Cyclone Hockey
- Thread starter ISUFan22
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- Mar 23, 2006
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Money? Title Nine? club teams are cooler? I think it is a title IX reason. Anybody actually know?
I've watched ISU Hockey on-and-off for over thirty years and I've been led to believe that there are numerous reasons why the team remains a club team:
- Money as hockey is an expensive game,
- Title whatever,
- Hockey isn't big in the Big 12 although now that some Big 12 schools have dropped their wrestling programs this shouldn't be as applicable,
- Hockey hasn't been a big draw throughout the U.S. though it is slowly gaining,
- Athletic Department has other priorities,
- Murdock has too much control -- thank God! Personally I think he has been the brightest light and ranks with Harold Nichols as the greatest coach that ISU has ever had. Further I think that both rank with the top college coaches throughout the U.S. Both built winners on the field of competition and in the classroom. Both built citizens that have made positive contributions to society.
I now live in Michigan and try to see the team play whenever they come here and each time I go I find that the overall attendance is small and the ISU fans are outnumbered usually by a factor of four but the ISU fans are more than equal in noise and crowd support. It makes me feel proud to see these team members and fans working so hard and so well for the team and school rather than personal glorification.
Ever since it's creation, Cyclone Hockey has had NCAA status just out of it's reach.
When Murdoch came to Iowa State, they were just a group that played in a men's league in Des Moines. He took control and brought it to Ames, playing games in the newly created Hilton Coliseum. They brought in 4,000-7,000 fans to games every night as a club team. Murdoch asked if they could go NCAA, the athletic director said Hilton was too busy to house both the games and their practices; they needed to practice somewhere else if they wanted NCAA games at Hilton. So Murdoch and the team worked to create the old ice arena as a practice facility. By this time Title IX was in firmly in effect and there was no room for the hockey team in the athletics department or at Hilton. They hoped that the creation of the new Ames/ISU Ice Arena would help the cause but as of yet, it hasn't. This is my understanding at any rate.
Pollard does have one of the goals of his "Taking the Next Big Step" plan the reinstatement of one sport by 2011 (presumably, baseball), and the addition of two more by 2016 (at least one of which would be hockey, in my guess). The women's hockey team might play a role in the Title IX issue as they could provide the balance required for the addition of a men's team but currently the level of play is not at NCAA levels. That may change over time though; they're a relatively new team trying to gain support at the moment.
Here's hoping that we'll have two NCAA hockey teams in the next decade!
When Murdoch came to Iowa State, they were just a group that played in a men's league in Des Moines. He took control and brought it to Ames, playing games in the newly created Hilton Coliseum. They brought in 4,000-7,000 fans to games every night as a club team. Murdoch asked if they could go NCAA, the athletic director said Hilton was too busy to house both the games and their practices; they needed to practice somewhere else if they wanted NCAA games at Hilton. So Murdoch and the team worked to create the old ice arena as a practice facility. By this time Title IX was in firmly in effect and there was no room for the hockey team in the athletics department or at Hilton. They hoped that the creation of the new Ames/ISU Ice Arena would help the cause but as of yet, it hasn't. This is my understanding at any rate.
Pollard does have one of the goals of his "Taking the Next Big Step" plan the reinstatement of one sport by 2011 (presumably, baseball), and the addition of two more by 2016 (at least one of which would be hockey, in my guess). The women's hockey team might play a role in the Title IX issue as they could provide the balance required for the addition of a men's team but currently the level of play is not at NCAA levels. That may change over time though; they're a relatively new team trying to gain support at the moment.
Here's hoping that we'll have two NCAA hockey teams in the next decade!
Probably mostly has to do with the lack of interest for the sport in this state. When there are only a handful of high school teams in the state, recruiting would also have to be done entirely out of state. All of the hockey powerhouses are out of hotbeds - Michigan, Boston, Minnesota, Colorado.
However, if ISU were to consider going to the NCAA it would be difficult for scheduling. There really aren't many of the lower market NCAA teams around here. Alabama-Huntsville, and most the other small teams are quite a ways away.
Also, the talent gap between club and DI hockey is too large. Most of these kids are decent club players, but pretty average compared to your everyday high school players in the states mentioned earlier.
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I think they would have an easy time with the recruiting. The best Junior A League (the USHL) has a solid base in Iowa with teams in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids,Waterloo, Sioux City, and Omaha. Many of those kids love playing in Iowa and would welcome the chance to play college here IF they could.
You do have a valid point about which league they could join as the travel budget would be huge.
Unfortunately, I don't think there will be a NCAA team at ISU. But, they do have a pretty darn good club team. From watching them in the past, I think they would compete with an average Division III team. Neither programs are allowed scholarships, but the DIII program is better established with the small private school mostly playing the DIII game.
You do have a valid point about which league they could join as the travel budget would be huge.
Unfortunately, I don't think there will be a NCAA team at ISU. But, they do have a pretty darn good club team. From watching them in the past, I think they would compete with an average Division III team. Neither programs are allowed scholarships, but the DIII program is better established with the small private school mostly playing the DIII game.
