I don't know if this was already posted,but what a GREAT article GOD Bless Mike and Erichttp://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...-burns-brighter-than-ever/#incart_river_index
GREAT Article About Rutgers Hockey and Mike Nichols
- Thread starter HeavenUniv.
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I know it would be a long time from now, but I would really love to see Rutgers play hockey in the B1G. Like football we have the local talent to eventually compete.
This is when/where they played...
http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...-outdoor-classic-to-benefit-reeve-foundation/
Pics of the game on the RU Ice Hockey Facebook page.
http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news...-outdoor-classic-to-benefit-reeve-foundation/
Pics of the game on the RU Ice Hockey Facebook page.
Yupppp. I'd have season tickets immediately. I just know we need a huge donation for it to happen.
Money, yes. A State Penn size one? Not really.
Again, the model for us is UConn (to get it) going and not State Penn.
I assume you mean UConn is model b/c they play in the old Hartford Civic Center? That may be a better approach. BIG is in dire need of teams. Hockey league has been a dud. Can't see a Hopkins like, hockey only member that would help.
Yes.
Sun Bank is vacant during the Winter and would love a tenant. It is about the same distance from NB as Hartford is from Storrs. Protec already has three sheets for a practice and the girls games.
THIS would be the start but not the finished product.
There are a couple options.
Go the Sun Bank route, however by doing that you are committing to building an arena semi-soon. Can't play in there for ten years, you have to have your own.
Do what Wisconsin and Ohio State did. They built a multi-purpose facility for basketball and hockey. I know a lot don't want this because it can take away from the college basketball feel but i think it's honestly the most feasible option. I don't see Rutgers having enough money to build a new basketball and hockey arena within 20 years. The RAC is flat out terrible, so we're going to need a new arena somewhat soon anyway.
Or, somehow, someway renovate the RAC and make a spot for an Ice Rink. Not sure if that is possible from the construction but if it is, it would be the cheaper route.
Rutgers could commit to Sun Bank for a few years while being in the process of building a multi-purpose facility or while renovating the RAC.
My choice is the Multi-Purpose facility like the Kohl Center in Madison. It doesn't need to be as big obviously. But it could hold 12,000 which would hold about 10,000 for hockey. Then Rutgers could use it for concerts, wrestling and other events as well. In the long term i think it would be a nice idea.
Go the Sun Bank route, however by doing that you are committing to building an arena semi-soon. Can't play in there for ten years, you have to have your own.
Do what Wisconsin and Ohio State did. They built a multi-purpose facility for basketball and hockey. I know a lot don't want this because it can take away from the college basketball feel but i think it's honestly the most feasible option. I don't see Rutgers having enough money to build a new basketball and hockey arena within 20 years. The RAC is flat out terrible, so we're going to need a new arena somewhat soon anyway.
Or, somehow, someway renovate the RAC and make a spot for an Ice Rink. Not sure if that is possible from the construction but if it is, it would be the cheaper route.
Rutgers could commit to Sun Bank for a few years while being in the process of building a multi-purpose facility or while renovating the RAC.
My choice is the Multi-Purpose facility like the Kohl Center in Madison. It doesn't need to be as big obviously. But it could hold 12,000 which would hold about 10,000 for hockey. Then Rutgers could use it for concerts, wrestling and other events as well. In the long term i think it would be a nice idea.
With games v quality, big name conference opponents, this sounds like a legit option. Scholarships for men and women is still significant, but huge cost of arena is, initially, eliminated. No BIG for women, but that may come and it doesn't generate revenue anyway. I think BIG network pays about $2m additional revenue to hockey schools.
I believe the conference splits $2 million between the hockey schools, not $2 million per.
It doesn't have to be that big if it was just going to be for hockey. As long as it is big enough for full size sheet with an almost full size practice sheet (even a pond would be not too bad) along with the required locker/training room stuff the attendance does not have to be huge. If it was 5K that would be enough. More than enough IMO as a stand alone. 2500 to 3K would be fine.
