RIT, Atlantic Ready For Future

The Conference Is Strong, But Many Yearn for More Growth

by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor

RIT goes into its weekend Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series with Air Force with plenty on the line for this season, and a lot on the horizon no matter what happens.

And no matter what happens, in either regard, RIT coach Wayne Wilson wants to make sure his program is ready.

RIT is one of the few teams in college hockey that doesn't give scholarships. More accurately, RIT can't give scholarships — it would do so if it could. Which is something head coach Wayne Wilson, with help from the rest of the athletic department, is trying to change.

RIT is a Division III school "playing up" to Division I in one sport, hockey. The NCAA decided, in the early 2000s, that schools in that situation couldn't give athletic scholarships. It grandfathered in schools that had been doing it for a long time, like Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Union, when it joined D-I in 1991, chose not to give scholarships, and thus cannot do so now because it wasn't part of being grandfathered.

At the same time, the NCAA has a moratorium in place that prevents any other school from "playing up." That leaves only RIT and Union in a fairly unique situation.

RIT knew its situation going in, but believes there is now no harm in being let into the club.

"We're not opening the floodgates (by asking)," Wilson said. "We knew what the premises were (when we joined D-I hockey), but now that you've closed that other gate, we're asking for it. It's between our administration and the NCAA. They have been working on it for a while."

Thing is, despite this situation, RIT is at least as, if not more, healthy than most other Atlantic Hockey programs. RIT has a lot of local interest, which only grew after the team made a Cinderella run to the Frozen Four in 2010. And it has a beautiful new facility.

Consequently, Wilson and RIT have always been supportive of Atlantic Hockey increasing its scholarship limits, for the good of the league as a whole. The NCAA limit is 18, but Atlantic Hockey once was at 11, and is now up to 14. This arose from the marriage of necessity between some Atlantic schools willing to go "all in" and others that just didn't — and don't — have those kinds of resources.

This dichotomy is the source of occasional tension, particular two years ago, when all of college hockey went berserk with restructuring. RIT was certainly part of a group that explored splitting off from Atlantic Hockey and joining leftover CCHA schools for a new conference — schools like Niagara, Mercyhurst, Bowling Green and Ferris State. But because everything seemed to be happening in a scramble, there wasn't time to work it all out, even if it was possible. So nothing happened.

Going forward, Wilson is adament that he's pleased with being in Atlantic Hockey, but that he'd like to see the league continue to grow. In this case, "growth" means continuing to expand scholarship opportunities, and continuing to get better facilities and resources for other teams in the league.

"We're a non-scholarship school and we supported (full) scholarships," Wilson said. "I would like to see Atlantic Hockey fully funded. And I'd like to see new facilities. We have some great schools, but we have to upgrade some areas.

"A lot of it is based upon facilities. If we can do that (collectively), we can get higher end recruits."

In the mean time, he will keep his ears open for any possible further restructuring in college hockey, and what that could mean for RIT.

"Change has got to happen again," Wilson said. "You hear rumors. I'm not stirring any pot, but this time when there's change, I hope maybe it's a little more open, a more collective change. There's going to be some difficult decisions. We've enjoyed Atlantic Hockey. But if there's going to be a change, we don't want to be one of those schools left out in the cold. We have to be receptive to anything. If people are talking about a new CCHA, we'll be receptive. If the ECAC is looking, we'll be receptive. If Atlantic makes change, then we'll be receptive."

Regardless of what happens, Wilson says he couldn't be happier where he is — at RIT.

"I couldn't be more excited. The school has been great with me. I wanted to be a head coach, and RIT had an opportunity. Then all of a sudden we were D-I. Then all of a sudden we went to the Frozen Four. Then we had a new rink. If we're able to get scholarships, that's next. I fought hard for the program and myself personally and it's always invigorated me to be loyal and thankful. It's been a good experience here."