NYT: Big Ten Network Makes Investment in College Hockey
Good article on a topical subject. Hate to give a Buckeye any credit but OSU captain Curtis Gedig has some comments about recruiting that I think are pretty insightful.
BTN President Mark Silverman:
“We’re in an investing phase, not in a moneymaking phase, with Big Ten hockey,” Silverman said. “The hope is, over time, that we can grow the sport so it can pay for itself and hopefully be an overall benefit to the network. “We think it will bring in new viewers. We think it will help with our ratings. But we’re making a significant investment, and it’s not a short-term investment.”
The bottom of the article has an associate commissioner leaving the door open to associate members a la Johns Hopkins. What say you, MGoBoard?
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:17 PM ^
Good article....as a college hockey fan living in the B1G footprint, but not near A2, this is great news. HD and large displays have really made the TV viewing experience a whole lot better than it used to be.
October 2nd, 2013 at 7:24 PM ^
I grew up playing hockey in Michigan, interned at the CCHA home office in Farmington between sophomore and junior year (still have my polo!), and have spent too much time at the rinks in Big Rapids and the Sault, so part of me is sad to see it go....
....ON THE OTHER HAND, now living on the East coast, I am ecstatic for BTN to get a regular lineup of Big Ten games with HD quality (and hopefully some nice production value but I'm not getting greedy) instead of guessing what nights I can catch mid-Atlantic hockey on MASN, Comcast and ESPNU (along with the occasional M game on BTN).
Plus we keep a lot of the instate Michigan schools that I care about on our non-con schedule with some nice national powers mixed in. Really excited for Big Ten hockey.
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:17 PM ^
BTHC mentioned that five Big Ten schools have 63 alums on active NHL rosters. 210 NCAA alums of the 690 players on 23 man rosters.
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:20 PM ^
As someone who lives in the South more hockey on tv is the best thing that can happen. Perhaps it can help us keep some kids from going to the OHL as well. Sure, it's not the same as money in your pocket. However, I don't recall all that many OHL games on tv either (At least in the US).
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:42 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:24 PM ^
The bottom of the article has an associate commissioner leaving the door open to associate members a la Johns Hopkins.You mean, like, bring back Notre Dame into the fold of a mid-west hockey conference? What about all their heavy ACC commitments? In all seriousness though, pulling a Miami, a Ferris State, a Michigan Tech, or a Minnesota-Duluth into the conference could soften the blow to traditional college hockey fans who are missing some of the old regional rivalries that were lost when the B1G hockey conference was created.
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:28 PM ^
This could be a good thing, I really liked the CCHA membership, now I am glad to have Minny and Wisky in the hockey conference but sad about losing all the other schools.
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
I don't think that any of that is likely unless another conference completely blows up, and probably not then.
Of course, we will have to see how the new conferences work out, but right now the NCHC provides a good alternative to the B1G for the major hockey schools in the upper midwest, and ND is a good cultural (if not geographical) fit for Hockey East.
Johns Hopkins was a special sort of case for a sport with a unique landscape. The B1G is not well established in lacrosse and Hopkins plays basically nothing else; Hopkins provides a big prestige name, as well as a school that fits the B1G profile.
None of the four schools you listed in the second paragraph are B1G-type schools, and none of them exceed the prestige or history of the top four historical B1G hockey schools (only UMD is close, and then only close to MSU).
If the B1G expands, it will be with B1G schools.
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:35 PM ^
I doubt we'd bring back any old CCHA schools (especially the small Michigan schools). We're fine with 6 teams and would probably only bring in someone who 'brings something to the table'. It may be leaving a door open for another major conference school if they elected to move up
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:44 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 4:23 PM ^
Michigan has traditional rivalries with Minnesota and Wisconsin dating back to its membership in the WCHA which long redate the CCHA rivalries which formed only after Michigan and MSU left the WCHA for the CCHA and its lesser competition to save money. The B1G and the BTN give Michigan the chance to be part of what could be the elite league in college hockey especially if Moo can rebound and Ohio and Penn State can establish stronger programs.
HDTV makes the game worth watching on TV if you can't make it to see it live.
October 2nd, 2013 at 8:09 PM ^
eh, I'd say go for a JHU-type, but there aren't any out there.
BU, DU are not leaving their conferences.
MTU, LSSU, don't have the large following, so what's the point
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^
From a wide-angle standpoint, I am hopeful that the B1G conference will grow the profile of college hockey relative to Major Junior and even the AHL, which could potentially result in better talent being drawn to college and more overall attention.
We gripe, justifiably, about the sleazy tactics of the OHL in drawing players, but let's not kid ourselves: it's not exactly the SEC. Major Junior has some very attractive characteristics for a teenager who wants to play high-level hockey. There are lots of games, a terrific playoff system, and some very dedicated fanbases.
College hockey has a hard time competing with some of these things. But the chance to play for high level B1G schools in big arenas on television every weekend can be a big draw.
Personally, this is terrific for me, since I live in Minnesota and I'm now guaranteed three Michigan appearances within 2.5 hours of me every year.
October 2nd, 2013 at 2:03 PM ^
While part of me will miss those regular appearances by Ferris State and Northern Michigan, I am beyond excited at getting to see Minnesota and Wisconsin play at Yost on a regular basis. This is going to be fun.
October 2nd, 2013 at 12:36 PM ^
and generally good for hockey as a whole. With added revenue and TV exposure, the whole conference may take a step forward against the OHL. I'm hoping in the future we'll so more and more games on the BTN
October 2nd, 2013 at 8:47 PM ^
October 2nd, 2013 at 11:32 PM ^
Logisitcally it may be nuts, but that would be awesome. UT is an excellent school (25ish in the world, #1 in Canada), has a rich hockey tradition, and is a really large school so they'd fit in with the Big Ten mold.
This is probably equivalent to the brief "Cornell to the Big Ten" idea but I would love it if we added them. Talk about adding markets. Hockey doesn't get bigger than Toronto
Edit: I've also seen a few message boards posts around the web floating UT and McGill as possibilities since I believe those are the only two Canadian AAU schools. One big way to expand the BTHC brand is to go into Canada