The Big Ten could be adding ice hockey in the 2013-14 academic year if a recommendation is approved by the conference’s presidents and chancellors.
The athletic directors from the conference’s schools that sponsor a hockey program unanimously decided to make a recommendation to the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors in June to recommend that hockey be made an official conference sport beginning in 2013-14.
The league would consist of six teams and have a 20-game conference schedule with each team playing the five other programs four times.
“I believe that sponsoring men’s ice hockey will enhance the conference, its member institutions and college hockey,” MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis said in a press release. “Playing only 20 conference games will allow our programs to continue to play nonconference contests against in-state rivals, important tournaments like the Great Lakes Invitational and a competitive national schedule.”
Current CCHA teams MSU, Michigan and Ohio State would join current WCHA teams Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as the new program at Penn State, which announced in September that it would begin men’s and women’s hockey competition in the 2012-13 academic year, to make up the six teams in the league.
If the recommendation is approved, the CCHA would lose three of its 11 members and some of its most nationally recognizable teams.
CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos said in a press release Monday the league would look for ways to assure its long-term success.
“Today’s announcement by the Big Ten does not come as a surprise as we have been engaged in discussing this topic with Big Ten officials for several months now,” Anastos said. “We are studying the potential impact of this change and will continue to work closely with our memberships and other stakeholders in college hockey to ensure the ongoing long-term success of our league.”
The Big Ten has been studied the addition of a hockey league since Penn State announced it would be developing a hockey program in September. The inaugural Big Ten championship would take place in March 2014 with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA championships.
The current CCHA league schedule consists of 28 conference games, while the Big Ten schedule will consist of 20 games, which would allow for teams to play more nonconference games and potential matchups with CCHA and WCHA teams.
“When one considers the locations of the Big Ten universities, competing athletically on the ice is a natural next step for the conference,” President Lou Anna K. Simon said in a release. “Our relationship with the Central Collegiate Hockey Association has been beneficial both in terms of athletics and academics, and we are pleased that we will continue to face off against CCHA teams in nonconference competition.”
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