entirely possible too.

There's enough schools outside of the D1s in the NSIC to make it work - some have close proximity to junior teams like NSU, USF, Minot, (and even SMSU oddly enough).

Key is I want it to be varsity and not a student club - that's the tough part because it requires a whole lotta money most schools don't have.

A lot of these ACHA D1 teams are practically varsity. I'm sure Minot, Mary, and Jamestown run their teams like one. Heck it's on their athletic websites.

[SW_Mustang]

It would take quite a few more teams to go D-II before the NCAA would go back to a D-II championship. BUT....

I have been a proponent and would love to see D-II hockey brought back as an option for the smaller D-I hockey schools that don't want to opt in to the "new" NCAA D-I structure. The smaller hockey schools are getting killed by the "blue bloods" that can throw NIL money around and poach players through the portal. If you could get something to happen along those lines, and then those schools you mention above with the league out east, then maybe something could happen.

It would be a dream to bring back D-II hockey - imagine the NSIC and GLIAC joining the NE-10, maybe with the GLVC and a couple east coast conferences? That would be a lot of fun.

Then SMSU could finally put a team on the ice like they've been trying to do for the last six years - and it wouldn't interfere with my affiliation to MSU since it's different divisions.

[SW_Mustang]

A lot of these ACHA D1 teams are practically varsity. I'm sureMinot, Mary, and Jamestown run their teams like one. Heck it's on their athletic websites.

Here's where it gets... strange - Minot isn't club.

Minot State coach excited to grow program, perhaps possibilities by playing Denver, Colorado College - The Rink Live | Coverage of youth, junior, high school and college hockey

"Like Lindenwood and other top-tier ACHA school-funded programs, it’s not a club program. Most ACHA programs, Waselenchuk admits, are. “That term ‘club’ gets thrown around where you're assuming that players are paying to play and providing their own equipment and things like that. I mean, I've got a stick budget that probably rivals a lot of teams’ full budgets,” he said."

Gets confusing because the author also mentions that the Beavers aren't a varsity team - but I think he's referring to the fact that it's in the ACHA vs. the NCAA, which isn't what distinguishes the two classifications.

I don't know for sure, but I suspect Jamestown's M1 program operates in a similar way. Crookston found a way to wedge themselves in between the two classifications. SDSU is purely club - I know that much.

[SW_Mustang]

agreed ... but that is what makes it the pipe-dream

I do think there are pathways to make it feasible - but most ADs and Presidents hear the word "hockey" and head for the hills. Even still, yeah - it's closer to a pipedream than reality.

I don't have anything against club hockey, those boys play hard for the love of the game - I just want an actual university team at SMSU to support.

[njmav1]

It would be a dream to bring back D-II hockey - imagine the NSIC and GLIAC joining the NE-10, maybe with the GLVC and a couple east coast conferences? That would be a lot of fun.

Then SMSU could finally put a team on the ice like they've been trying to do for the last six years - and it wouldn't interfere with my affiliation to MSU since it's different divisions.

No way D2 schools willingly drop their hockey programs to D2. They would lose what boosters they have. They might as well make it a club sport. You want to blow up all these D1 programs just so SMSU can field a D2 hockey team?

[SW_Mustang]

No way D2 schools willingly drop their hockey programs to D2. They would lose what boosters they have. They might as well make it a club sport. You want to blow up all these D1 programs just so SMSU can field a D2 hockey team?

Huh? I never suggested anything even remotely close to that.

[Millsy]

No way D2 schools willingly drop their hockey programs to D2. They would lose what boosters they have. They might as well make it a club sport. You want to blow up all these D1 programs just so SMSU can field a D2 hockey team?

I was thinking more of an "option" for those D-II schools who are currently playing D-I hockey, but don't like where the D-I governing body/structure is heading. With D-II, you can still offer scholarships, but don't have to worry about the NIL payments or roster limits.

I know there would be more to it than that, but my "Cliff's Notes" thought.

[njmav1]

I was thinking more of an "option" for those D-II schools who are currently playing D-I hockey, but don't like where the D-I governing body/structure is heading. With D-II, you can still offer scholarships, but don't have to worry about the NIL payments or roster limits.

I know there would be more to it than that, but my "Cliff's Notes" thought.

Okay I get it. But isn't that what ACHA D1 is for?

[SW_Mustang]

Okay I get it. But isn't that what ACHA D1 is for?

No. There has never been an NCAA DI team that has reorganized under the ACHA. AIC left DI at the end of last year and opted to join the NE-10 instead, and every other program has just folded.

The ACHA isn't on the college hockey hierarchy any more than the NCBBA is for college basketball or the NCBA is for baseball.

Only 20-ish athletic departments operate an ACHA program nationwide - the rest are all student organizations.

[SW_Mustang]

Apparently AIC isn't fielding a team at all this year - I guess it remains to be seen if they'll ever actually play in the NE-10

[njmav1]

No. There has never been an NCAA DI team that has reorganized under the ACHA. AIC left DI at the end of last year and opted to join the NE-10 instead, and every other program has just folded.

The ACHA isn't on the college hockey hierarchy any more than the NCBBA is for college basketball or the NCBA is for baseball.

Only 20-ish athletic departments operate an ACHA program nationwide - the rest are all student organizations.

I meant isn't the value proposition of ACHA D1 to provide an alternative to NCAA varsity (any division)? Let's face it, many schools operate their D1 club teams as a varsity team- that's how ASU and Penn State were able to transition to competitive NCAA D1 programs so quickly. These programs are recruiting junior ranks and could dip into the transfer portal.

So what if it isn't NCAA? If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

[SW_Mustang]

I meant isn't the value proposition of ACHA D1 to provide an alternative to NCAA varsity (any division)? Let's face it, many schools operate their D1 club teams as a varsity team- that's how ASU and Penn State were able to transition to competitive NCAA D1 programs so quickly. These programs are recruiting junior ranks and could dip into the transfer portal.

So what if it isn't NCAA? If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck...

It's certainly possible, but I think if faced with that option - most schools would rather just fold the program than deal with the logistics of it.

And I mean... PSU's success has nothing to do with the ACHA. I'd argue the same for ASU, though they've already been surpassed by Augustana. Then there's Lindenwood...

It's also pay-to-play for the non-university sponsored teams and those fees can run into the thousands. It's why some schools love the ACHA, they can get 30 tuition payments a year per team without having to provide any real support to the program.