WCHA continues to mull options for expansion

Western Collegiate Hockey Association athletic directors continue to discuss the possibility of having another team join Bemidji State in a proposed league expansion.

Colorado College's Ken Ralph said a second conference call among the athletic directors was scheduled for Thursday night after Wednesday's initial discussion.

Bemidji State was the only school to apply for league membership earlier this year, but the 10-team WCHA agreed in April that it didn't want to expand by just one.

Nebraska-Omaha is the main team being discussed and Alaska-Fairbanks is also a possibility, Ralph said. UNO has yet to apply, and league members were discussing conditions in which the school could join, including entrance fees.

Bemidji State plays in College Hockey America, which will dissolve after next season. WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said in April that league members wanted him to be aggressive in the pursuit of an expansion  partner for Bemidji State.

"This is about our league trying to help college hockey by letting in Bemidji," Ralph said.

A WCHA spokesman said the league had no comment. UNO could be a good fit for the league because of its facilities and proximity to other WCHA schools. Accepting Alaska-Fairbanks could be beneficial because teams that play a two-game series in Alaska can get an exemption to play two games above the NCAA maximum. That would mean more home games and more revenue for league members.

Once a school applies to join the WCHA, 75 percent of the league's faculty representatives would have to vote to accept it.