By Tom Balog / Wayne State Beat WriterJust 16 days after announcing captains for the 2011-12 season, MichiganCollegeHockey.com has learned that Wayne State University has made the decision to discontinue it's women's hockey program.
Warrior head coach Jim Fetter was told of the move yesterday in a closed door meeting with WSU athletic director Rob Fournier at the Matthaei Building.
The Warriors began play in 1999 and were the only Division 1 women's hockey program ever in the state of Michigan.
During their 12-year run, the Warriors collected a 265-351-54 record that culminated in sharing the College Hockey America regular season title in 2007-2008.
Members of the Wayne State hockey team can continue to attend school on scholarship, but must maintain NCAA athletic standards. Players wishing to transfer may sign with another school and play immediately without waiting one year.
News of the decision has already been hard for Wayne State fans who lost the men's program after the 2007-2008 season and an effort to reverse the move has already begun with a page called Save the WSU Women's Hockey Program on Facebook.
Please check for further updates as they become available.
4 comments:
Dear god that's shitty news the day before a long weekend. That's for the kick to the package Wayne State!
Can we cut Rob Fournier's pay? Usually when you mismanage a program and blame the economy, you lose your job. Dude must have dirt on someone at the school.
He's not a hockey guy. Never has been. What's next? With Title IX, something else on the men's side has to go or they add another women's sport. Women's soccer has a club program. It's a rumored option, but still doesn't save the girls and staff who put so much into hockey in the D.
I will agree that this program has done great things for women's athletics and hockey in the D. Every single player was nothing but a class act and delightful in the years I covered them. Truly disappointed by this news.
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