They play other club teams through memebership in the ACHA. The ACHA is the hockey organization incharge of the various club levels. There are 3 levels of club teams and Iowa State competes at the Division I ( highest) level.
To add to what puckwarrior said, the ACHA is made up of over 350 teams. Iowa State is one of over 50 in Division I. They're consistently in the Top 10 with teams like Penn State and Illinois (and Ohio is a powerhouse, believe it or not).
As for recruiting issues, they've got a good freshman goaltender from Sweden this season. Other players are from Alaska, Rhode Island, Colorado, Wyoming, and throughout the midwest. Recruiting outside of Iowa isn't a problem now and wouldn't be at NCAA level.
As for recruiting issues, they've got a good freshman goaltender from Sweden this season. Other players are from Alaska, Rhode Island, Colorado, Wyoming, and throughout the midwest. Recruiting outside of Iowa isn't a problem now and wouldn't be at NCAA level.
exactly, 5th in the nation club team, hell the bucs used to beat them 22-1 last time I saw them. Bryce, if you are comparing watching a hockey game in person to watching a baseball game in person and saying they are both equally boreing-2 things- you have neither been to a game nor played.
It's hilarious some on here feel the need to crap on the team. They're a club team, why compare them to D1 powerhouses? If you're going to use that logic what's the point of going to a 1-AA football game? Heck, why go to a college game at all? The pros are so much better.
If you enjoy watching hockey and cheering for Iowa State it would seem like it would make sense that some people would want to go see them and, at least in my day, a lot of people did.
Part of the deal with building the new arena a few years ago was that they couldn't serve beer anymore and had to cut down on the rowdy atmosphere. The games were a blast because of the lawless feel of the whole thing.
If you enjoy watching hockey and cheering for Iowa State it would seem like it would make sense that some people would want to go see them and, at least in my day, a lot of people did.
Part of the deal with building the new arena a few years ago was that they couldn't serve beer anymore and had to cut down on the rowdy atmosphere. The games were a blast because of the lawless feel of the whole thing.
- Mar 23, 2006
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That describes watching ISU Hockey in the early 90's perfectly...I knew little about hockey then, but the games were always a blast .
Wow, I'm sorry my personal preference doesn't align with yours. And yes, I have played both hockey and baseball, and attended both live, whether it be Cyclone hockey or Bucs games. I haven't gone to a stars game.
But hey, thanks for calling me a liar.
If someone never saw a hockey game in the 80s/early 90s, they have no idea the riot it was. Its not possible to do it justice by describing it. Lawless or anarchy are nice adjectives. Dollar beer and the people serving the beer were those sentenced to community service for DUI. Talk about irony.
Well, hockey is growing very slowly in the State of Iowa. You now have 9 high school teams in the State playing in the 12 team Midwest High School Hockey League. The other teams are Kansas City, Lincoln and Omaha. Unfortunately hockey in the State of Iowa is a very expensive sport for parents to get their kids involved in. Since there are so few towns with even an arena to play in, travel costs normally will run $1500 to $2000 per year for 9 or 10 year old on a travel team. Other kids that play basketball or wrestle can find tourneys usually within an hour of their home. Unfortunately, many of the hockey tourneys are in Minnesota or Wisconsin. So it is easy to see why parents prefer their kids to play another sport.
I think that Iowa is more of a hockey state than people give it credit for; at the very least its gaining some momentum. The Bucs won the championship last year, the Stars were in the middle of the AHL in terms of attendence and made the playoffs in their first season, Iowa State and Iowa each have teams, and puckwarrior's mentioned the high school aspect.
There's been some success for players from Iowa teams in the NHL. Erik Cole (Bucs) won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes and is regarded as a dangerous forward. Kyle Okposo went seventh in the NHL draft this year and played for the Bucs. His teammate Trevor Lewis went ten picks later. Goalie Mike Smith (Stars) had a shutout in his first NHL game with Dallas (currently 2-0-0, .964 SV%, 1.00 GAA). The Stars currently have two players that have won the Hobey Baker award (the Heisman of hockey), Junior Lessard (2004) and Marty Sertich (2005).
I think people are going to realize that "Hey, there's some good players coming out of here, I should check it out while they're still here." Maybe that's just the optimism of a devoted hockey fan, but I'd like to think that hockey is just beginning to take off in Iowa. The product is exciting and enjoyable, they just need an audience.
There's been some success for players from Iowa teams in the NHL. Erik Cole (Bucs) won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes and is regarded as a dangerous forward. Kyle Okposo went seventh in the NHL draft this year and played for the Bucs. His teammate Trevor Lewis went ten picks later. Goalie Mike Smith (Stars) had a shutout in his first NHL game with Dallas (currently 2-0-0, .964 SV%, 1.00 GAA). The Stars currently have two players that have won the Hobey Baker award (the Heisman of hockey), Junior Lessard (2004) and Marty Sertich (2005).
I think people are going to realize that "Hey, there's some good players coming out of here, I should check it out while they're still here." Maybe that's just the optimism of a devoted hockey fan, but I'd like to think that hockey is just beginning to take off in Iowa. The product is exciting and enjoyable, they just need an audience.