Amidst the good news, rumors on hockey abound

It is appropriate to pause and recognize that we are experiencing tough times in this country. Bowling Green is feeling the pressure, and that has caused a firestorm of rumors and speculation about the fate of our hockey program. Today, that all spilled onto the pages of the Blade.

Although no one at the University has anything too definitive to say, if you read between the lines of the quotes below, you get the sense that something is probably going on.

"Hockey is important to the community, to the alums, and to the university," he [AD Greg Christopher] said. "But we've been told that we are going to have less finances to work with next year, and again in the following year, so we've put together various budget models, and sometime later we'll have to make a decision on what we will do."

"Given our current financial situation, some cuts to programs and services will be necessary," Mr. Kielmeyer said.

I have written here many times that I do not know how long Division I-A football, Division I basketball and Division I hockey are sustainable. You don't see very many schools our size do it successfully. In the MAC, only BG, WMU and Miami are also fielding D-1 hockey programs.

The most successful college hockey programs are either at major colleges, or at colleges where hockey is the top sport. Heck, I have doubts about our ability to sustain D-1A football and D-1 basketball--forget about hockey.

No doubt, losing hockey would be a serious blow to the history of the university, and the Falcon players who are quoted in The Blade story are making good points.

I do object to this idea that "transient" administrators are performing a "drive-by" shooting on hockey. These are tough times and unpopular decisions may have to be made, but they are good people. They are not infallible--nor is anyone else--but I think to suggest they are doing anything BUT act in the best interests of the university isn't fair.

Obviously, BG will have to eventually announce what it plans to do. I wonder if they have considered a Division II hockey program to reduce costs. One advantage to that would be if the situation turns around in the future, you could always climb back into Division I, and you would be making sure of your ice facility.