ClassOf98Gopher
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Maybe. But we are not shi**y, and there are at least a handful of other similarly situated universities in the Big Ten that I believe have shi**y or near-shi**y athletic programs and I am just so thankful that I am not a die-hard fan of those teams.What you just described is the definition of mediocrity. Carry on.
Still odd to me why a very top level hockey player from North America would rather go to a smaller, less well supported NCHC program, as opposed to a large, well supported Big Ten program.
North Dakota being the one exception, probably the largest arena/fanbase of any college hockey team in the country.
But even Duluth? Yeah, great tradition, very nice arena and fanbase ... but only what 3-4k max per game? In a small town, small school? Same for St Cloud.
I don't know. Doesn't make sense to me.
Or do NCHC teams just manage to win more with "lower" level recruits? More Canadians opposed to Americans? Or maybe European players? Taking wild stabs in the dark here.
Well I think I know why… the hockey players are the biggest men on campus at those schools you mention. They are kings of the roost… so to speak (mixing metaphors).
At the Big Ten schools, hockey players are competing with the football players and men’s basketball players for being catered to (and losing); but not at North Dakota or UMD as they are the faces who everyone whispers to friends about on campus: “Hey that’s Johnny Smith. He scored three goals last week.”
If I were a great high school Hockey player, my next four years of social life would probably be better at a non-Big Ten school. Just saying. Now I think the Big Ten schools offer some other, more long-term beneficial opportunities and exposure; but I am biased.