Arizona State getting D1 hockey

@Buccigross: Sources confirm Arizona St will become 60h D1 hockey team. Transition starts next year. Full season in 2016-17. Big fish donates 32 million

Go Gophers!!

Wow. That's ... crazy. I guess they'll have the Colorado teams close by but the travel costs are going to be big and there are no geographical rivals.

It'd be pretty cool to see the West get a bit more presence (maybe Utah, Pacific NW or even some of the SoCal schools). There is some talent coming out of the area, enough that you could pull together a couple of programs that could be reasonably competitive with mid-level teams.

STrib: Conferences to court Arizona State's new hockey program

WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson said he’s been in discussions with Arizona State since midsummer and will continue to pursue its membership. The 10-team conference has the biggest geographical range, with teams stretching from Alaska to Michigan to Alabama.

“We are actively pursuing the opportunity to bring Arizona State into the WCHA and welcome them into our family,” Robertson told the Star Tribune on Tuesday. “It shows a lot of courage, and people that are forward-thinking and know what college hockey can do for a school. … It can open up things like conference tournaments being played in other parts of the country like Tempe or Los Angeles.”

NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton said most of his discussions with Arizona State have been focused on what it takes to operate and finance varsity college hockey. The eight-team conference has the biggest presence in the western United States with two teams and the conference headquarters in Colorado.

“We haven’t had any discussions specifically about adding them,” Fenton said. “I would say that Arizona State would be a great addition for any conference. … It’s well-documented that ASU has a tremendous national brand. … They’ll bring a lot to the table no matter what conference they land in.”

Arizona State could also be welcomed in the Big Ten. Conference Associate Commissioner Jennifer Heppel said the Big Ten would consider expansion outside of its current 14-member institutions for certain sports. John Hopkins, for example, is part of the newly formed six-team Big Ten men’s lacrosse conference.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/283143591.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go gophers!!

This would be a huge get for the WCHA, which a lot of people considered the leftovers from the NCHC and Big Ten conference expansions (and the folding of the CCHA). But I'd actually welcome ASU into the Big Ten, they have a proven track record for good programs, their fans support them well, and I think players would want to play there. Either way, any expansion of College Hockey is awesome.

Jess Myers: College hockey's dance with the (Sun) Devils

"There's worse places to play than where you're seeing palm trees every day," Gophers coach Don Lucia said before his team's practice on Wednesday, joking that the Sun Devils won't have trouble scheduling home games. "I could go to Tempe in January every year. Could go in November this year, for crying out loud."

ASU will not be the first D-I program state history, as Northern Arizona gave college hockey a brief try in the '80s. They will join WCHA member Alabama-Huntsville as one of just two schools south of Colorado to support D-I hockey. And they will be the first Pac-12 team to pick up the sport, but - aided by the Los Angeles Kings winning a pair of Stanley Cups in the past four years - hockey numbers are booming in California and other warm-weather areas, so it's anticipated that schools like USC, Arizona, Stanford and UCLA will at least explore the feasibility of a hockey program. Snee said this is a defining moment for college hockey.

"The tremendous growth of hockey participation in the southwestern United States has been well documented, and having an NCAA Division I school offering hockey in this part of the country is actually overdue," Snee said. "Hopefully Arizona State will be the first of many schools in new areas to offer the sport."

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Myers_College_hockeys_dance_with_the_Sun_Devils111914

Go Gophers!!