Under the new plan, UAH will provide $650,000 to the projected $1.5 million annual budget cited by the school to have a competitive NCAA Division I hockey program. That leaves $850,000 – or 57 percent – to come from other sources.

Those other sources, Altenkirch said, will come “from a combination of ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, advertising, fundraising, you name it.”

The $650,000 would represent a decrease from recent years, where about $800,000 out of a $900,000 budget would come from direct university support. This means we as a fanbase have a greater responsibility to help this program survive and thrive.

We can do this. You can do your part by donating to the 2012 Hockey Campaign.

http://www.uah.edu/2012hockeycampaign

If you haven’t donated to the cause, now is the time. Any help, no matter how small, is appreciated. We must show prospective conferences that we have the financial strength and backing to be accepted. Conference affiliation is necessary for UAH hockey to have a long term future.

You can also reach the above link through http://www.uah.edu and http://www.uahchargers.com. Charge on!

Admittedly, part of what we’re waiting on is for Coach Cole to get back from Slovakia—from the emails he’s sent us, he’s due back tonight. Also, Will and I want to have a sitdown with UAH AD Jim Harris to make sure we don’t overstep our bounds. That said, we had a brainstorming meeting yesterday afternoon, and the following initiatives were discussed:

• Merchandise! Proceeds will all go to the UAH Blue Line Club, after we cover operating costs. We’ve read what fans around the country have said: they want posters, buttons, and the like to show their support for our hockey program. We intend to bring it to you. Will has been hard at work on designs for these since mid-week.
• Letter-writing campaigns. CCHA fans who are sympathetic to the cause: we want you to contact your AD and Faculty Athletics Representative and ask them to reconsider our application. Fans of the other four conferences: ask your ADs and coaches to schedule the Chargers, especially in Huntsville. If we’re going to take the ice as an independent, we’re going to need games. That process is already behind the power curve, given that a lot of teams have 2010-11 schedules worked out to some extent, but this is a dire situation.
• Web presence. We’ll have buttons—probably today—for you to use on your site to show your support for our cause.

Saving UAH Hockey is going to be a team effort. Are you willing to skate your shift?