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We’ve posted these on eBay:

• Alabama Crimson Tide – Nick Saban Signed Ball Cap (White) – Benefits UAH Hockey Program – Starting bid $75
• Alabama Crimson Tide – Nick Saban Signed Ball Cap (Crimson) – Benefits UAH Hockey Program – Starting bid $75
• Alabama Crimson Tide – Nick Saban Signed Football – Benefits UAH Hockey Program – Starting bid $250

We hope you’ll bid these up. All proceeds will go to the 2012 UAH Hockey Fundraising Campaign.

Dear Alum and Friends,
As the hockey season comes to an end for the UAH Chargers this month, a new beginning, a NEW ERA of Charger Hockey will be born! Publicly things have been quiet, but behind the scenes a lot of work has gone into a major fundraising campaign, tickets and packages to be sold to local companies and much more. Under the leadership of new UAHuntsville President Dr. Robert Altenkirch, UAH Hockey has not only been saved, it is being reconstructed and set up to be successful for the long-term.

Here are a few updates that the group consisting of Ralph Drensek, Bob Ludwig, Joey Ceci, Doug Martinson and Nathan Bowen would like to share with you since the University made the commitment to keep UAH Hockey at the NCAA DI level:

1. The University is committing a minimum of $650,000 to support the program. This is outstanding. It is comparable to institutions in a conference being considered, and it exceeds the average institutional support among D-I hockey programs. We need to do our part to contribute substantially to filling out the financial support for hockey to sustain it at least the median D-I hockey budget of $1,5000,000.
2. Dr. Altenkirch is putting University resources to work to support this initiative, with several high ranking University folks involved in the campaign.
3. Dr. Altenkirch is personally making calls and meeting with individuals and companies in search for the necessary financial support.
4. A committee is being organized with UAHuntsville representatives and members of the Alumni and Friends group in an effort to work together to raise funds and awareness on how the program will move forward.
5. As most of you know, a “Hockey Specific” online giving portal has been set up for you to execute your pledge. Please visit http://www.uah.edu/2012hockeycampaign/ to give.
6. An account has been set up with full transparency of funds, with all going directly to support the hockey program.

As we all know a key component and variable to long term program success is gaining entrance into a conference. There are some key milestones coming up. Potential conferences are watching us closely to see if we have the financial support from alumni, friends, the community and businesses. We need you to go online before March 1st and fulfill your commitment and pledge. Payment options are available and if you did not pledge, please visit and do what you can. For those who have pledged and fulfilled your commitment, we sincerely thank you.

The University’s firm financial commitment is a great first step to establish a budget that supports a competitive Division 1 hockey program. UAH’s $650,000 annual commitment represents 43% of the median budget for D I hockey programs as noted above, and we need your help, along with ticket sales and corporate support, to raise the additional funds that will make us attractive to a conference and allow us to compete at a high level. Our group is working closely with Dr. Altenkirch, Dr. Brophy, and other University officials to make this dream a reality. Our collaborative efforts have been successful thus far, but we need your help to generate the additional funds to achieve our goal. The University has stepped up and made the necessary commitments and more to keep NCAA DI hockey alive, now it is time for all of us to step up and do our part, live up to the financial commitments that we made and support the program moving forward. This is critical and the time is now to give us the best chance to advance the program into a conference.

Sincerely,

Ralph Drensek, Bob Ludwig, Doug Martinson, Jared Ross and Nathan Bowen
Proudly representing Alumni and Friends of Charger Hockey

Whether you give $10 or $10,000, the players will truly appreciate your support. $10 from you is $10 we didn’t have on the campaign yesterday. If you care at all about this program, send in some money in amounts large, medium, or small.

Please note that these are replica jerseys. Game-worns may be procured from the hockey office at the end of the season.

Members of The University of Alabama in Huntsville administration met this evening with hockey supporters, following discussions with Chancellor Malcolm Portera, and came to a consensus to work closely together to pursue institutional and community support to continue UAH hockey at the Division I level.

When we have more, we’ll share it. Have a great night, everyone.

ETA (2314 hrs): Paul Gattis has filed a longer story.

Although I’ve only seen the web portion of the attempt to keep UAH Hockey alive, I’m very impressed with what you’ve done in the last year or so and also the support you’re getting from the college hockey community. It’s terrible that the administration, with an interim chancellor at that, has taken away the one thing that I honestly think makes your school unique. As you may know, Lowell was in a very similar situation a few years ago when some jerk on the UMass Board of Trustees made the mistake of trying to take out Lowell in order to boost funding for Amherst’s program.

A grassroots effort was started and support from local lawmakers along with a new chancellor that “gets it” helped kill any further talk of the program’s elimination. Now Lowell is on the rise again with a team that’s taking Hockey East by storm and an average attendance of over 5,000 at the Tsongas that beats out Amherst, Maine, Northeastern, and almost edges Boston University. Look at “almost contracted” teams like the Minnesota Twins, the rebirth of the Winnipeg Jets, and many others that have beaten out the close-mindedness of a small group and now have thriving fan bases. Even though things are probably not going as well as you’d like, I hope you and the Charger faithful continue to support the team and fight for what’s yours.

