Penn State is holding a press conference this hour to announce its entry into Division I Hockey (including a distaff team), courtesy of an $88 million gift from natural gas mogul Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim.
We're pretty sure it's not a coincidence that the 2013 and 2014 Frozen Four will be played in Pennsylvania, in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, respectively.
According to Daily Collegian reporter Matt Fortuna, the new arena will be located "between University Drive and Curtin Road, behind the Shields Building." This site is currently home to Penn State Club Lacrosse.
By our rough calculations, Pegula cleared about $3.5 billion by selling a minority stake in his company to KKR for $350 million, then selling the entire company to Shell for $4.7 billion.
This gives the Big Ten six members for Men's Hockey, meeting the NCAA's minimum requirements to hold a post-season tournament.
However, there are major complications with long-standing conference affiliations. Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State are members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, while Minnesota and Wisconsin compete in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Last fall the Big Ten held discussions with Bowling Green, Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame, and Western Michigan about becoming hockey-only members of the conference. All are currently members of the CCHA.
Those talks will presumably resume, as Jim Delany is surely hungry for more inventory for the Big Ten Network. (Think online streaming content.) We have to believe his attitude about Big Ten Hockey will be "Six teams is nice, but bigger is better."
FWIW, we're also hearing rumors about Illinois and possibly Indiana converting their club teams to varsity. And what about WCHA member Nebraska-Omaha?
The Big Ten is once again shaking up the college sports landscape, as it did with the inclusion of Penn State in 1990 and Nebraska this summer.
Does Jim Delany ever rest???
The Big Ten is once again shaking up the college sports landscape, as it did with the inclusion of Penn State in 1990 and Nebraska this summer.
Does Jim Delany ever rest???
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