And correct me if I'm wrong but I think you only get the $2M (or share it) if you play ON campus.
Penn State's holds like 8K. 3K is entirely too small, IMO. If we build a 3K stadium we'll just lose out on recruits. 5K is fine but it needs to be a nice arena. Kids would chose PSU over us if our arena is clearly inferior. Also, they'd practice on the playing rink
Advocating for yet another program that is underfunded and at a huge facilities deficit really sounds like a good idea, all while are existing programs are in the same boat?
Is it really worth investing in ice hockey at Rutgers on the cheap? From the jump the program would be set up to fail if it has a budget, facilities, etc. that lag behind those of its peers. And then, when the team doesn't perform well because of those limitations, it will compete in front of a half empty arena and fail to generate enough money to justify its existence. Also remember, you'll need a women's team as well.
It's all been discussed before. Without a $100MM plus investment, it would be a horrible decision.
Leadership knows this.
Leadership knows this.
I work at Protec, we have one NHL-size rink and two mini rinks. No college team, NCAA or club, would practice on a mini rink. Not even high school teams are interested in renting the mini rinks. The full-size rink is definitely sufficient for NCAA practices though, but they would probably want a nicer locker room than what we currently have rented out to high schools and used to rent out to the current Rutgers club team.
Protec is heated, but you'll generally still need to wear a jacket at almost any local rink. We can't heat it as much as professional arenas because we have customers in the building all day long, often from 6 AM to midnight on weekends, and having the heat on for that long would negatively impact the ice.
Cali, it wasn't me this time that started it...
I keep playing the lottery, but no cash, no dice for ice
:) Good luck with the lottery! I will be a massive fan of the program when you pull it off.
Does Rutgers have a club team that is supported by the Rutgers alumni community that would serve as a base for generating support and fans? IIRC, PSU had a pretty well established Club Ice hockey team that was at least regionally successful (before establishing their Div I program) which also played in a much smaller but on campus ice rink.
And there also is the Mennan arena in Morris County among other suitable locations for temporary use until an on campus facility becomes practical. Also an ice facility could be used by all students and perhaps funded in part by Recreation similar to how the Werblin Center is setup and other Recreation Dept run turf fields and facilities on campus are operated.
The big problem and concern would be Title IX compliance regulations.
Might I add that many, many years ago a major donation at the time was made by Ed Slotkin an alumnus and co-founder or owner of HyGrade hot dogs for and ice arena. Unfortunately it never materialized and the funds in Rutgers style were gobbled up by the athletic administration for other projects including the RAC.
The big problem and concern would be Title IX compliance regulations.
Might I add that many, many years ago a major donation at the time was made by Ed Slotkin an alumnus and co-founder or owner of HyGrade hot dogs for and ice arena. Unfortunately it never materialized and the funds in Rutgers style were gobbled up by the athletic administration for other projects including the RAC.
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Rutgers does have a well-established club team that competes in the same conference Penn State was in before they started an NCAA team, and some of their former players and I believe their assistant coach are working on securing the funding to get an NCAA team off the ground. The current team had a few trips to nationals over the past five or six years, but right now I think they are around .500, although the on-ice success of the club team probably doesn't matter much since none of them, even though they are all much better than a vast majority of hockey players, would make an NCAA Division 1 roster. A newly formed NCAA team would have all new players.
The ACHA is the nationwide league, broken down into three men's divisions and two women's divisions, but yes they are in the same conference Penn State was in, the ESCHL (Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League), which is in ACHA Division 1. Rutgers also has a Division 2 team, but Division 1 is a significantly higher level.
Would student support and attendance be part of your plan for playing at Mennan? Seems to be a far trip for a student from any of the campuses.
Thank you robac26, good to know. Believe I've read PSU still has one of the original club team guys on its roster and plays significant minutes.
Where does the club team play?
They play at ProSkate which is just off Rt. 1 in Monmouth Junction, probably about 15-20 minutes south of Rutgers.
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