WCHA officially admits Bemidji State, Nebraska-Omaha
Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha are expected to be admitted in to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association this afternoon.By: Brad Elliott Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association voted this afternoon to admit Nebraska-Omaha and Bemidji State into the league beginning in 2010-11.
The official vote came after two days of intense negotiations between WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod and Nebraska-Omaha, a school the league has tried to convince to apply for membership in order to grow the WCHA to 12 teams.
McLeod held conference calls with league athletic directors on both Wednesday and Thursday to take straw polls on terms he was negotiating with Nebraska-Omaha. Those terms could include a reduced entry fee and immediate sharing of postseason revenue.
Omaha, currently a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, could stand to benefit greatly if it gets a deal. The last team to join the WCHA, Minnesota State-Mankato, paid nearly $120,000 for membership and didn’t get a cut of postseason revenue for three years. The league paid about $91,000 to its members in postseason revenue in 2008-09.
Bemidji State, which will be without a conference after the upcoming season, applied for membership in March, but the league decided to put its application on hold while it searched for a 12th team. The even number benefit’s the league in terms of scheduling and revenue.
Multiple sources have confirmed to the Herald that the admission fees for Nebraska-Omaha and Bemidji State are different.
Tags: und hockey, college hockey, breakingnews, sports
Mike S. Grand Forks, ND 06/27/2009 10:18 AM
John S you still make no sense. Because there are fewer Division 1 hockey teams has nothing to do with why so many players are drafted into the NHL. Unlike the NFL and the NBA, the NHL doesn't just draft college players. They draft high school players, Canadian Major Junior players, European players, among others. There is a much larger pool of players for the NHL to draft from. You probably shouldn't be on here talking about hockey when its clear you don't know very much about the sport. Everyone knows UND has put a lot more athletes into professional sports than Moo U. Its not even an arguement. And thats because of their college hockey program.Report a Violation
Michael L. Crookston, MN 06/26/2009 11:17 PM
N-O couldn't hack it in the CCHA so took a step downReport a Violation
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Jordan B. Omaha, NE 07/10/2009 3:22 PM
Being from Omaha, I'm glad that UNO made the move. It'll be nice to have games that are within driving distance, and with the conference change and new coaching staff (which all happen to be from either Grand Forks or Crookston) it should be a fun and very competitive league for us. Hoping Dean can lead us to the Frozen four in a couple years.....Report a Violation