If you grew up in Birmingham, you might remember the WHA Birmingham Bulls or one of the later incarnations of minor league teams in the area. If you ever went to a game, chances are pretty good that you enjoyed the experience. For the past few years, the University of Alabama has fielded a club team, nicknamed the “Frozen Tide,” that has grown into one of the strongest programs in the South. Assistant Coach David Noble was kind enough to talk to BamaHammer about the team.
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For our readers who are just learning about Alabama Hockey, tell us a bit about how the team got started.
The team got started seven years ago. There were 15 students at the University of Alabama who wanted to play hockey. There was no avenue for this, so they started the club under the rec sports department. After a couple of years, the coach they had moved to Tennessee. During their search for a new coach, they found the whole coaching staff. The team wanted to pick up the organization level, practice more, and compete at the highest levels. Coach Quenneville, Coach Hebert and I have been with the team the last four years, and Coach Crowley joined the staff this season.
Seven years ago, we started with 15 guys and two games. Today we have 200 unsolicited recruits, numerous Jr. A recruits across the country that we solicit, and 33 games across the country and against the best teams in the nation.
What is your background in the sport? How did you get involved in Alabama Hockey?
I’ve played and loved hockey since I was three years old. Played high-level youth hockey in Rhode Island through high school, and a bit of hockey in Finland. I didn’t have an opportunity like Bama Hockey when I went to college and was forced to leave the game to go to school.
College hockey is and has always been a weird thing. Twenty years ago, it was only played in a very small number of schools. People don’t realize there are less than 60 universities that compete at NCAA D1 hockey. It’s not like football or basketball, where there are hundreds of D1 (FBS and FCS) schools. Division 3 NCAA Hockey is played by about 100 schools, but they are all small colleges located in the northeast or Michigan and Minnesota.
Since the ACHA was formed and organization created for this level of hockey, 400+ schools have joined the mix from every part of the country to provide student-athletes the chance to represent their University. The defending national champion at our level is a small college out of the Los Angeles area.
The team is not funded directly by the school, like football, baseball, basketball, etc. How can people help if they are inclined to donate and support the Frozen Tide?
We don’t do a great job of getting the word out there about financial support. The University has stepped up their support of the program as we have grown in stature, but players are still a major contributor to the finances of the team. Each player pays around $1,200 to play Bama Hockey for a season.
Fans can attend games, buy merchandise through the website, at games, or at Bama Fever. After this season, we will enter into a partnership with Bama Fever to really expand the availability and selection of merchandise. Pretty soon you will see Bama Hockey merchandise across the state.
It was exciting being in New Orleans for the BCS game and every day seeing multiple Bama Hockey jerseys. Individuals can also join the Booster club for $100 and receive a $75 credit for merchandise from the club. Also, individual donations are accepted. We receive donations from $10-$2,000.
We are always looking for corporate sponsors, but because every person involved with Bama Hockey is a volunteer and has a full-time job somewhere, this is a difficult task for us. The players play, study at school and try to have some semblance of a college social life. Coach Q works and lives in Huntsville. Ian Hebert works for Banccorp South. Coach Crowley works in Montgomery. I work in Lubbock, Texas. Buddy D’Amare the general manager lives outside Memphis and travels about 80 percent of the time for work. It’s a group effort of highly committed volunteers. Our Board of Directors for the Booster club which runs the merchandise and home games are all from as close as Huntsville and as far as New York City.
Tell us a bit about the league. Who are the traditional powerhouse teams and how well is Alabama progressing up the ladder?
The SECHC is a new venture. Seven years ago, when Bama started playing hockey, we were the first SEC West school to field a team. Today, every team in the SEC has fielded a team, while LSU is on a hiatus due to lack of a volunteer organization. Traditionally, the SEC East teams were the powers. Tennessee, Georgia and Florida have all been to nationals, and were the traditional powers. About three years ago, that power shifted West with Arkansas and Alabama pushing hard on the door. Arkansas has won the last 2 SECHC championships.
This year, Ole Miss started knocking on the door of the elite level with a big upset of Arkansas. Bama is currently No. 1 in the SEC. That position will be challenged the last weekend of the season with the South’s No. 3 (us) and No. 4 Arkansas teams playing for SECHC primacy.
What is your vision for Alabama Hockey? Do you see the team crossing over into Div. 1 Hockey?
We want Alabama to be the premier ACHA program in the nation. We want to provide our players with the best experience humanly possible. We want to provide our fans with an exciting evening every time they come out to the rink. We want to represent our school such that every one at the University is proud to have such a group of student-athletes representing them across the country. Whatever level we play at, national championships are the goal, as they are with every Alabama sports program. NCAA Division 1 status is not truly on our radar, other than knowing it is an eventuality if we all do our jobs to the best of our ability. It could be five years, 20 years or 50 years; it doesn’t matter. It relies upon us waking up every day and doing the best that we can do with what we have today.
What are some of the challenges you face? Obviously, travel and facility needs are a concern, is there anything else?
Travel and facilities are the big ones, but our student-athletes play the longest schedule in college sports. They aren’t provided any of the behind-the-scenes help that every other student athlete is. Tutors, counseling, scheduling, diet, training and physical therapy. All of these things you never hear about or see as a fan are absolutely essential for the health of the student and life-long success. Currently, because we aren’t in the athletic department, our students are forced to do these things on their own. This is hard for a kid playing a 33-game regular season schedule that stretches over five months. It is the love of their sport and University that pushes them to keep going despite the conditions.
What are some of the big games coming up, and how can our readers get tickets and see a game?
Every game is big. Tennessee is an arch-rival in every sport imaginable. University of Central Florida (No. 2 in the South) comes to Pelham Civic Complex on Saturday, January 28th. The winner of this game could get the No. 2 spot in the South and the automatic bid to the National tournament that comes with it. Georgia comes to town January 29th, and this is a huge game for the players every year. We’ve been better than them for a while, but they come to play Alabama and the results have been 50/50. Anyone can win. We have two road games the first weekend against Arkansas at the beginning of February, so it will be a tough ending to the regular season. Tickets can be purchased the night of the event at Pelham Civic Complex, and our schedule is available on bamahockey.net.
What kind of reaction do you get from students on campus?
When I started four years ago, it was, “We have a hockey team?” Now it has changed. Students are excited to know the players, they think it is cool that we have a team and that we are good. They love the idea of us playing a non-traditional southern sport at a high level. The response now is, “When will be NCAA Div. 1?” or, “How can we help?” Those sort of things. Before we meet students, they know about the team now and that’s a big deal for the players. They don’t operate in obscurity anymore.
How does someone try out for the team?
We have an open tryout in August and September for the team. The way you tryout is you come out for the team and try to take someone’s job. The tryout process is very competitive. It gets tough on the coaches too. We have a 30-man limit to our roster. The number of student-athletes trying to make the team increases every year. The competitive level of the average player is skyrocketing, no one is guaranteed a spot from year-to-year, and sometimes from game-to-game.
We’re certainly open to giving the team as much coverage as we can. Do you get much other help from media sources in the state?
Yeah the media helps. The big-ticket mass media doesn’t give much interest yet, unless we are playing Auburn or doing something like the Tornado relief game. We see a huge uptick in attendance when the local television stations put a small bit on the news. It shows that people are interested. Sports talk radio is really starting to pick it up. Eli Gold is one of our biggest fans and supporters; he comes to all of the games when he is in Alabama. When they find out, they want to support. Football is king and we understand that.
Single Game General Admission Tickets are $5.00 each at the door and group rates are available.