Perhaps someone can explain to me how exactly this sways the existing no votes to yes. Those no votes were there for a reason. Hiring Jehovah to coach UNO sends a signal and lends credence to UNO’s position that they are serious about wanting into the WCHA versus the “are they? aren’t they?” interested situation.

But how it assuages DU or CC’s complaints about losing “premier” matchups in their barn, I cannot begin to guess. I can say for sure it won’t change UAA’s vote. I wouldn’t expect it to do anything to change MTU’s vote either. As far as I can see you’ve still got at least 4 schools against. Hiring Blais does nothing positive for the bottom line and that’s usually what these things come down to. UAF in the WCHA means more money for EVERY school. UNO means you get to play against a Blais coached team. Woohoo … sigh.

I’d love for UAF to get in. Really, I would.

That’s one city I’ve always wanted to visit, and this would give me a ready-made excuse.

However, I don’t see how UNO doesn’t get in. Remember, the league members know the situation. They already voted in favor of expansion, and it’s just a matter of settling on two teams to expand with.

If McLeod is supportive, the league will follow.

Chris,
If you think DU and CC were yes votes then you might be out of touch. Their primary concern is and has been decreasing the number of games against the opponents that fill their rink. When UAA comes to town (or SCSU or Duluth or …) not as many people show up at the Magness and World Arena. The same applies though perhaps not as clear in St. Cloud, Duluth and Mankato … So their votes to expand have been and I’d expect remain up in the air. Did you not get the info about the “straw poll” taken at the Coaches meetings? Wisconsin, UofM and UND put peoples butts in the seats. Adding UNO and Bemidji waters down that access to those turnstile fillers. I’ll take a shot at analyzing how much money is to be made/lost depending on whether UNO or UAF were admitted on Sunday and make a post. Stop by Monday morning and have a look.

Bruce,
While I’ve no doubt that Bruce McLeod’s word is a valuable asset to those making the decision he doesn’t have a vote. The people that do have the vote are going to be keenly aware of the advantages and disadvantages of their decision especially in terms of how it affects their bottom line. Let’s remember here that Lucia is all about Bemidji getting in … but with his historical ties to UAF, I’d think he’ll certainly be open minded about a choice between UAF and UNO in addition to BSU. Couple that with UAA’s unabashed support for UAF instead of UNO. And don’t forget that DU and CC has much more budgetary pressure than any other schools in the conference. The rest of us are “staties” … they’re private schools.

Look you guys … I understand why UNO is more attractive to everyone down there (it’s a long valid list of reasons). But UAA and UAF have both been playing D1 hockey for 30 years. They’ve both BENT OVER BACKWARDS to accommodate their leagues and everybody has already made more money because of it. Neither team ever complains about their demanding travel schedule and they both always leave everything out on the ice regardless of where they’ve finished in the standings. Being in the same conference will add a quality regional rivalry (one which Chris once wrote was one of the best in all of college hockey).

With 12 teams I already know that UAA will get the major shaft in the “cluster” scheduling to come. DU and CC will get the sweetest cluster mates (as payment for their yes votes) and UAA will be lucky to get ONE of the 3 “turnstile fillers”. With UAF in, UAA won’t give a shit about who their “clustermates” are and DU and CC are still satisfied because they’ll still be able to get those opponents that they want in their barn.

So what I’m saying is that UAF “deserves” an honest shot at getting in. Like I said, I’ll put something together and post it sometime Sunday.

After reading the link to Let’s Play Hockey blog…I never knew Blais played at Minnesota. It’s good that he took the UNO job and got back into college hockey, with the coaches at the “U” being on the hot seat this season, Blais will be in a perfect spot to take over that program in a year.