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July 11, 2011

'Super League' casts uncertainty on WCHA

MSU’s Buisman addresses announcement

By Shane Frederick Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — The so-called “Super League” is a done deal, but Minnesota State’s athletic director said he’s like many other college hockey observers right now and is waiting to hear its members finally start talking.

“I’m reserving further comment until after their press conference on Wednesday,” Kevin Buisman said on Monday.

North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Minnesota Duluth and Nebraska-Omaha will be leaving the Western Collegiate Hockey Association after the 2012-13 season to start a new conference with Miami (Ohio). Coaches and athletic directors from those schools will take part in a press event at noon Wednesday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“I think it will be interesting to see what they will reveal,” Buisman said. “Will they talk about heir plans for TV exposure, the name of the conference and branding?”

With the departure of the Super League teams as well as of Big Ten members Minnesota and Wisconsin, the WCHA will be left with MSU, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, Alaska-Anchorage and Michigan Tech.

It also could mean the end to a lucrative conference tournament. In recent years, the event, which concludes with the WCHA Final Five at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul has given member schools a revenue share between $80,000 and $115,000, Buisman said.

Athletic directors from those remaining schools will meet on Friday in the Twin Cities to discuss the future, Buisman said.

Buisman had no comment on a report Monday that Northern Michigan was set to join the WCHA and that Alaska (Fairbanks) also was in discussion with the league.

Northern Michigan and Alaska are members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, of which Miami is a current member.

Alaska and Northern Michigan, a WCHA member from 1984 through 1997, are left behind with Bowling Green, Ferris State and Lake Superior State. Western Michigan was rumored to be a Super League invitee but recently said it is exploring a change. Notre Dame appears set to leave the CCHA and is being wooed by Hockey East and the Super League.

WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod received permission to court Notre Dame and Miami during the league’s April meetings in Florida. In a story in the Anchorage Daily News on Friday, Alaska-Anchorage athletic director Steve Cobb accused the Super League members of making a “a really sneaky back-door deal” instead.

Said Buisman: “There were some contentious moments and some uncertainty (at the league meetings), but we definitely felt like we were in a good place. Our plan was to move forward and expand the league. To have  (the Super League teams) strike out on their own, the timing was certainly interesting.”

Another potential issue with the breakup of the conference is the women’s league. Administrated by the WCHA, its members include Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and Bemidji State; Big Ten schools Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio State; and Super League schools North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth.

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