[Sly Fox]

Warning -- Distorted facts and cheap shots at Jerry forthcoming. But he references Chris' story and uses a very familiar pic.

January 24, 2006
Give Me Liberty...

Hey, College Hockey America! Still looking for a sixth, right? Well, your prayers may be answered…by Jerry Falwell.

You read right. The same Falwell who put the fun in religious fundamentalism, questioned the sexuality of the purple Teletubby, called Muhammad (the founder of Islam, not the boxer or Bears wide receiver) a terrorist and accepted a $3.5 million loan from South Korean wingnut Sun Myung Moon also founded Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., more than 30 years ago.

Liberty, which sponsors 18 NCAA Division I sports, opened a new on-campus ice rink earlier this month, and the school’s club hockey team played to standing-room-only crowds of 1,500 fans in its inaugural games at the facility. Previously, the team commuted 50-plus miles to Roanoke for practices and home matches. The sparkling digs and local support has Liberty officials contemplating a varsity hockey program.

"No question, that's the goal," Liberty vice chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. – wonder how he got that job? – told Lynchburg News & Advance sportswriter Chris Lang. "It won't be in the immediate future. I'm not sure how far down the road it will be. One thing that has to be considered is the potential revenue a hockey program can bring."


They may not have Division I hockey yet, but Liberty fans already make more noise than those at Michigan State's Munn Ice Arena.

The CHA, which is slated to lose Air Force to Atlantic Hockey once this season ends and will wave goodbye to its automatic NCAA Tournament bid if it doesn’t find a sixth member by 2008-09, has a $250,000 incentive package on the table to entice a program to join the league. The compensation would be paid out over a three-year period, which seems like a decent amount of seed money for a startup.

"We didn't just build a building to stay where we're at,” the club team’s coach, Kirk Handy, said to Lang. “If we wanted to stay at the same level, we might as well have stayed out in Roanoke and not spent all that money on the facility that we've got."

In order for this to happen, a few issues would have to be hashed out – Would the CHA send Liberty a check or would the university pass a plate among the other member schools? Would Falwell pal Pat Robertson clear time on “The 700 Club” for a weekly Doug Woog chalk talk? Would Falwell’s political action group change its name from Moral Majority to Moral Odd-Man Rush? – but the hurdles are minor, and expansion to completely uncharted territory can’t hurt the sport.

Besides, adding Division I hockey would help Liberty diversify its student body. There’d be at least one place on campus you’d be guaranteed to find a left winger.

http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/7Arc ... c_0419.htm

[bigsmooth]

gotta love the cheap shots! that is interesting information about the CHA needing a sixth member. it is pretty cool that we are getting some ink in the college hockey rag.

[ATrain]

$250,000 to any school that joins? Definitely an incentive to begin thinking about bumping up the timeline for a jump to DI

[Sly Fox]

I admit the cash is an interesting concept. Do you think KK would consider a similar plan for our 6th football member?



For the record, here's the lineup for CHA:

Men:
Air Force (leaving as mentioned in the story)
Alabama-Huntsville
Bemidji State
Niagara
Robert Morris
Wayne State

Women:
Mercyhurst
Niagara
Robert Morris
Wayne State

Admittedly that's not an eye-catching collection of schools. Frankly I think we would draw better continuing to play VT, Duke, Maryland et al.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Bemidji State? What the heck is a Bemidji?

[Sly Fox]

They are actually a longtime college hockey powerhouse in Northern Minnesota. The Beavers compete in Division II for everything outside of hockey.

[bigsmooth]

i really do not think it matters who we play. i believe our fans would show up to see the flames play the sisters of the poor. No doubt in my mind if we have D1 hockey, it will be supported very well. i guess our closest rival would be bobby mo in pittsburgh.

[PAmedic]

shocked to see at least one back-handed compliment in there-

They may not have Division I hockey yet, but Liberty fans already make more noise than those at Michigan State's Munn Ice Arena.

and I think this kind of attention is a tacit admission that we bring a lot to the table for any conference- in terms of marketablilty and exisiting fan base anyway.

[PAmedic]

by the way- I had to look up this Bemidji State myself the other day when I saw the results of their 2 game sweep of Air Force on the ESPN site.

[Hold My Own]

I'm still trying to google who Sun Myung Moon is...

[jimflamesfan]

In a wierd kindof way, I think he actually likes us and wants LU to be the ones to join, quoting the following line...

but the hurdles are minor, and expansion to completely uncharted territory can’t hurt the sport.

[bigsmooth]

true jim, but the digs are ridiculous. that will certainly be the case for most media when talking about LU.

[Chris Lang]

To those who think playing Va. Tech and Duke would be better draws, you're crazy. Liberty would be stepping into a league in which it could immediately compete for an NCAA tournament berth. That alone would be worth trying to bump up a timeline for joining.

[PAmedic]

besides, good hockey is good hockey. And better opponents means better hockey. I loved being at the opener, but 8-0 and 14-0 is NOT good hockey. Playing a team that can dress more than 7 guys would be a start. (I know there were extenuating circumstances)

Moving up will only make a good team stronger .

[jimflamesfan]

On the other site I was saying stay club...but I'd never thought we'd get an offer to join a conference, and get $$ to help get started.

If they offer, I hope LU takes it!!

Would love to see D-1 hockey!

Jim.

[ATrain]

I think the main issue with going DI right now is being Title IX compliant...which is why I say scrap wrestling (sorry all wrestling fans on this board, but I'd rather see hockey than wrestling) and add women's golf and men's ice hockey...that way, we compete in EVERY Big South sport and have a conference for every sport we play in (assuming hockey goes to CHA under this hypothetical plan).

[SuperJon]

Add women's swimming. We already have a pool, wouldn't be hard to add a team. Me and my roommate were talking about this yesterday when I mentioned hockey going D-I.

[PAmedic]

I don't REALLY wanna start a brawl about Title IX, mainly because it confuses the heck out of me- but I think thats really not the issue. In fact, I believe the reason we COULD bring wrestling back was due to the fact that womens' sports were MORE than represented equally.

No doubt some other people on here with more knowlege on this will enlighten the rest of us.

[Chris Lang]

Well, that's why they're trying to start a women's hockey program up, so there would be a built-in Title IX valve.

[bigsmooth]

this thread is drifting away from hockey, but if you want to add a womens sport golf is the least expensive route at this point.

[LU Alumni Director]

We do not compete in every Big South Sport, women's golf is the only one and I bet the admin would jump at a chance to get more points against Coastal for the Sasser Cup. Mark my words, if hockey goes NCAA, it will be accompanied by the ladies on the links

[givemethemic]

That's not new news here... I have been saying that all along, the plan and I will say it again is for them to both be ushered in together in about 5 years the biggest thing now is just getting the money for the schloarships... The women are playing an exhibtion schedule this year and will hopefully next year join the ACC... There is alot of interest from girls right now about the team and the coach is the former men's coach (his name has slipped my mind)... So there it is...

[bigsmooth]

there will be womens golf as a scholarship sport before womens hockey, not unless a brinks truck backs up to the la haye center with a ton of money. golf is just not nearly as expensive. you can play regional tournaments that you can drive to and as you get better then go play a more national schedule, uniforms are cheap, golf mfgs i believe help out in the cost, whereas hockey...travel costs would be astronomical alone. i would love to have them both, but golf willbe first, and i think their is some truth to the sasser cup thing.

[Sly Fox]

Sasser Cups? zzzzzzzzzz

[TallyW]

hahaaaa

I'm with ya Sly. It's nice... but c'mon...