With the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championships becoming an increasingly hot ticket, changes are under way that will make the events more accessible to the public and accommodate fans' growing interest in the sport.

In Division I, a new ticket application process, similar to that used for men's and women's basketball, is being implemented beginning with the 2005 event. The new system will make it easier for fans to apply for tickets without affecting anyone's spot on the priority list for event tickets.

The growing popularity of Division III ice hockey led the Division III Men's Ice Hockey Committee to request bids to host the championship at a predetermined site starting in 2006. Currently, the championship semifinals and final are played on the campus of a participant.

Those involved say the changes are sure to increase the ever-growing popularity of the men's ice hockey championships in the two divisions.

Russell Reilly, athletics director at Middlebury College and chair of the Division III Men's Ice Hockey Committee, said using a predetermined site rather than holding the championship on the campus of a participant should help increase attendance and exposure for the event.

"The hope is that by putting it in a larger venue and giving that venue an opportunity to go out and do the marketing and the advertising, that attendance would go up," said Reilly. "I think from an institutional perspective it just will be a whole lot easier if someone has a whole year or so to prepare to put on an event rather than having just a week to put it on.

"It does put a tremendous strain on smaller institutions that don't have the large marketing staffs to get everything up and running," he said.

Committee member Donald Maslinski, athletics director at St. Norbert College, added that holding the championship at a predetermined site could raise the level of exposure of the event.

"Given a year to promote this, there could be increased revenue to the whole operation," he said. "You could see some corporate sponsorship, people buying tickets for their company and their employees. Given a year, you could probably do a heck of a job marketing that."

Also, Maslinski said, the event would likely get more media attention with television outlets and newspapers having more advanced notice of the venue.

Seeking regional balance

Reilly said he expects the committee to begin reviewing bids later this year. He's hoping to find a host that can accommodate between 3,000 and 4,000 attendees.

"I hope we will find at least one suitable venue both in the East and the West so that the committee has a couple of good choices once we sit down and decide how we want to move forward beginning in 2006," he said.

The idea of finding suitable host sites in the West region is one that appeals to Maslinski.

He said that because there are more Division III teams on the East Coast, championships are more regularly held in that part of the country. The event has not been held outside of the Northeast since 2000, when it was hosted by the University of Wisconsin, Superior.

"This will afford institutions in the West region an opportunity to have a championship somewhere in their neck of the woods," he said. "If it's in Minneapolis or Green Bay, teams and players and fans of the participating schools will be able to see it.

"It gets old being the only people who get on an airplane and fly."

Maslinski said that last year when the championship was conducted at Norwich University in Vermont, St. Norbert was the only West region team in the semifinals. The team had only about 100 fans present. He said had the championship been within driving distance of his school, St. Norbert would have had a couple of thousand fans present.

"To fly to Burlington, Vermont, it's not your run-of-the-mill, get a flight from Southwest for $90 bucks...kind of deal," he said. "It's a $500, $600 kind of flight. That really gets very difficult for some people to pull off."

New Division I ticket process

The Men's Frozen Four also continues to gain popularity. The event has sold out seven times in the last eight years, and that popularity is now trickling down to the regional events. This year's Northeast regional in Manchester, New Hampshire, sold out at the earliest date in the history of the regional events.

This increased exposure, and demand for tickets, has led to the introduction of an online ticket application process beginning with the 2005 event in Columbus, Ohio. The new process will require that all information be submitted electronically and will eliminate the need for paper applications.

Tom Jacobs, NCAA director of championships and staff liaison to the Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee, said the new process would not affect anyone's place on the priority list, which was implemented after the 2002 championship in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a way of rewarding loyal Men's Frozen Four attendees.

"From the committee's perspective, it's a great way to be able to treat our long-time college hockey devotees," said Ronald Grahame, associate director of athletics at the University of Denver and chair of the Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee. "The game has really grown in the last five years or so as far as that interest and people wanting to be a part of it, and it's really gratifying to see."

Grahame noted that the demand for tickets has outweighed those available for the last several years, and this new process will help reach as many people as possible.

"I think the benefit to the public is that it's an easier process," Jacobs said. "Folks are so accustomed to doing things online nowadays. It's really going to be a simpler process rather than having to mail something in, wait to get something mailed back to you, whether you got accepted or not accepted."

Those currently on the priority ticket list can expect to receive notification of the changes later this month.

The online ticket application for the 2005 Men's Frozen Four will be available from April 1 through June 1, 2004. Notification will take place in July and refunds for those who did not receive tickets will be processed in August. Priority ticket holders, as well as the general public, may apply for tickets through www.ncaasports.com.