From the Huntsville Times…
Chargers can only wait on CCHA
Monday, August 10, 2009
By Budd McLaughlin
Times Staff Writer budd.mclaughlin@htimes.comLeague could vote on UAH hockey team’s admission this week
The future of the University of Alabama-Huntsville hockey program could be decided within 48 hours.
The Chargers applied to join the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, which includes Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Notre Dame. League representatives meet today and Tuesday, but UAH has no guarantee it will be admitted.
“It would be the equivalent of us getting into the SEC if we had a football team,” said UAH coach Danton Cole, who is in Slovakia as an assistant for the U.S. Under-18 select team. “It is that big and I think an important part of growing the reputation and visibility of our university and city.
“They could approve us, they could say no. Or they could just not make a decision.”
UAH is the lone member of the soon-to-be-defunct College Hockey Association without a new conference. Other teams in the league – which will fold after the upcoming season – have found new homes: Bemidji State joining the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, and Robert Morris and Niagara will entering Atlantic Hockey.
CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos – who toured the UAH campus and Von Braun Center in June – was noncommittal about a decision.
“Our goal will be to make a decision just as soon as we can,” Anastos told the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. “The next time we meet … we will have plenty of discussion on this topic. However, there is no guarantee that we will make a final decision by our August meeting.”
The Chargers’ application is not the only issue facing the CCHA. It is also considering the state of Bowling Green’s program, where the athletic department had to slash millions from its budget.
Meanwhile, the Chargers will be sitting and hoping for a favorable decision, feeling they’ve done everything the CCHA has asked – including provisions for a joining fee reported to be about $150,000.
“It’s out of our hands, now,” Cole said. “There’s nothing more we can do.”