Michigan CCHA Champions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
1

<p>I know Hockey is not as important as Football or Basketball, but it is the third most important sport in the Northeast and Midwest and winning the conference title for the 11th time is nothing to sneeze at. I don't think any other CCHA program has won more than 7 conference titles, so Michigan's 11 is definitely impressive...even more so when you consider that Michigan joined the league in 1981 and has won those 11 championships in just 20 years.</p>

<p>Michigan has also won 9 CCHA Tournament championships, second only to MSU's 11. No other CCHA program has won more than 5 CCHA Tournaments.</p>

<p>Hopefully, Michigan will do well in the NCAA Tournament. We have done well in recent years (5 Frozen Fours in the last 8 years), but we have not won the National Championship since our 1996 and 1998 glory years. It would be nice to win a NCAA record 10th National Championship in Hockey!</p>

2

<p>Go Blue!!! Hockey has a cult following. In parts of New England, Upstate New York and Michigan/Minnesota/Wisconsin, it is more intense than football or basketball.</p>

3

<p>Absolutely res ipsa. I would add Colorado, Alaska and parts of Pennsylvania. In terms of popularity, College Hockey is either 3rd or 4th. Football and Basketball are clearly the top 2 in no particular order, and Baseball and Hockey come next. I would say Soccer is fifth.</p>

4

<p>Lacrosse is much, much more popular than Soccer here in the US. It is one of the fastest growing sports in America and an equal number of schools play hockey and lacrosse. The top 2 sports are definitely Football and Basketball with Hockey, Baseball and Lacrosse trailing behind significantly. I don’t think Baseball is personally that closely followed in college based on what I’ve seen and heard.</p>

<p>The Lax and Hockey markets are so evenly distributed across the country that it’s tough to tell which is more popular. Among athletic conferences, the Big 10 is the giant Hockey conference while the Big East/ACC are Lacrosse-crazy schools with the notable exception of Boston College. The Ivy League is somewhat split between the two sports with Cornell being a big Hockey school (also good at LAX), Princeton being a Lacrosse superpower and the other schools having differing allegiances.</p>

<p>As far as regions of the country go, the Northeast is split, the Midwest is Hockey Nation and the Mid-Atlantic being LAX territory. The South and West lean towards Lacrosse but are somewhat indifferent while the Upper Midwest is definitely Hockey-crazed with Colorado leading the pack.</p>

<p>In conclusion, its too close of a call after Basketball and Football.</p>

5

<p>^ Heh… surprisingly this is one time I fully agree with LDB. </p>

<p>I think having been at Cornell (big hockey school) skewed Alexandre’s view of the “northeast” :p</p>

6

<p>lesdiablesbleus, I am not sure how Lacrosse made it into this conversation. I was discussing college Hockey. Any discussion about major college sports cannot include Lacrosse. Whether Lacrosse is “much, much more popular” than soccer is not part of this discussion, although such a claim is ridiculous. Outside of 7-8 states, it is a non-existant sport. In fact, outside of a dozen or so universities and private East Coast boarding schools, Lacrosse is viewed as a wimpish sport. There is a clear distinction between the top 2 sports (Football and Basketball) and the next 2 sports (Baseball and Hockey). After those 4 sports, no other sports really matters, and that includes Soccer. Lacrosse is just not a sport that has the kind of following that the top 4 have. I am inclined to give Soccer a nod because it is more of a national sport than Lacrosse. Hell, even at Duke, Notre Dame, UVa and UNC, four of the top Lacrosse programs, attendance at Soccer games BLOWS AWAY attendance at Lacrosse games, and the alums I have known at those schools were always far more into their Soccer games than into their Lacrosse games. There are many ways to determine how popular a college sport really is and in no way does Lacrosse shine:</p>

<p>1) Parity. How many competitive programs are there? For example, in the last 40 years, 17 different programs have won NCAA Hockey championships. In that same period of time, only 8 programs have won NCAA Lacrosse championships. On any given year, there are only 6 or 7 competitive Lacrosse teams. Hockey is a far more developped and competitive sport, attracting more attention, fans, money and most of all, a far superior number and quality of athlete. Let us face it, Hockey players make millions of dollars and date models. That is not the case with Lacrosse players.</p>

<p>2) Attendance per game. Overall, Ice Hockey is the third most attended sport on college campuses across the US. Football is the most attended with an average of over 40,000 spectator per game. Baskebtall is second with an average attendance of 6,000 and Hockey is third with an average attendance of 4,000 per game. Most major hockey programs (there are roughly 25 or so major College Hockey programs) have attendence per game figures that range between 4,000 and 9,000. The average is roughly 6,000. I remember reading somewhere that Syracuse has the largest Lacrosse attendence per game in the nation at 4,000-4,500 per game. A student of mine that is now at Princeton tells me that 3,000 students per Lacrosse game is the norm at Princeton, and they too are supposed to have a major program. How many Duke students attend home Lacrosse games? 2,000? 3,000 against a major rival? That’s roughly how many Michigan fans attend Michigan Soccer games, and Michigan is not a “Soccer school”. Either way, Lacrosse attednance won’t be as high as 5,000 or 6,000 per game. The typical Michigan hockey game at Yost will attract close to 7,000 students. I am fairly certain that there are several other universities that have even larger attendence for their hockey games. No matter how you slice it, Lacrosse does not come close to Ice Hockey in terms of generating campus buzz, excitement and attendance.</p>

<p>Of course, you have exhibition matches where over 10,000 fans will turn up. Heck, I am sure that championship games will attract upward of 50,000 spectators, but such exhibitions attract just as many fans in Hockey. Over 100,000 fans attended the Michigan vs Michigan State hockey game that was played in the Big House this year. But that does not count. </p>

