by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor (@CHN_AdamWodon)
When the Grand Forks Herald’s Brad Schlossman wrote his piece a few weeks ago advocating for NCAA Tournament Regionals to move back to campus sites, I did not realize it was just the beginning of this conversation.
I have been covering the NCAA Tournament for 30-plus years (wait, what?) and this topic is one that comes up over and over and over — and over — again. I rarely give it a second thought anymore, because the consensus was always that there was no way it was changing any time soon, given that neutral sites are the NCAA’s default position, and 80 percent of the coaches wanted it that way.
Well, it gained enough steam that I figured I should write my latest counter-article. I’ve been writing about this for 15 years and there’s almost nothing new to say, but it was time for a refresher, since not everyone keeps a catalog of my greatest hits bookmarked in their browser.
However, since then, I’ve come to learn that the groundswell this time around is real. I venture to say that we might be past 50 percent of coaches now believing the Regionals should go back to campus sites. I’ve talked to a bunch of coaches in the last two weeks who previously were adamently in favor of neutral sites, who are now in the other column or on the fence.
There’s no need for me to repeat all of my arguments here that I made in the other article.
I do want to point out, however, that it’s worth listening to the conversation I just had with Denver coach David Carle on our most recent podcast. It’s a great debate, and he’s passionate about the issue, so just listening to everything laid out, is good.
Listen to our conversation with Denver’s David Carle on our Podcast.
Most importantly, and this is Carle’s main point above all, is that we need to have the conversation. As he rightly points out, it’s been set aside for years, under the assumption that it would get little traction. Or, there was always some other important topic to talk about. Even this year, Carle fears that the Coaches’ Convention in Naples will be dominated by discussion of Major Junior player eligibility and other hot-button NCAA-wide topics, most of which are probably out of the control of any hockey coach.
He’s right, the conversation needs to be had.
As Stephen Hopkins (Roy Poole) says…
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