It’s UAF’s fault that they hired a creepy fuck who couldn’t keep his hands off coed’s asses? I think the whole college hockey world thought that Doc DelCastillo was a good hire. They get rid of the pervert and then next year they finish 4th? Seems like coaching stability wasn’t a big problem.

Here’s the real issue:
UAA and UAF travel 4,000 miles a minimum of 7 times a year. The teams they compete with do so ONCE (and constantly fucking whine about doing so) a season. In return for doing so they had (and in UAF’s case still have) received not only a travel subsidy from UAA/UAF but the ability to schedule additional home games that are exempt from the schedule.

UNO cannot begin to offer anything that comes close to that financially for WCHA member teams. If it is a “bottom-line” decision alone then it’s a no-brainer to take UAF over UNO. UNO’s facilities are shit. I’m sure the WCHA looks at that 15K Qwest Center and thinks its awesome. But UNO wants out of there to go back to the Civic Auditorium. They don’t have a permanent practice facility on campus.

UNO is more comparable to Western Michigan and/or Ferris State than it is to ANY existing WCHA school in terms of facilities and community interest though the larger size of Omaha definitely helps put more butts in seats than Western/Ferris.

UAF compares nicely to St. Cloud or Mankato in terms of being a college town with a great following in the community.

I don’t think the choice between UAF and UNO is a simple one. But I do believe WCHA schools stand to make more money with UAF than they can possibly make with UNO. I’d think a school makes at least as much money with an exemption in their pocket as they get in revenue sharing from the Final Five.

Lastly, it’s clear now that WCHA member schools aren’t interested in competing on a somewhat more level playing field if they’re going to refuse to make an one extended roadtrip to Alaska or perhaps even go there twice a year. UAA and UAF make a minimum of 7 such trips every year. If their conference opponents are unwilling to consider it; they’re bigger pussies than I thought. Two trips to Alaska a year certainly wouldn’t begin to address the equity that geography creates but it would be more equitable than the current provincially biased scheduling that exists now.