TMR Mailbag: Is AIC dropping hockey a sign of things to come in the "new NCAA?"

This week’s mailbag topics include:

• Is AIC dropping its hockey program a sign of things to come in the “new NCAA?”

• How many basketball games will be in Lawler?

• Does Merrimack have a goaltending problem?

• Who is the best team in Hockey East?

• Who is the sleeper team in Hockey East?

• Question on Merrimack recruiting U.S. NTDP players

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Now, onto this week's mailbag ...

Q. AIC dropping its program had to be eye opening for some people in college hockey. Do you think the House settlement and NIL will force more programs to shut down?

A. First … in case you missed it, AIC announced earlier this week that it was going to drop its hockey program back to Division II at the end of the season. D-II still exists, but there’s only a handful of teams and there is no national championship tournament.

I don’t think AIC’s decision had anything to do with the House settlement or NIL. As a D-II school, I’m not sure they could even opt-in to the House settlement if they wanted. I realize they’re using the “changing landscape of the NCAA” as the company line, but that’s just the school shielding itself from the real issue. They’re dropping the program back to Division II because the school is in financial peril.

Let’s call it like it is: They’re cutting the program. In some ways, this is almost worse than cutting it altogether. Dropping it back to Division II means the school wants to keep the enrollments and tuition revenue the program provides but doesn’t want to invest in it.