FanPost

Wakeup Call: Time for the mainstream media to put more focus on college hockey

This may seem like a "duh" post, but in reality, this is far from it. We all love college hockey around here. It is the best sport at The Heights, we have the best coach in the history of the sport, and have turned into a "NHL factory" of sorts. Massachusetts in itself is a tremendous hockey hotbed. From UMass-Lowell to (heavy sigh) BU, college hockey thrives in the state. Around the country in fact, college hockey is alive and well. Not many non-college hockey fans however, even know it exists or follow the sport. You can chalk it up to disinterest, but a major reason why is because of a lack of mainstream media coverage. I'm looking at you, ESPN.

It has always been one of my biggest gripes for years: the lack of mainstream media coverage in college hockey. Granted, I will give credit where it is due as ESPNU has covered the NCAA Regionals, and done a decent job. Also not to be ignored is the great John Buccigross, who is a big supporter of the college game, and tries to bring it into the mainstream spotlight as often as possible. It is kind of ironic then that he works for ESPN, but then again I am a couch-potato blogger so who am I to judge?

Aside from the occasional ESPNU broadcast and Bucci, mainstream media ignores college hockey like it is the plague. We hear instant updates about what LeBron James ate for breakfast while professional hockey is demoted to the back of the sports page. College hockey? Forget about it. Any news on college hockey is provided by beat writers, team-specific sites and CHN.com. Now, there is the rare exception. When the Beanpot does occur, ESPNBoston.com does provide good coverage of the tournament. No complaints there. Then again, wouldn't you expect them to since it is the biggest hockey event in Boston during the first two Mondays in February? Either way, props to them.

Other than that, the mainstream media ignores college hockey like the plague. When they do cover hockey extensively. it is during the Stanley Cup Finals. That it itself is annoying because then ESPN pretends like they are the hockey experts, when clearly they are not. Do not get me wrong Barry Melrose is one of the best analysts in the business, but I wish they would use him more frequently.

Am I asking for 24/7 college hockey coverage? No. While that would be nice, I understand that it cannot and will not happen. There are other sports to cover and I understand that it is important to have a balance of sports news. Then again, that is the thing. Basketball dominates major sports media outlets in my opinion and currently there is an unbalance in the sports realm. Things have improved in the coverage of college hockey and it is far better than the coverage of a few years ago, but it is still sorely lacking.

It is a shame. There are so many great teams and players in the collegiate ranks, and many go pro. Per information from CollegeHockeyInc.com, 31 % of players who laced up the skates in the NCAA ranks went to the big show in 2013-14. That amounted to 305 players. Is that a huge number? No. However, when you consider that that number was up by three percent from 2009-10, that is a fair number. Wouldn't it make sense to cover what is becoming a bigger pro factory by the day? It would.

Perhaps I am making too much sense. I realize that I am mostly focusing on ESPN when I say mainstream media, but they are your go-to source when it comes to sports news. They along with the media need to make a better effort to cover college hockey. In my opinion, it is better than the NHL. I am sure many people would agree with me, but then again, how would they know?