It's official. All the stories and rumors and speculation were on the mark.
The so-called "super conference" will become a reality in 2013-14, the same season the Big Ten Conference debuts with the Gophers and Wisconsin.
The six athletic directors of the new conference, which will start with five WCHA teams and Miami (Ohio) of the CCHA released a statement -- sent to me four times from four of the schools -- on Saturday:
We are pleased to announce that six top NCAA Division I ice hockey programs will become founding members of a newly formed hockey conference, which will begin competition for the 2013-14 season. The six institutions are Colorado College, University of Denver, Miami University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of North Dakota.
We understand and appreciate the widespread interest in developments relating to the formation of the new hockey conference. More information will be provided about the initiatives that have been undertaken, as well as the next steps involved, at a news conference in Colorado Springs this Wednesday, July 13. Our programs look forward to continued associations with our current leagues, the WCHA and CCHA, for the next two seasons.
Additional information about Wednesday's news conference will be forthcoming in the next few days. There will be no further comment from athletic directors, coaches or other officials from any of the institutions until Wednesday's news conference.
So that's it. A four-paragraph news release. With it, the WCHA will be cut up and mangled virtually beyond recognition. Whether it will survive as an unstable five-team league -- with three Minnesota schools, Bemidji State, Mankato State and St. Cloud State, plus Michigan Tech and Alaska Anchorage -- is uncertain. Those teams could merge with the seven teams still left in the CCHA.
Actually, the CCHA has seven teams. But that's for now. Notre Dame is trying to decide whether to head East and join Hockey East or West to join the new "super conference."
Once the Irish bolt, the shrinking CCHA. which had 12 teams two seasons ago, will be down to these six: Alaska Fairbanks, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Northern Michigan and Western Michigan.