Keep up the battle down there! I’ll be at the Merrimack and Lowell games this week, might even root for UAH in both of them.

Ed.: Mike McMahon of the Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass. notes that Merrimack was once much in the same place. I think both the UML and MC stories provide Charger fans not only hope of retaining the program but hope for future success.

My favorite Charger hockey memory will always be my first road trip to Niagara. In the fall of my freshman year at UAH, you could pay $80 for a 16 hour bus ride to Niagara Falls and two tickets to the weekend series at Dwyer Arena. Not to mention the relaxed drinking age across the border!

I still remember the quizzical looks on the faces of the Niagara faithful. Into Dwyer Arena stormed 100 blue and white-clad Charger fans, faces painted, flags in tow. A true home game for UAH–850 miles away from home ice, and just a stone’s throw from the Canadian border. Caught amidst raised eyebrows and whispers of “what the hell,” we marched to our seats as we chanted “It’s great! To be! A UAH Charger!” I’m convinced Dwyer Arena hasn’t been that loud ever since. The Niagara fans passively cheered on the “Purple Eagles;” we actively jeered the “Purple Pigeons.” The Niagara fans sat and politely clapped; we stood and stomped on the bleachers. The Niagara fans passively watched their team skate to a 7-3 victory; we screamed throughout a disappointing loss like it was the last UAH game we’d ever see. And in the second period, when Grant Selinger took a pass from Cale Tanaka and zipped a shot past the Niagara goalie to bring the Chargers within one score deep in the second period, he made sure to take a celebratory slam into the glass, right in front of us–the home crowd.

But this is just one memory among four years of exhilarating Charger hockey experiences. And it’s a shame that the short-sightedness of a few is bringing down the tradition built by so many. To think: the people dismantling this program are citing lack of fan support, just a short time after USCHO witnessed our invasion of Niagara Falls and opined that “no fans in college hockey are more underrated and under appreciated as the Charger faithful.” That probably explains why, in March 2007, a dozen of us crowded around a single laptop to watch the PPV broadcasts of the CHA tournament (and Dave Nimmo’s heart-stopping short-handed goal to knock off Robert Morris for the championships). Or why, weeks later, we made the trek to Grand Rapids, where it took #1 Notre Dame two overtime periods to climb Marc Narduzzi’s brick wall. Or why, over the next three losing seasons, we still went to the VBC every weekend (blasting Brett “P-Box” McConnachie’s “Chargers Gettin’ Rowdy”, mind you).

This is an extremely sad time for Charger fans. Fight and do all you can to save this team. We were always a dark horse, but we always put up a fight. And if we come up short, just remember what Coach Ross said after we nearly shocked the world in the 2007 NCAAs: “I’m proud of them, extremely proud of them, and I think they ought to walk out of here with their heads high.”

[Ed: If you want to tell your story, email it to me at g@saveuahhockey.com. --GFM]

Having grown up around hockey, my other brother started a school team at Appalachian State University. The team had to put $ in the pot to buy ice time for their games, and could not afford ice time for practice (but could practice on frozen ponds in the winter). Ten years later, that team is going strong with school support. That brother went on to coach hockey at Lynchburg College, and still plays recreationally as often as possible (joining my other bro’s team when in town). My dad, who first had the interest in UAH hockey, brought us to the UAH games, introduced the travel league to my bro, and was so dedicated in supporting my brother’s travel team – he has also played on an “adult over 30″ league (when he was in his late 50′s). He still supports my brother’s team and attends games weekly, frequently visiting the bench to offer coaching advice (he has even suited up as a sub on occasion). He has made some street hockey sticks and given them to my young sons – hoping to shape another generation in playing hockey. It all started with UAH.

I came to UAH with little hockey experience. I grew up in Kentucky and Texas, where basketball and football were king, but I remember watching some Stanley Cup games on TV with my dad. He didn’t know much about the rules, but enough that I could follow along some of the time with his help. When I applied to UAH, the fact that there was no football was actually a draw for me. I’d had enough of it during my two high school years in Texas. I thought the hockey thing was a little quirky, and it made the university stand out, but I figured I’d not really get into it and just go to a game if I was bored. I arrived on campus that fall with my attitude unchanged. Then someone took me to a game.

My first game was the 2004 exhibition match against Tennessee’s club team. We destroyed them 13-0, and I was hooked. I’m not sure if it was all the scoring or the fact that I almost died twice (first was a puck that zipped past my head, second was when Tom Train destroyed someone into the boards right in front of me, nearly making me fall backwards in those really high/unstable chairs up against the boards), but suddenly I wanted to go to every game I could. So I did.

