NMU Pres Les Wong: I will be pursuing membership in the WCHA
Posted: 07.14.2011 at 12:58 PM

NMU Board of trustees unanimously approved seeking membership in WCHA

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MARQUETTE -- The landscape continues to shift in the college hockey world.

Today (7/14) at a meeting between the NMU Board of Trustees, President Les Wong gave his recommendation that the best option for Northern Michigan hockey is to rejoin the Western Collegiate Hockey Association if the conference extends an invitation.  "Ever since the announcement of the Big Ten Conference, we've been doing our due diligence to find the best place and best fit for Northern Michigan," said President Wong.  "And as you heard today, that best fit appears to be the WCHA and so I will be pursuing membership."

On Wednesday, five teams from the WCHA (North Dakota, Denver, Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth) formed the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference along with Miami (Ohio) from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

That announcement seemed to accelerate the need for a decision on Northern hockey's future.  "That's just a process that you have to follow through," said acting Athletic Director Steve Reed.  "It reached a point where with that formation (of Big Ten and NCHC) that we needed to be aggressive and we needed to make our decision and decide what is best for us at the current time for Northern Michigan."

The WCHA is having a meeting Friday (7/15) in St. Paul, Minnesota, and early reports are they plan to offer an invitation to a sixth team, although no school has been mentioned officially.  "There's a lot of rumor going around," Wong said.  "So I don't know what's happening with that particular meeting.  There's a lot of discussion that Northern's a good fit for the WCHA, but I'm not privy to what the Athletics Directors (of the WCHA) have talked about."

The conference stands at five teams (Saint Cloud State, Minnesota State-Mankato, Alaska Anchorage, Bemidji State, and Michigan Tech) and needs to add a sixth team to keep its automatic NCAA Tournament berth.  

Commissioner Bruce McLeod has mentioned recently the conference would like to add one to three teams for the 2013-2014 season.

One of the benefits of joining the WCHA would be playing rival Michigan Tech at least four times a year in conference play, something Wong says was appealing to NMU.  "I think now with conference standings at stake, I think the intensity of it is going to be good for students and good for hockey."

Added Reed, "I think the fact that Michigan Tech has been a member of the WCHA, that will add a real new intensity and a lot of fun with that home and home series.  A lot of good things for hockey fans nationwide, particularly in the Upper Peninsula."

This would be the second time Northern has left the CCHA for the WCHA.  NMU was a member of the CCHA from 1976-1984, when the school joined the WCHA.  In 1996 the Wildcats moved back to the CCHA and will play two more seasons in the conference before any switch is made.  

Keep it locked on the TV6 Sports website and your TV6 News throughout the next 48 hours for updates on NMU's pursuit of WCHA membership.