If the newsletter is correct, teams in the CCHA would go from playing 28 conference games to 20 (two against the other 10 teams), which is a huge drop in a sport that only has 58 Division I teams. Which means one of the biggest issues facing the league is: SCHEDULING: Having an odd number of teams means at least one team will not be playing in-conference games every weekend.

You’ll never hear anyone associated with UAH say it, but I will: insular conference scheduling is what killed the CHA. We were a small league designed to have a large number of out-of-conference games: at six teams, you played everyone home-and-home for 20 league games, meaning you could schedule 14 OOC games. But those games just haven’t been there. An 11-team CCHA, playing just 20 conference games, will have 11 teams looking to play a total of 154 OOC games. We already know that UAH has a strong independent schedule for next year, but if there are that many open games, we should have no problems filling out a schedule.

But first, we gotta talk about the Big Ten.

Talk of a Big Ten Hockey Conference is the bane of college hockey message boards. [For the latest USCHO example, click on through. I appear on there as GFMorris.] But one of the more recent ideas floated about is fewer conference games for CCHA and WCHA schools to allow for more Big Ten play. In fact, the Redhawk hockey newsletter that CNATI quotes mentions that:

The unbalanced 11 teams will make for an interesting league schedule. To add to the complexity, the Big 10 (sic) has asked to have more games with Big 10 (sic) institutions playing each other for exposure on the Big 10 (sic) Network. Currently Michigan and Michigan State play each other 4 (sic) times during the course of the year, but Ohio State typically only plays Michigan and Michigan State twice during the year (unless they are in each other’s cluster). You could likely see a schedule that has Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State all playing each other four times every single year. The league schedule is currently being finalized, but Miami fans are likely to see a schedule that may only have two games against opponents where we (sic) have typically had four in the past.”

One would expect that Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State, freed of some of their CCHA responsibilities, are going to go play Minnesota and Wisconsin more often. In fact, you might see a de facto BTHC in just the OOC scheduling, should all this come to fruition—but not right away, because the WCHA’s schedules are set for next year. But if you don’t think the five BT hockey schools won’t use more OOC games to play each other, you’re crazy.

How does this help out UAH? I think that it does so in the following ways:

1. Creating a de facto BTHC keeps a de jure one from forming. A true, real BTHC would kill western college hockey, because everyone not in the BTHC would be an also-ran. TV, TV, TV means recruits, recruits, recruits.
2. More OOC games from CCHA and WCHA teams will make it easier for Coach Cole to find us games, as more slots will be available. I think there’s a strong effort afoot amongst the coaches in college hockey to make UAH a viable independent, both from talking to Coach and to fans from other schools. You’ll see teams schedule us—and you’ll even see teams come to Huntsville to help keep us viable.
3. More OOC games invites another team or two to join the independent ranks. Short of getting into the CCHA—or another conference that comes with an opening, although I just don’t see one anytime soon other than our friends in Detroit—this is the next-best thing. Another western—or, better, southern, like Kentucky or Tennessee—team playing as and independent invites the possibility of 1) an independents’ slot being carved out into the field of 16 or 2) conference re-alignment. Let’s face it—UAH isn’t big enough to be an anchor school for a realigned conference. But another independent just might be big enough.

If you want to know why the BTHC is so bad, maybe Will will spew forth his anti-BTHC diatribe tomorrow…

WMU head coach Jim Culhane addresses those in attendance at the first Coach's Lunch of the 2009-2010 season.

The first Coach’s Lunch for the 2009-2010 season was held in the Varsity Room of Spragins Hall on campus at noon today. To say that it was a tremendous success would be an understatement. Every single seat in the room was filled to hear Coach and visiting Western Michigan University Coach Jim Culhane speak to those in attendance.

Coach Culhane fielded a few questions from those in attendance, and eventually the question of his thoughts on the snub by the CCHA towards UAH was asked. One can’t expect a man to be candid with a response to a question like that, but Coach Culhane did an excellent job artfully expressing his opinion on the matter, going so far as saying that he was “concerned about the strength of hockey overall.” Coach Culhane pointed out that the decision to exclude UAH from the CCHA was not made by the coaches (thank the ADs for that), but as a coach of a hockey program he believes that you wouldn’t be able to find a single coach at any program that necessarily agreed with it. He added that he feels that UAH will have no problem getting teams to play the program here or on the road in the future.

Those interested in future attendance at the Coach’s Lunch should contact Sheila Ray (raysj@uah.edu) to RSVP for the event. Lunch is catered by Wings and costs $8 per person. The event is open to anyone.