Here we are, the last Frozen Friday of the month. Our four-part series covering Oregon Hockey included interviews with team captain Trevor Shott, head coach Rylee Orr, and general manager Sam Rosenberg.

This doesn’t mean that ATQ plans to abandon coverage of Oregon Hockey- far from it. In fact, we plan to cover the entire season (starting Sept 28th) by providing game threads and free live-stream links.

Anyone who’s been paying attention to Oregon Hockey knows that the team is eager to become D-I. There are four steps they’ll have to take. Let’s take a deeper look.

STEP ONE: TITLE IX

Due to Title IX, the university would need to bring a women’s sport to D-I status in order for hockey to reach that level. There are a few ways to make this happen: we could create a D-I women’s hockey team, we could upgrade a current women’s club sport, or we could replace a current men’s sport with hockey.

General Manager Sam Rosenberg had this to say:

In a perfect world, the Men’s and Women’s teams would cancel each other out for hockey scholarships, and the school would stay title IX compliant. The Men’s team would then (hypothetically) be able to make enough profit/revenue to pay for the Women’s team (I believe this happens, or at least is the goal at many schools). Hypothetically, the school could remove a Men’s team and replace it with Hockey, but I would rather the school add teams instead of remove and switch them out. ...it would be easier to design the (new or renovated) infrastructure around having both. I think that would be the easiest way to do that (I believe it is what ASU recently did).

STEP TWO: FREEZE THE MAC

That’s right, we need to make an ice pit. Think about it; at the moment; the University has not announced any plans for Mac Court. Fans loved the Mac because it was violently loud, charmingly old school, and hellish to play in for opposing teams. Is there a better place to host Duck hockey? A better way to utilize this historic raucous building?

Renovations will need to be made. The stands will need to go, and most of the building itself will need drastic changes or straight-up deconstruction, but what are the options here? We can keep it as is- a forgotten monument of Duck fandom. We can tear it down and build a parking lot, or dorms, or expand the gym, or another student-athlete tutoring center, or a museum, or etc.

Or we elect to build Mac Rink (aka the Ice Pit), and honor the historic building’s legacy.

LIVE FOOTAGE FROM THE FUTURE FROM MAC RINK WHEN DUCK HOCKEY WINS THE NATTY!

$TEP THREE: GIVE THEM MONEY

Let’s be real, money makes the world go round. The only thing that will get this team off the ground is a truckload of Phil Knight tissues (aka cash). The team is mainly funded by the players, but there are a plethora of ways to financially support Duck hockey.

BUY GEAR

Limited Time Offer! Head over to https://t.co/PLAWWQ8yDe to get some #OregonHockey apparel. Supplies are limited and this online store will only be up for a limited time #OregonPucks #DucksHockey #HockeySchool #Oregon pic.twitter.com/vuMk9uHQaz — Oregon Ducks Hockey (@Oregon_Hockey) July 27, 2018

As you can clearly see, Duck hockey has possibly the greatest gear of all time. Due to their club status, students are in charge of stocking and selling, so there are some expected difficulties during the offseason.

Luckily, the team has created this temporary store, before the official hockey gear site becomes operational once the season starts. GM Rosenberg is working on getting some jerseys in the Duck store, but the easiest way to get gear is show up to the games!

Perhaps we will have a raffle for a sweet-ass jersey sometime this year?

BECOME A SPONSOR

Another way to help out these mighty Ducks is by sponsoring them. As far as sponsorship goes, the prices are very reasonable- and I mean very, very, very reasonable. Want a 30-second commercial played during the game? $60. One shoutout per game all season? $100. Hell, for $1000 you can become Duck hockey’s uncle Phil! You even get to drop a puck during a game! Check out the sponsorship guide!

DONATE

And if you happen to be the real founder of Nike, just give them some money! DONATE!

STEP 4: WATCH THEM PLAY

When asked how fans could support this team, the general manager, the head coach, and one of its best players all said the same thing- watch us play.

GM Rosenberg: The biggest way that fans can support the team is by coming to games. Having fans at games helps the team both financially through ticket sales, but also through the atmosphere that our fans bring to our games. We strive to make our games a fun event and make sure that the performance on the ice is entertaining and that our fans are getting the best Oregon Hockey has to offer. Another big way for fans to help would be for them to invite friends to games and tell people about the team.

Coach Orr: Come out and show support! We are thrilled with the team we have this upcoming season. I wholeheartedly believe we will be one of the top teams in the country. We really appreciate the enthusiasm from the fans, and we thank them for their support. We could not do this without them.

Captain Shott: The biggest thing fans can do to support us is to come to our games and cheer for us! We love playing in front of our fans and they’re a huge part of our success. We also stream games online (for free!) for fans that don’t live nearby and aren’t able to attend in person.

GO DUCKS!