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Time to start a hockey program


dirtyolcrowe

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With the putrid state of football and basketball.   Maybe we should think about a hockey program.  You only have 3 programs in Ohio.   Did KSU program go under?   
I think we could achieve a quicker path to success with hockey.   This area is a hot bed of talent for HS hockey.   Don’t know why we never considered this sport!!!

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They have Club Hockey which, when I was the trainer, drew more fans than probably 3/4 of the sanctioned sports. It was a good time.

 

As far as starting a regular program, it comes down to money. Start out with scholarship money. How many schollys? Where does the money come from? Multiply that by 2 to stay in compliance with Title IX. 

 

An alternative is to go Division 3, which has no scholarships, but there are no D3 opponents in Ohio. So your travel expenses are going to be huge. There are some D1 schools (i.e. Ivy League) that don't have scholarships, and a lot of schools that don't have the max. But can you consistently schedule them?

 

Then you need a rink. The club team plays at Center Ice, near Akron Canton Airport. That's another cost. Add in uniforms, practice time, games, a zillion "nickle and dime" expenses nobody thought of. I'm not saying it can't be done, but there are no rich hockey alumni willing to sign checks for all of those expenses.

 

My suggestion, visit the club team. Take in some games. These guys have been playing hockey a big part of their lives, are AU students in good standing, and put on a good show. The league is competitive. I've had a lot more fun at (club) hockey games than I have at most football games I've been to.

 

So their families are paying the bills instead of the university, when the puck drops I seriously doubt you'll notice a difference. 😎

 

http://www.zipshockey.com/

https://linktr.ee/AkronIceHockey

https://www.blastathletics.com/video_links/19876

Edited by Spin
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  • 3 months later...
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The Zips Club Hockey team released their schedule, first home game is September 16 against Dayton at Center Ice, 8319 Port Jackson Ave NW, North Canton, OH

 

This is the fall schedule, they must be playing split seasons now. I haven't been able to go for several years, but plan on making some games this season.

ZipsHockeySched.jpg

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I'm pretty sure outside of football college hockey is the most expensive sport to operate. That's why there is only 62 D1 men's teams. In order for Penn State to add Men's Hockey the Buffalo Bills owner had to endow something in the neighborhood of $100 million to cover the costs. Penn State athletics is obviously in a much better place than Akron financially.

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22 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

I'm pretty sure outside of football college hockey is the most expensive sport to operate. That's why there is only 62 D1 men's teams. In order for Penn State to add Men's Hockey the Buffalo Bills owner had to endow something in the neighborhood of $100 million to cover the costs. Penn State athletics is obviously in a much better place than Akron financially.

 

I don't doubt that. I would bet more than half of that is for the arena and the staff needed to run it. And the Zamboni lol.

 

Has anyone heard specific numbers on how much it cost to bring baseball back? Just out of curiosity.

 

Hockey would have higher ongoing maintenance costs for every practice and game, and higher equipment costs. There's a lot of man-hours involved with running the event. Prep work, maintenance between periods, post game.

 

BTW Kent State dropped their hockey program in 1994 and has a club hockey team like Akron's. They play Akron in a home-and-home matchup to close out the season, I might just have to go to them. In the 1988-89 season they had that infamous hazing incident that resulted in the season being cancelled. Stay classy...

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