A meeting occurs tomorrow, I know, lots of meetings will take place tomorrow. But this one is a little different, this one is a meeting that will present the passions of a community and in some respects, the futures of a great group of young men. I had the pleasure of interacting with this group of young men over the past weekend, announcing their first win of their season on Friday night, a stirring 3-1 victory over the 20th ranked team in the nation. On a college hockey weekend that saw the number one and number two teams get swept in their weekend series, the big story in college hockey was a victory that shocked the NCAA hockey community.
Of course I am referring to the University of Alabama in Huntsville's victory over UNO, a victory sent a clear message to anyone who doubts the viability of Charger Hockey at the Division I level… reports of their demise have been potentially exaggerated.
The Save UAH Hockey movement hasn’t gone away since the former interim president made his heinous decision, then slinked away to his reward in Tuscaloosa. Dr. Malcolm Portera came to Huntsville with a clear agenda, nothing or no one would dissuade him of dismantling a 30 year tradition that didn’t fit into his so-called “vision” for the university. Now that he is gone… a new member of the Huntsville community now has an opportunity to right a great wrong.
Robert A. Altenkirch is the new president of the university. He lays out a bold vision for the university in his message to prospective students on the UAH website. He says that “the vision and dream of UAHuntsville was fueled by the drive and foresight of the women and men whose rockets carried mankind into space.” In his “Looking Forward” memo to the UAHuntsville Community dated 10/31/11 the new president says that
“The University of Alabama in Huntsville is an especially exciting institution made so because of its people, their dedication and accomplishments, and the diversity and technological richness of the Huntsville community. Our University is well-regarded, nationally and internationally recognized, an institution of which all of you associated with it should be justifiably proud.”
Vision, drive, dedication, diversity, proud… great words, strong words… words that the new president now has a golden opportunity to live up to with his direct action.
This decision is almost a no brainer. The support for this team is there, in the student body, in the Huntsville community and most importantly, in the funding for this program, commitments that
fully fund this program for the next three seasons. The whole “we can’t afford it” meme that the previous interim president tried to sell is simply not true. In difficult economic times, supporters of UAH Division I hockey have stood up and said "we will fully fund this program." If that doesn't send a strong message about the viability of this program, then nothing will.
There is a success story to be written here. This team is in the same spot as other hockey programs, other very successful hockey programs. The University of Massachusetts – Lowell program was there a few years back, so was the program at Merrimack College. In 2005, the then-president of Merrimack publicly questioned the program’s viability. A change in administration, meant a change in attitude and a quick check of the current rankings of Division I hockey from USA Today finds the number one team in the college hockey is, you guessed it, the Merrimack College Warriors.
Am I saying that if the UAH program gets saved that it will have the same type of renaissance? No… but that potential is there. Charger head coach Chris Luongo has done a fine job with these young men, a young team filled with plenty of freshmen and sophomores that have great potential. The UAH Hockey program has a rich history, national championships and current NHL players that show the potential, it just takes a leader to make it happen.
I am hoping that President Altenkirch is such a leader. Mr President... the decision is yours, and it is a fairly simple one. Do you kill the hopes and dreams of a group of fine young men that bring honor and distinction to your institution? Do you disappoint the Huntsville community at large, a community that works in harmony with your institution, a community that supports UAH on many levels? Or do you do the easy thing… the politically correct thing, and reconfirm a biased, uninformed decision from an interim president with no connection to the university community, let alone the Huntsville community as a whole.
Make the right call President Altenkirch. Do the right thing for your university, for the students, for the community. Save UAH Hockey.
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Random Notes
- Still waiting on information regarding the Tootoo/Miller incident. Some spirited discussion in the thread from yesterday. Most folks I’ve talked to seem to think the event may drive a review and a small suspension, however there are those that think the Shanahammer will fall hard. I’m really not sure how to interpret the silence coming from Toronto so far…
- UPDATE - The silence has ended, reports out that Tootoo has a 1pm hearing.
- You had to love the neat moment before Saturday night’s game with the termite goaltender standing next to Anders Lindback for the anthem.
- Interesting article from David Boclair regarding Ryan Suter asking questions about the D pairings on Saturday night. Read it
here. Good stuff from one of the on-ice leadership group to ask for help for the younger d-men.
- Many tongues wagging about the Board of Governors meetings that begins today. The ones that seem to be drawing the most attention is realignment, however, I’ll be closely listening for hints on the owner’s bargaining position for the upcoming CBA negotiations.
- A very good piece in yesterday’s
New York Times about Derek Boogaard, kudos to the author, John Branch on a very well done piece.
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