By that I'm talking about Universities that have large / successful programs in other sports (Football or Basketball) and either have an infrastructure in place to start a Hockey program or could afford building it up.

Maybe Ohio State?

Little out of left field, but perhaps the University of Virginia? I know they have tons of money to spend, are pretty pretentious (which would drive them to possibly build up their existing program), and it’s a fairly large school. Their current program just plays teams from smaller schools like James Madison and George Mason in a league that no one cares about (in fact, their team once followed my house team’s game and only about 20 people showed up for each side cause the league is irrelevant)

I doubt they have enough money, but seeing Ohio University (not the Buckeyes, the Bobcats) make a jump to D-1 hockey would be cool.

(no, i'm not biased, why would you think that?)

which how popular hockey is becoming in florida i could see either the gators or seminoles getting one at this rate

Ohio State has an NCAA d1 program already, both mens and woman’s programs too in fact.

I’d guess it goes to the west coast, Arizona state was the latest team to add. I could see UCLA, Oregon, Washington and Washington state possibly coming soon. Oregon seems the least likely imo but maybe.

Yeah, my guess is also West Coast. I'd love a D1 program in California, but I doubt that happens.

The key is finding a rich hockey-loving booster like Don Mullet.

The women’s team just won the natty! I was at the jackets game where they honored that team

I was more so talking about them “building up their program”

USF (Southern Florida), UT (Texas), UCLA, Rutgers, Washington, Northwestern

From The Hockey News in June 2021: Top 10 NCAA schools that need hockey

University of Texas
University of South Florida
UCLA
Stanford University
North Carolina State
University of Maryland
Rutgers University
University of Washington
UNLV
University of Illinois

I'm a bit biased since that's my alma mater, but I'd love to see it happen.
Our basketball program (men's) is the definition of poverty, so we could probably convert their arena into an ice rink
I think Vinik (Lightning owner) has a company in charge of managing the Yeungling Center right now, so it almost makes too much sense.

The school heads are in the beginning stages of fundraising $200m+ for an on campus football stadium, so I doubt hockey is remotely close to being a priority idea.


We have had a pretty successful club hockey team for years though, so that's fun I guess.



USF = South Florida not Southern Florida

I Hadn't thought about this one, but it makes a ton of sense as well.

Only problem is, I can't think of an arena in the area that is suited for them. The only one I can think of is Wells Rink, which if anyone cares to google, is a rink that (to my knowledge), still has only 3 genuine walls, and is like a pressure cooker when you play in it. (I swear there was a small amount of standing water when I played there last)

Edit: yeah this pretty much shows that any sort of weather other than cold weather would be awful to play on (http://shopcollegepark.org/wp-content/dg_images/wells1resize-fit-642_428.jpg)

Perhaps there is something in Bethesda as a temporary home, but in reality many of those schools will have to have a booster like ASU did to get things off the ground.

Not a bad plan. It is pretty far out but in terms of facilities, the Laurel Ice house would work. Just kind of far to go for casual fans.

I think it might be in NHL teams' best interest to fund universities in the US to encourage and build hockey programs. I think the college student group is a gold mine if you do it right (and this works for more than hockey, colleges near me like James Madison and George Mason gained a large following when their respective sports programs finally gained some traction in the community, though more George Mason as they retained a following even after that 2006 Cinderella Final 4 run when they started to suck)

university of the people😂

Would love to see a Buffalo Bulls DI hockey program.

Here's a list I put together a while ago of places i think could support D1 hockey...

Rutgers University, University of Cincinatti, University of Southern California, UCLA, North Carolina State, University of Maryland, University of Washington, University of Illinois, Indiana University, Syracuse University, US Naval Academy, University of Pittsburgh, University of Miami (FL), West Virginia University, Liberty University, Boise State, University of Colorado

I believe the Naval Academy and Liberty already have d1 programs, though I could be wrong. I know for sure that the Naval academy is a good idea though, and where their team plays currently is a pretty nice facility.

They both play D1 ACHA club I'm pretty sure. The school I went to practiced at Libertys facility for the first month of every season (because the friggin rodeo took over our arena every year) and the facility is beautiful. Could 100% support an NCAA D1 team.

I'm interested as to what school had their hockey team kicked out by a rodeo , but I would not be surprised if they tried to make a big push in the next few years, given the money they funnel into football and other athletics. I know they already have a bunch of hockey camps that some of my teammates and former teammates have attended, so that could be a start.

Any school that played at the Berglund Center in Roanoke (at the time I think it was just Radford University and Virginia Tech) had to deal with the rodeo at the beginning of the season lol

Dang, that’s unfortunate . Still super cool they play in a genuine arena, unlike some of the other VA universities (JMU first comes to mind, unlucky guys have to play after house hockey games)