U Of Alabama-Huntsville Drops Hockey After Successful 33-Year Run

UAH hockey coach Chris Luongo finished talking with his players – still dumbstruck by the news they’d heard a couple hours earlier – and headed home to find a seat on the living room couch in his Madison home.

“There was nothing the student athletes, and nothing that I or my staff could say that was going to have any affect,” Luongo said, “so what’s the point?”

UA Systems chancellor and interim University of Alabama in Huntsville president Malcolm Portera informed the team Monday morning that this season would be its last in NCAA Division I, citing fiscal concerns and an inability to find a conference in his decision.

“I have made the decision that we cannot effectively meet (the necessary Division I) criteria, and that we could not pursue a conference membership because of the fiscal resources it would require,” Portera said. “And frankly, I have some questions about being able to operate a Division I program inside a Division II athletic department.”

Portera added that UAH would “transition the program to club hockey” beginning next season, though he could not say in what league the team would play or how a fledgling club program would get off the ground.

The team’s future has been in question since it became the only independent Division I hockey program in 2009 after the College Hockey America conference folded. Concerns over finding a conference became secondary this summer when rumors arose that the team was on the state’s budgetary chopping block.

A grassroots effort to raise money and awareness for Charger hockey fell short in its quest to convince Portera, who will hand over the presidency to Robert Altenkirch on Oct. 31, the team was worth saving. More than $546,000 in private donations over three years had been pledged to support the program, but the new-found revenue wasn’t enough to sustain a “highly competitive program,” according to Portera.

“The NCAA data suggests that the median that is raised by a Division I hockey program is $89,000 per year,” Portera said. “Two ADs said to me that the best measure of the amount of money you can raise in a community to support a collegiate hockey program is what history suggests; what has been done in the past. The NCAA data does not suggest that it’s possible to support a program on contributions.”

Nathan Bowen, a 2000 UAH hockey alumnus and leader in fundraising efforts, said the city of Huntsville took a step back with Monday’s announcement.

“We’ve torn out a piece of our identity in the community today,” Bowen said. “In making this decision, I think there was more time spent talking to the people outside Huntsville than the people inside Huntsville.”

Since first taking the ice on Oct. 26, 1979, UAH hockey has celebrated three club-level championships (1982-84) and a pair of Division II titles (1996 and 1998). The Chargers made the leap to Division I in the 1999-2000 season, making NCAA tournament appearances in 2007 and 2010.

With the final season in the CHA still to be played, UAH was denied admittance into the Central Collegiate Hockey Association on Aug. 11, 2009.

It is the first time in college hockey’s history that a team with a national championship to its credit was forced to disband.

For Portera, the costs of the program – which he quoted at being $1.5 million to be on par with similar teams – ultimately outweighed the benefits.

“The hockey program takes a disproportionate share of our revenues in a Division I program,” Portera said. “I don’t want to go into a situation where we pledge to somebody we’re going to be in a conference, spend a million and a half dollars, and (that revenue) just goes away.”

According to Western Collegiate Hockey Association commissioner Bruce McLeod, no minimum budget requirements were stated in conversations with Portera. The chancellor also stated that the program would be responsible for subsidizing travel expenses for other schools, a significant expense that McLeod said is not an issue.

“There was just one simple question about (travel subsidies from Portera), and I told him that I didn’t think so,” McLeod said. “Right now, subsidizing travel, I wouldn’t say that’s an issue at all with the WCHA.”

Said Luongo: “There was definitely an expression of there not being a value in nationwide exposure to Dr. Portera. I think that was pretty clearly stated.”

Portera said the saved money will be allocated equally between the academic and athletic budgets, helping to strengthen the school’s Division II sports.

Repeated attempts to contact UAH athletic director E.J. Brophy were unsuccessful.

The team will finish its season as a lame duck program while Luongo seeks out new hockey homes for each of the program’s 21 players with eligibility following the 2011-12 season.

“So what are they playing for now? It’s kind of like a team that’s out of the playoffs in that they’re playing for jobs,” Luongo said. “They’re trying to make an argument for why they should be somewhere.

“I also think you can’t underestimate pride.”

The same could be said for UAH hockey supporters like Bowen, who aren’t ready to call it quits, even after Monday’s announcement.

“Obviously, today we’re extremely disappointed, but we hope to sit down and meet with Dr. Altenkirch when he comes into office,” said Bowen, who said he and other UAH hockey supporters will be sitting down today with Portera. “We want to find out what specifically the university would be willing to commit to, build a business plan and find other solutions. Hopefully, we convince Dr. Altenkirch to reverse this decision.”

Players will remain on scholarship and coaches will be paid through the fiscal year.

“We think that’s the humane thing to do,” Portera said.

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