Every Friday night and Saturday afternoon, if we had a home game, you could find me at the Von Braun Center. I found a couple friends who were more than happy to teach me the rules I didn’t know, and I was learning. In a couple months, I went from a hockey novice to a nut who could explain exactly what icing is. I still go to every home game, and now I’ve even got my roommate hooked. In the years I’ve been here, hockey games have become something that I can scream my head off at, have fun at, and one thing related to the school where I don’t have to think about that problem set that’s due on Monday, or the test I probably bombed this morning. Basketball games are that way too, but we don’t have basketball in October. Every hockey home opener is like my birthday present from the school, or a reward for making it to Fall Break.

When the announcement came that D-1 hockey was coming to an end, it felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I’d known it was probably coming, but hearing it made me want to hit something. If I hadn’t have had Humans vs. Zombies that week as a distraction, I might have. Dr. Portera insisted that club hockey would stay on and be just as good, but thanks to my experience at my first game, I knew better.

I know there might be a second chance now, with community leaders stepping up and Dr. Altenkirch not slamming the door in the face of anyone who asks about reinstating hockey, but to be honest, I’m scared to have too much hope. For now, I’m enjoying every game I can and letting that little spark of hope shine, just not too bright.

Lauren Kahre
UAH Student/Future Graduate/Hockey Fan

During those weekends in Huntsville and spending time with Nathan and his coaches (many of whom were UAH graduates) we as a family grew very fond of the Charger graduates, the Charger team that opened up their locker room for tours, and the Charger coaches.

8 years later my son has graduated from high school and was accepted to UAH. However, his dream was to play D1 hockey for the Chargers. So he decided to delay his admission and to go to Dallas, Texas and play junior hockey this season in the WSHL to get bigger, stronger, and faster with the hopes of making the Charger team in 2012 or 2013.

Without Charger Hockey, UAH loses it’s luster. Although academically it is an outstanding institution, there are many outstanding institutions that offer D-I or D-III hockey—not club.

After all the good experiences and friends we have made through the years, we are saddened that Charger Hockey will most likely not be a part of his D-I dream.

Sincerely,

George Sauers
Orlando, Florida
Father of Gregory Sauers
Original Player and 7 committed years to Thunder Tier 1 Hockey founded in
Huntsville, AL.

Chris is a little different. He grew up here and he didn’t just watch hockey, he played here in Huntsville for 8 years. No one in his family played hockey, they were all (surprise!) football players, so we don’t know where he picked hockey up, but he started when he was 8. His uncle, Ricky Bates, had been friends with Dave Slifka and while Dave was playing for UAH he was Chris’ hockey teacher. He did one on one classes with Chris for an hour or two a few days a week at the Ice Plex. We still have pictures of Chris and Dave together, he signed EVERYTHING for Chris’ family, hockey pucks, sticks, he gave Chris his jersey. This was all before Dave’s brief stint in the CHL. On his little hockey cards that HAHA had made for the kids back then Chris always put Dave as his favorite player. Chris played for Grissom in the first two years that Grissom had a hockey program (13 and 12 years ago for his freshman and sophomore years of high school) before he left Grissom in 11th grade. I think Dave made Chris the hockey player he was, and hockey made him the man he is today, and today he’s a strong, hard-working, brave kind of guy that will just grit his teeth and work through physical pain or other adversity for what he believes is his duty. Also, he’s not as up front about saying it, but Chris cares a lot about the team too. He wants to see them succeed, because while you hear the term “hockey culture” a lot, I think most folks forget that it really IS a culture and UAH was part of that culture in Huntsville too, and while he didn’t reach that level himself, they were all part of the same thing in a way.

I sent you a picture of our buddy Alec serving over in Korea. He kinda caught hockey fever from us. He had never seen hockey before until we took him to a game last year. It’s great teaching someone else about hockey, sharing your love for something like that. He loves UAH hockey so much now that he wanted to participate in the rally, so he sent that picture. Being on your page completely made his day, he said he didn’t know he would get all the attention he did and he really appreciated the nice things folks were saying to him. He just wanted to be a part of the movement to save the team.

The team gives us something to think about, something to support, saving the team gives us something to strive for. It makes us part of something special. Hockey is Huntsville’s special thing, and the team represents Huntsville in front of the rest of this country and I think they do a pretty good job of it. I don’t really know how else to put into words what the team means to us, I know what I’ve put here is really our stories of our relationship with the team, not really what it MEANS for us, but I just wanted you to see that there’s a lot of love there.

I’m sorry this is so long, when we joined Blue Line Club I tried to say some of this in an e-mail to Chris Luongo, but I was really too shy to say all of this. Thank you so much for taking the time out to listen to us and helping to make us part of something really great.

With a lot of love for the team, their staff, and the Save UAH Hockey fellas,
Alyson Buck (and on behalf of Chris Bertagnolli and Alec Kachel)