Goals under review at UMass-Lowell
The hockey players at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell have already begun working out for their 2007-08 season, in which, as coach Blaise MacDonald said, they hope to be "that big surprise team" in Hockey East.
But that's not the only doubt surrounding the future of the River Hawks. Last week, the board of trustees of the University of Massachusetts system formed a task force to "analyze the hockey situation, gather data, and eventually make a recommendation to the [board's] athletic committee" regarding the best option for the future of the Division 1 team, according to Lowell athletic director Dana Skinner.
"The board had indicated their interest in what they call 'branding excellence,'" Skinner said. "When you look at some of the circumstances surrounding our hockey program, the question was whether you could reach excellence given those circumstances."
The issue, which was also discussed in 2001, came to light early last month, when board chairman Stephen Tocco, who was elected to the post last fall, announced a reevaluation of some of the system's athletic programs.
This time, there could be results. Bob Sheridan, the UMass trustee chairing the task force, acknowledged that leaving Hockey East (UMass-Lowell's conference for the past 24 years) or dropping out of Division 1 are among the possible outcomes. Hockey is the only Division 1 sport at Lowell.
"We will not do anything precipitous," Sheridan said. "There's no conclusion, because all the facts are not in."
The issue is essentially three-pronged, encompassing concerns about on-ice performance, financial feasibility, and Title IX funding, which has to do with the balance of male and female athletes on campus. Another aspect the trustees are looking at is whether the UMass system should have two Division 1 hockey teams in the same league, as UMass-Amherst this year qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in team history.
Hockey East is considered one of the two best conferences in the country. This year, with 17 freshmen on the roster, UMass-Lowell went 8-21-7 (7-16-4 in Hockey East), finishing ninth out of 10 teams. The program also ran a deficit of about $671,000, which is the annual norm.
"Most athletic programs run a deficit, but there's value that universities derive from a program," said MacDonald, who dismissed the notion that the River Hawks haven't been competitive enough. Since MacDonald took over the team in 2001, the team has spent a total of 28 weeks in the top 15 nationally, and has had two 20-win seasons.
"That's, by a lot of people's measures, pretty darn good," the coach said. "I haven't heard one person that's been around hockey that thinks we belong anywhere else but Hockey East."
Still, the River Hawks haven't qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 1996, and interest has dwindled since the program's heyday in the early 1980s, when the team -- then called the ULowell Chiefs -- won three Division 2 national championships in four years under coach Bill Riley before moving to Division 1 as a charter member of Hockey East in 1983.
In Division 1 play, Lowell has gone 374-443-74 and qualified for three NCAA Tournaments.
UMass-Lowell plays at Tsongas Arena and is the only Hockey East school that does not own its own rink. The River Hawks, who share the rink with the Lowell Devils of the American Hockey League, have averaged 2,800 fans a game in the 6,500-seat arena this season. This year, the River Hawks played a pair of games at the Chelmsford Forum, their former home, due to scheduling issues.
"It's been a challenge," Skinner said, "You've got an AHL franchise and a university. You've got two high-level hockey programs in a fairly small area in the Merrimack Valley. You drive 20 minutes in any direction, and you're in somebody else's territory."
Attendance is just one of the issues the task force will investigate, hoping to come up with a conclusion by a board meeting June 21. The group consists of 12 members, chosen by Tocco and UMass president Jack Wilson, and includes Skinner, trustees, and members of the community.
"I'm not going in with any preconceived notions. We have to get very broad-based input," Sheridan said.
Martin Meehan, the newly appointed UMass-Lowell chancellor and current US representative, will be an ex officio member of the task force, Sheridan said. UMass-Lowell hockey supporters have seen Meehan's appointment as a big victory. That, along with the fan and alumni support that has been stirred up, helps those around the program remain optimistic that the team will stay in Hockey East.
"This is going to improve our program rather than hurt it," said Riley, who coached the team from 1969-91 and still works in the athletic department. "I look at this as an opportunity to prove to the board of trustees and to prove to the president that we have the resources in place, we have the tradition, we have the coaching staff, and we have the enthusiasm to bring us back to prominence in the very near future."
