Arizona State yesterday announced that it will "elevate its national champion club men's hockey team to NCAA Division I status over the next three seasons," according to Craig Morgan of FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com. The move was "made possible by private donations" of $32M by a group of hockey supporters, including Don Mullett, the father of former ASU hockey player Chris Mullett. The move comes at a time when many athletic programs are "cutting expenses and teams" amid cost concerns. ASU VP/Athletics Ray Anderson said, "This is in line with (ASU) President (Michael) Crow's vision. Let's step out there. Let's do some things that others maybe aren't comfortable doing so long as you can make the business case for it and a financial case for it. We're going to be entrepreneurial." Morgan noted the team "plans to transition to full Division I membership" in '17 and will join either the National Collegiate Hockey Conference or the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The creation of the program "will necessitate the addition of a women's sport to remain in compliance with Title IX," at a cost of $1-1.5M. The men's ice hockey program will cost about $2.5M annually and "will include 18 new scholarships." The donations "will fund the program for the first 10 years." After that, the "burden would fall" on the athletic department. ASU has "not decided where the hockey team will play yet, but the options include U.S. Airways Center (the Suns have expressed interest), a renovated Oceanside Arena or a renovated Wells Fargo Arena." ASU hopes that other Pac-12 schools "will follow suit to reduce travel costs." Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott "likes the idea of expanding hockey throughout the conference, both as a possible revenue sport and as a sport that would fit well" on the Pac-12 Networks (FOXSPORTSARIZONA.com, 11/18).
FEW AND FAR BETWEEN: In Phoenix, Jeff Metcalfe writes ASU's move is "almost unprecedented in an era when men's sports are in peril due to Title IX requirements." ASU since '93 has "dropped varsity men's teams in gymnastics, archery, badminton, tennis, wrestling and swimming, although boosters raised enough funds for wrestling and swimming to be reinstated" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/19). In Minneapolis, Jason Gonzalez notes ASU "will become the ninth D-I hockey team from a Power 5 conference and the 60th D-I member." Penn State in '12 was "the most recent institution to add hockey" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/19).
