COMMENTARY
Niagara gives up big dreams
Here’s the message Niagara University sends in descending to Atlantic Hockey for the 2010-11 season:
Don’t take us seriously anymore. What a shame. If there was a single area college athletic program with legitimate national title hopes, Niagara hockey was it. There’s no beating its location from a recruiting standpoint. Three NCAA Tournament appearances and victories over many big-time programs further underscored its potential.
The financial commitment put forth by alumni Bob and Connie Dwyer fast-forwarded what’s typically a long and arduous process. All Niagara needed to complete the journey was for a major conference to grant it admission.
Forget it, now. Athletic Director Ed McLaughlin rolled back much of the progress that’s been made by placing the Purple Eagles in Atlantic Hockey beginning with the 2010-11 season. The number of scholarships will be reduced, as per Atlantic Hockey mandate. Instead of bringing in 17 players on scholarship Niagara will be down to 12. Banish thoughts of competing with Michigan and Boston University and New Hampshire and the other marquee programs Niagara has defeated over the years. Now the Purple Eagles are committed to dabbling in the sport.
McLaughlin’s decision isn’t only defeatist, it’s shortsighted and impulsive. There was no need to team up with a lesser conference just because Niagara’s current league, College Hockey America, is about to dissolve. The expansion topic has been stirring among the major conferences. Last week, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association voted to repeal its ban on expansion, with Bemidji State, a CHA member like Niagara, in line for inclusion.
Geography was one of the knocks against Niagara when the ECAC spurned the Purple Eagles for Quinnipiac, a Connecticut school, in 2004. Many teams in the conference thought that traveling to Western New York for a single game amounted to a budget-buster. That issue could have been resolved in the future if Niagara and Canisius, a member of Atlantic Hockey, had moved forward in tandem, courting the same major conference on the platform that a trip to WNY is no longer a long distance solo shot, but a solid double opportunity.
What’s more, Canisius has talked of upgrading its program to the full scholarship level, which would require the Griffs leaving Atlantic Hockey. Had both Niagara and Canisius positioned themselves as full-scholarship independents, they’d be ready to jump when the ECAC, Hockey East or the Central Collegiate Hockey Association expanded. And, to be clear, Niagara could have made the jump, with Canisius or without.
Truth is, Niagara’s commitment to hockey has waned since its initial big splash. The major expansion of Dwyer Arena, first announced in 1998, has yet to be fully realized. The need for an athletic director with clout in the hockey world has yet to be addressed.
When the University at Buffalo finally got serious about football it brought in an AD who understood all aspects of the sport, one who had the contacts and the savvy to make things happen. That’s what Niagara has needed, a college hockey version of Warde Manuel.
It’s sad. Western New York hosted the 2003 Frozen Four and is preparing a bid for the 2014 event. The world junior hockey championships descend upon the area in 2010-11, with many of the games to be played at Niagara. Local players are advancing to the NHL with increasing regularity.
Yet soon the area will be back where it was 15 years ago, lacking the presence of a full-fledged Division I hockey program, Niagara having hoisted the white flag.
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