Utica College hockey looking to switch conferences
Story Created:
Dec 7, 2010 at 5:32 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Dec 7, 2010 at 7:18 PM EDT
UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - Utica College has recently applied to switch to another Division III hockey conference in order to be more competitive.
Utica College Athletic Director Jim Spartano says the college has recently applied to join the nine-team SUNYAC Conference. That conference recently changed its rules to allow non-SUNY schools in, Spartano said.
Utica College currently plays in the West division of the ECAC Conference. The Pioneers division has just five teams.
Spartano says representatives from all 23 schools of the ECAC Conference met earlier this summer to discuss re-aligning and balancing out their three divisions. However, Spartano said not many were willing to do so.
The SUNYAC conference will notify Utica College Wednesday if their application has been approved. If it has, the college will still need to put a presentation together for the conference.
If Utica College is accepted, the decision of whether or not they join the SUNYAC is up to President Todd Hutton.
"I would make a strong recommendation to move in that direction," Spartano said.
The SUNYAC conference is a regular Division III powerhouse. In the past ten years, four teams have made it to the Division III national title game, and two have won it.
The most recent was Oswego State in 2007.
"I just said 'wow, there are nine schools and we play the SUNYAC schools year in and year out anyway,'" said Spartano about the opportunity. "To me, it was like a no-brainer."
Spartano believes the move benefits all involved. It puts Utica College in a more competitive conference and allows for other schools to come to a "hockey town" that supports their local program.
"It would be a great experience for the hockey players to play in front of 3,000 people," said Spartano. "They are not used to that. Back home they don't play with that kind of crowd at all."
