Big Five

[rt12]

How is the competition in the the Big Five? Temple, LaSalle, St. Joesph's, Penn, and Villanova.

[Maskman]

Upenn has a team in both the ECRHA and PCRHL. Temple and St Joes have PCRHL teams. The other schools do not have teams that I know about. Overall Philly is a hotspot for college roller hockey with a ton of teams in both the PCRHL and ECRHA. What school are you affiliated with???

[umroller]

Speaking of Temple, they play in the Philadelphia Collegiate Roller Hockey League (PCRHL) which is basically a local-area college league for teams that don't have the support to do the traveling required to participate in the NCRHA/ECRHA or for third or fourth teams of a school (like Drexel). Temple has won 11 straight games and will be playing in the PCRHL finals against either Drexel or West Chester.

Benjamin Picker
NCRHA Director of Marketing
ben.picker@ncrha.org

[Maskman]

Good luck to you guys. Any intention of an ECRHA team next year?

[rt12]

I am in high school and looking at colleges. I want to stay in the area so I won't miss out on any major sports championships. When is inline hockey going to become a real, chartered sport, not club in college? It would be a nice step for the league.

[Maskman]

Hopefully soon, but realistically a long way off. Although we are moving in the right direction (standardization of rules, requirement of face cages) most school are reluctant to add a new mens sport in lieu of Title IX. Furthermore most admin people I talk to believe roller hockey is street hockey and ask why not just play ice. Hopefully in the next few years roller will establish itself as a distinct, not inferior, sport to ice hockey. That would be the first step in the right direction. A real established pro league would gain some pull also. Other then that if you have any ideas on how to move along the process into an NCAA sport I would love to hear them... but for now we have one of the best run club systems of any sport, anywhere.

[umroller]

I am graduating from Temple law school and if I am involved next year it will be as an assistant coach so I can't really speak as a player fo rnext season. However, my guess that Temple is at least another year off, if not more, from making the jump to ECRHA. Although the skill would be there to be at least somewhat competitive, there is a lack of funding from the school. Additionally, the players don't have very much money to pay much out of pocket. So, the team would have to do a load of fundraising to pay the league fee and travel expenses. Furthermore, the commitment level isn't quite there, but mainly because many players have to work on weekends (when they would be away at college roller hockey events) to make money to be able to afford hockey in the first place.

Benjamin Picker
NCRHA Director of Marketing
ben.picker@ncrha.org

[Maskman]

We also have alot of funding issues, if you would like to get thogether for some fundraising (maybe a preseason tourn or something) let me know. You team has improved tremendously and would def be an asset to ECRHA.

[umroller]

That sounds like a good idea. What team are you with and what is your name? Email me at ben.picker@ncrha.org.

Benjamin Picker
NCRHA Director of Marketing
ben.picker@ncrha.org

[bsu_bec]

But does it have to be a men's sport? I mean, I'm a female, and I play college hockey (B team...)....I mean, granted, there probably wouldn't be much interest generated in the female population (well, girls with any kind of experience anyway), but I wouldn't think they should have to make it a men's sport necessarily. I'd be in trouble otherwise, but luckily, I will graduate before schools will get to that point anyway...