Why don’t we start up an ice hockey squad?

Jonnyeagle · July 7, 2022

meangreenthirteen · July 7, 2022

UNT does field a club team playing in the ACHA. To become an NCAA program, you must first build a rink on campus. Some southern schools have managed to do this with some success (Alabama-Huntsville and Arizona State). It would take a huge booster investment, and I just don't see that kind of love for amateur hockey in Texas just yet.

El Paso Eagle · July 7, 2022

It's Curious they would require an on campus facility when they let football teams play off campus

MrAlien · July 7, 2022

As somone that has played hockey my whole life I can say that the DFW area has actually become one of the better regions for hockey development. We have quite a few quality rinks, lots of national and international tournaments are held here, and some very good youth development clubs. A lot of kids have been drafted into the CHL (major jr hockey) which is the pathway most take to the NHL.

I think the school could make it work, sure they would need a rink, however the demand for ice is still high in dfw so they could probably make money with it, in addition to adding other wither sports programs (figure skating and curling)

UNTLifer · July 7, 2022

Travel costs would be an issue. Out of the 59 universities that field a team, the closest to us would be in Colorado, AFA, Colorado College and U of Denver, Arizona with Arizona St. and Nebraska with University of Nebraska Omaha. The remainder are upper mid-west and the northeast.

meangreenthirteen · July 7, 2022

11 minutes ago, MrAlien said:

As somone that has played hockey my whole life I can say that the DFW area has actually become one of the better regions for hockey development. We have quite a few quality rinks, lots of national and international tournaments are held here, and some very good youth development clubs. A lot of kids have been drafted into the CHL (major jr hockey) which is the pathway most take to the NHL.

I think the school could make it work, sure they would need a rink, however the demand for ice is still high in dfw so they could probably make money with it, in addition to adding other wither sports programs (figure skating and curling)

Definitely agree that we have the talent pool. I grew up playing AAA hockey and the explosion of top talent in the DFW area happened after I had already hung up the skates. No doubt we could get some solid players to stay home, but I'm more concerned that the school wouldn't get behind the expenditure involved with an on-campus rink. It's also worth noting that ASU only went NCAA after nearly a decade of domination at the ACHA level. Our ACHA club is mediocre at best and frequently loses badly to other regional teams like Arkansas.

MrAlien · July 7, 2022

The rink itself could make money, there is enough demand for ice time in the area.

would travel really be any different compared to other university sports?

Cr1028 · July 7, 2022

Could you dual purpose the super pit for hockey/basketball like the Cedar Park Center or American Airlines Center?

Rudy · July 7, 2022

I tried in the late 90's when I got the inline hockey and ice hockey clubs started. I had connections on funding, rinks, and in the Dallas Stars organization, as well as connections with minor league teams and players in DFW. It was when high school hockey was just getting fired up. I tried to pitch it to R.V. but was shot down before I could even get started. Now we have players who were born and raised here winning Stanley Cups. If there was interest from Wren, and the athletic department, I'd happily do the leg work again.

NT80 · July 7, 2022

No. Baseball needs to be the next NCAA sport at NT, and we don't need to add a women's sport to offset it. NT is already below Title IX numbers with a female majority in student population.

12 of 14 schools in CUSA sponsor Baseball, only NT and UTEP do not.

Southern Miss	23-7	47-19
Louisiana Tech	20-10	43-21
Old Dominion	19-11	41-17
Florida Atlantic	19-11	35-23
UTSA	19-11	38-20
Middle Tennessee	17-13	29-26
Charlotte	17-13	36-22
UAB	13-17	31-25
Rice	9-21	17-39
Marshall	9-21	20-34-1
FIU	8-22	16-34
WKU	7-23	18-36

MrAlien · July 7, 2022

2 hours ago, Cr1028 said:

Could you dual purpose the super pit for hockey/basketball like the Cedar Park Center or American Airlines Center?

You wouldnt be able to make any money if it isn't a full time ice rink. most of the rinks in the dfw area are being utilized 18 hours a day. With the way the population is growing in Denton county, its just a matter of time before they build a rink up there anyway, you would think the school would like to capitalize on that.

NorthTexan95 · July 7, 2022

GrandGreen · July 7, 2022

Oh yeah, all NT needs is another sport to fund not to mention building an ice rink.

Hockey may be gaining in popularity in Texas, but do you really think it would be wise for NT to spent money on another sport that would be lucky to draw 500 fans?

This would come well behind baseball as well as most men sports: tennis, soccer, swimming because NT already has the facilities.

MrAlien · July 7, 2022

21 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

Oh yeah, all NT needs is another sport to fund not to mention building an ice rink.

Hockey may be gaining in popularity in Texas, but do you really think it would be wise for NT to spent money on another sport that would be lucky to draw 500 fans?

This would come well behind baseball as well as most men sports: tennis, soccer, swimming because NT already has the facilities.

You cant make any money with a baseball stadium, large area, massive upkeep, only time it generates any revenue is fans buying tickets. A rink can be utilized 18 hours a day maybe more, so when its not being used by the hockey team or university programs, people and organizations are paying to use it. Cost to build it could easily be offset with a grant from USA hockey, they would love to see NCAA hockey in Texas. All the major suburbs around Dallas have rinks, its only a matter of time before they build one in Denton anyway, why not let the university capitalize on that?

Snowy · July 7, 2022

I played ice hockey in high school (2010 graduate) and am consistently amazed at how difficult it is to get ice at a decent time. I 100% agree with @MrAlien that it could be used by community leagues/recreation/figure skating/etc during off-hours and potentially make some money.

Would ice hockey make the most sense for the next school sponsored sport at North Texas? Maybe. I think it makes about as much sense as adding a baseball team. There's less regional teams to compete with and it's more exciting to watch, plus, as mentioned previously in the thread, there is quite a bit of legitimate talent in the area. It would be unique and might help blaze the path for other southwestern schools to sponsor a team.

Rudy · July 7, 2022

2 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

Oh yeah, all NT needs is another sport to fund not to mention building an ice rink.

Hockey may be gaining in popularity in Texas, but do you really think it would be wise for NT to spent money on another sport that would be lucky to draw 500 fans?

This would come well behind baseball as well as most men sports: tennis, soccer, swimming because NT already has the facilities.

It can be done, and if done right, it would not greatly affect the ability to add other sports.

As for drawing "500 fans", I'm guessing you've never seen the frozen 4

1 hour ago, MrAlien said:

You cant make any money with a baseball stadium, large area, massive upkeep, only time it generates any revenue is fans buying tickets. A rink can be utilized 18 hours a day maybe more, so when its not being used by the hockey team or university programs, people and organizations are paying to use it. Cost to build it could easily be offset with a grant from USA hockey, they would love to see NCAA hockey in Texas. All the major suburbs around Dallas have rinks, its only a matter of time before they build one in Denton anyway, why not let the university capitalize on that?

A friend and I once discussed building a rink. If NT was interested, Id put it on campus.

18 minutes ago, Snowy said:

I played ice hockey in high school (2010 graduate) and am consistently amazed at how difficult it is to get ice at a decent time. I 100% agree with @MrAlien that it could be used by community leagues/recreation/figure skating/etc during off-hours and potentially make some money.

Would ice hockey make the most sense for the next school sponsored sport at North Texas? Maybe. I think it makes about as much sense as adding a baseball team. There's less regional teams to compete with and it's more exciting to watch, plus, as mentioned previously in the thread, there is quite a bit of legitimate talent in the area. It would be unique and might help blaze the path for other southwestern schools to sponsor a team.

LOL, yep, our ice times were 0500 and 0600. That's when you find out who is committed to playing.