<p>3) Price of attendance. I would be shocked if it cost anything to attend any regular season lacrosse game. Most universities charge anywhere from $10 - $25 per game. </p>

<p>4) Demand for season tickets. Students at schools like Boston College, Cornell, Michigan etc…line up for tickets. At universities where Hockey is popular, whether it is Boston College, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Notre Dame, OSU, Cornell etc…, for every seat in the arena, you will have anywhere from 2-4 students dying to get in. At most schools with major Lacrosse programs, interest in the game is so low that 100% of interested students can attend for free. </p>

<p>5) Cost of running the program. Most major Hockey programs have their own arenas that can easily seat 5,000+ students and alums, head coaches with salaries well in the 6 figures etc…Do Lacrosse programs have their own stadiums or arenas? Are their coaches payed over $100k?</p>

<p>Bottom line, Hockey generates real excitement on campus. Even at Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Wisconsin Hockey gives Football a run for its money. I would love to see Lacrosse give Basketball a run for its money at Duke or UNC! LOL!</p>

7

<p>“Lacrosse is much, much more popular than Soccer here in the US.”</p>

<p>List of famous Lacrosse players:</p>

<p>Case closed. Next…</p>

8

<p>College hockey, and lacrosse, are both great sports. I’m glad I was exposed to them both via college. The thing I like about them is they both have a decent amount of scoring, but not excessively so. Lacrosse has much more scoring than hockey, but scoring is still somewhat of a challenge.</p>

<p>I prefer college hockey to pro hockey because there is more scoring, less fighting, and more pure fan enthusiasm.</p>

<p>I became immersed in college basketball when I lived in the midwest, it’s good too but there is too much scoring, I prefer it when it’s a little tougher. And sports like pro hockey or soccer nobody hardly scores at all, that’s too little for my taste.</p>

<p>The problem with these sports is they are nearly impossible to keep up with after you leave college and move out of the area. But during the college period they can both be great to follow, if you’re into sports and your team is competitive.</p>

9

<p>“List of famous Lacrosse players:”
Jim Brown
Jim Thorpe</p>

<p>famous to me:
Eamon McEneaney
Mike French
Dan Mackesey</p>

10

<p>Monydad, the only Jim Thorpe I know was a Football player. That’s what made him famous anyway. Same with Jim Brown. </p>

<p>At any rate, I am not talking about which sport individuals (or pockets of the US population) like better. I went to boarding school in the DC area and Lacrosse was extremely popular (second to Football). But I am talking about the sport that is more followed and popular overall…in the entire United States. Last year, roughly 4.5 million students, alums and fans attended Hockey games. Only Football and Basketball had greater attendance. Lacrosse does not come close to Hockey. I am sure that despite your soft spot for Lacrosse (I assume you both grew up in Northeastern towns and probably attended boarding schools), both bearcats and yourself admit that much.</p>

11

<p>Soft spot was developed entirely in Ithaca, NY. At that time, the team was extremely good, which had a lot to do with it no doubt. As far as I know, nobody played lacrosse in the city where I grew up, and they certainly didn’t at the high school in NYC to which I commuted daily.
At that time, lacrosse was popular on long island, but not north of the city. Or at least not where I was.</p>

12

<p>You are dating yourself Monydad. Cornell has not bee very good in Hockey since the 1970s! hehe! </p>

<p>At any rate, the point I was making is the following: </p>

<p>On a national level, Hockey is a more important sport than Lacrosse. </p>

<p>I am sure you agree with that statement.</p>

13

<p>"Cornell has not bee very good in Hockey since the 1970s! hehe! "</p>

<p>Cornell men’s hockey is not what it was in the late 60s and 70s, but they are not bad.
They won ECAC titles in 1980, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010 . And they made it to the NCAA tournament in 1980, 1981, 1986,1991,1996,1997,2002,2003,2005,2006,2009 and 2010.</p>

<p>Women’s hockey is doing pretty well there, I understand. They won the ECAc last year and were runner’s up in the NCAA tournament.</p>

<p>But this is all beside the point, since “soft spot” you were referring to, and I was responding to, was for lacrosse, not hockey.</p>

14

<p>I meant Lacrosse. Cornell has not been very good in Lacrosse since the 1970s.</p>

15

<p>That’s entirely possible, I wouldn’t know. Since, as I pointed out previously it is difficult to keep following the sport once you leave college.</p>

<p>But I think at least the last couple years they’ve been good, I seem to recall reading they were in the tournament.</p>

<p>edit: it says here "back-to-back national runner-up finishes in 1987 and 1988, to winning a share of the last eight Ivy League titles and advancing to the National semifinal game in 2007 and 2010 and the National Championship game in 2009 ".</p>

<p>Sounds “very good” to me, over the last decade anyway. Though when I was there it was “great”. Maybe they took the 90s off, I don’t know.</p>

16

<p>Below is from a Dec 2010 USA Today Article. College hockey is alive, well and having a major impact on the NHL. </p>

<p>"According to the NHL, 225 of the 789 players (28.5%) who have played at least one game this season are former college players. That list doesn’t include New York Islanders regular Kyle Okposo, a former University of Minnesota player, and a few other ex-collegians who have been hurt all season.</p>

<p>Central Collegiate Hockey Association Commissioner Tom Anastos said it’s not unthinkable that the college player representation in the NHL could grow beyond 35%"</p>

17

<p>Also let’s not forget swimming! They won the Big Ten championship this weekend too!</p>