WCHA invites fellow leftover CCHA schools to join
August 25, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Conference realignment is hitting college hockey.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association said Thursday it has invited fivenew teams to join in two years—once changes settle in for the Big Ten and theCentral Collegiate Hockey Association.
Current CCHA members Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State are joiningWCHA programs Minnesota and Wisconsin and Penn State in the Big Ten in 2013-14.
The new National Collegiate Hockey Conference will also begin that year withMiami (Ohio) of the CCHA and five WCHA members: North Dakota, Nebraska-Omaha,Colorado College, Denver and Minnesota-Duluth.
That will leave the WCHA with Alaska Anchorage, Bemidji State, MichiganTech, Minnesota State (Mankato), Northern Michigan and St. Cloud State. It hasinvited the rest of the CCHA teams—Alaska Fairbanks, Bowling Green, FerrisState, Lake Superior State and Western Michigan—to join.
WCHA and CCHA leaders met in Chicago this week. Presidents of the sixremaining WCHA member universities gave the CCHA schools 30 days to decide.
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NCAA, North Dakota leaders discuss school nickname
August 12, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—University of North Dakota president Robert Kelley andfour state leaders have arrived at the NCAA headquarters to make their case forkeeping the Fighting Sioux nickname.
The group will meet with NCAA President Mark Emmert on Friday afternoon inIndianapolis.
In 2006, the NCAA placed North Dakota on a list of 18 schools with AmericanIndian nicknames, logos and mascots considered “hostile and abusive.” InOctober 2007, a court-imposed settlement of the school’s lawsuit required schoolofficials to retire the nickname on Aug. 15, 2011, unless the state’s twonamesake tribes approved of its use.
One has, the other has not.
Earlier this year, the state legislature passed a law requiring the schoolto use its current nickname and logo.
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Cleveland Indians announce outdoor hockey game between Michigan and Ohio State at Progressive Field (CBS Interactive U-WIRE)
August 11, 2011
An outdoor game between the Ohio State and Michigan hockey programs was imminent in May, nearly a done deal in June, and dead in July.
But now it’s official.
The Cleveland Indians held a press conference Thursday to announce the finalized plans to host their first outdoor hockey game, dubbed The Frozen Diamond Faceoff, at Progressive Field on Jan. 15, 2012.
It will be the Buckeyes’ second appearance in an outdoor game, but the Wolverines’ fourth — and their third outdoor match in the past three seasons. Ohio State is 0-1 in outdoor tilts, while Michigan is 1-1-1.
Michigan was a part of the first-ever NCAA outdoor game, the Cold War against Michigan State, in Oct. 2001.But most fans will recall The Big Chill at the Big House between the Spartans and Wolverines last December at Michigan Stadium. The event drew a world-record crowd of 113,411.
By measurement, The Frozen Diamond Faceoffa aims to be the Big Chill’s infant brother. Progressive Fiedd has a seating capacity of roughly 45,200 during the baseball season. Although additional seating may well be installed for a hockey game, it won’t be setting any records.
The game will be a part of Cleveland’s Snow Days, which will also feature a week-long youth tournament.
In 2010, the first Snow Days was highlighted by ice skating, sledding hills and snow tubing chutes. According to Crain’s, the event drew 50,000 visitors downtown from Nov. 26 to Jan. 2 last year.
The location of Cleveland is relatively ideal, since it lies equidistant — about 150 miles — from both Columbus and Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines hold an all-time 65-30-11 edge in head-to-head matches against the Buckeyes. Michigan completed the 2010-11 season first in the CCHA, while Ohio State crawled to a ninth-place finish.
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Ohio State-Michigan to play in Indians’ ballpark
August 11, 2011
CLEVELAND (AP)—The bitter Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is about to getreally icy.
The two schools will play an outdoor hockey game at Progressive Field—homeof the Cleveland Indians—on Sunday, Jan. 15. The matchup, dubbed “The FrozenDiamond Faceoff” is part of the Indians’ Snow Days promotion at the ballpark, atwo-month winter-themed event that drew over 50,000 fans in its first year. TheBuckeyes and Wolverines will play on a regulation-sized rink situated on theIndians’ infield.
The teams will meet in Columbus on Jan. 13 before playing the first outdoorcollege hockey game in Ohio history.
Last December, the Wolverines hosted Michigan State in “The Big Chill at theBig House,” a game that drew over 100,000 fans to Michigan’s mammoth footballstadium.
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