University of Kentucky Cool Cats
Through our respective blogs, BigBlueWalkOns and UKCoolCats, we hope to explore the often over-looked and under represented members of Kentucky’s athletics. We will be researching and writing about the UK hockey team as well as walk-on players of the mens basketball program. Our focus is on why these groups of people should be more well known and get the respect that they deserve. During this time we will be interviewing the athletes directly and researching about the individuals as well as the team. The goal we have set is to explore how these athletes affect the teams in which they play for.
BigBlueWalkOns is a site dedicated to the Kentucky Mens Basketball players focusing on the walk-on players. My goal of this blog is to show the big blue nation how important the walk-on players our to the program even when overshadowed by the highly recruited players that come through each year. The players that walk onto the team are the heart and soul of the program they work for all that they achieve in the time they spend here often being overlooked by an incoming freshman class; it is my hope with this blog to share the same passion that they bring to the game to the fans at home.
UKCoolCats is a blog site designed to get the word out about the University of Kentucky Hockey team. The hockey team is only a club sport but they practice and travel like a varsity sport, just without the recognition. Kentucky is not primarily known for hockey and because of its location in the country it is not watched or played as much as northern states, but yet they are the third largest spectator sport on campus. They have a great tradition going on and this site is designed to inform others about them as well as for fans to interact and help spread the word.
The puck drops at midnight. Hundreds of rowdy fans pack the Lexington Ice Center cheering on their hockey team, the University of Kentucky Cool Cats. It isn’t the biggest or nicest ice arena around, but the atmosphere inside is electric. The UK hockey team is the third most attended sport at the University of Kentucky, but yet they are still only a club sport and must fund a good amount of their play. Each player must pay $2,000 each year in order to play on the hockey team, which includes ice time, travel and stay, and also pay to play; not to mention the amount they pay for their equipment. In this blog I hope to inform everyone about the history of the University of Kentucky hockey team, their current struggle financially, and the current UK hockey team as well as their whereabouts.
The UK hockey team started up in 1984 and was led by the head coach Terry Pelto and the General Manager Mark Shupe. The first season was a losing one, but things were looking good for the first year after recruiting a few good players from New York. It wasn’t until the teams fourth season that they managed to acquire a winning season. Also during the fourth season was the beginning of a new tradition, Midnight Mayhem. Midnight Mayhem is a tradition in which all of the Cats home games start at midnight. That tradition kicked off many good things for the Cats, and in the 1989-1990 season they won their first ever Southern Collegiate Hockey Association (SCHA) championship, and then defended their title the next year posting two consecutive championship titles. The cats were improving year after year, and by the 1995-1996 season the GM decided to have the team join the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (MCHL), which was possibly the toughest league in the country for their division. The team struggled at first to adapt to the tougher competition, but they still managed to win games and post multiple winning seasons with above .500 win percentage. They played many seasons in the MCHL and did fairly well each year by making it to the playoffs, but never advancing too far. Despite their losses in the postseason, they still managed to post 15 consecutive winning seasons from 1987-2002. The cats now play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), where they compete against other Division II club teams, most of them located in the Midwest. Since the switch over to the ACHA, Kentucky has made it to the ACHA national tournament three times, advancing to the semi-finals twice and the finals once. They have proved themselves to be a talented and respected program across their league, which helps attract more players. Even though the competition gets tougher and tougher for the cats they continue to post winning seasons and win big games for their fans.
Kentucky is not exactly the hockey state of the United States, in fact the UK hockey team is one of few hockey teams in the state of Kentucky. Hockey is usually more popular in the northern states as opposed to the southern states mostly because of the weather and culture of the sport. Kentucky is a southern state but it is not too far from the north and is affected by some of the same weather. The University of Kentucky also attracts many students from other states, many of them from northern states who enjoy hockey, which is why I don’t understand why no one has made a push to see them get more publicity. It is understandable that the ice rink is not in tip-top shape because of where they are geographically, but yet they are building new places for the basketball team to live and adding onto current buildings around campus as well. It is tough to take care of an ice rink in a warmer climate, especially without much money. If the Cats could get a better facility and better machines to take care of the building, their play would get much better.
Besides the actual ice, the inside of the building is older with a tiny concession stand in the lobby with only one cash register. In order to get into the game you must pay $7, which is $2 more than last years admission price. This extra two dollars has angered some fans, but because the University does not fund the hockey team, they need the extra money in order to keep playing. The seats inside are older benches and they are usually filled up by game time. The first game of every year is usually the biggest because new students want to see what the hockey team is all about. Unfortunately; however, the small capacity of the ice arena will only fit so many and they have to reject people and send them away. The arena can fit up to about 750 people inside, which is easily reached by 11:45 p.m., right before the puck drops. For the people that they have to turn away it may be the last time that they attend one because of the chance of not getting in again. The ice arena is about a 15-minute drive from campus, which is a turn off for many students because the games start at midnight on a Friday or Saturday night, making it tough to find transportation over to the games. If the team had some extra funds or help from the University in order to build an ice rink closer to campus and make it nicer, they will see many more fans show up which in turn is more revenue. Regardless of the lost fans due to various reasons, the cats still manage to pack the ice arena full almost every game, and yet after 23 seasons they still have not made a big enough impression on the University in order for them to give them more financial help.
It seems crazy to me that the third most attended sport on campus is struggling for money in order to travel and play in their games, while the basketball and football athletes are walking around in their free Kentucky gear sent to them by Nike. All of the varsity athletes get free equipment as well as free clothes and gear to wear outside of the games, while the hockey team has to pay for their uniforms and equipment out of their own pockets. The star athletes are always seen on campus driving around in nice cars or being driven around by other people, and even if people deny it, they are treated differently in class as well. These well-known athletes are basically getting spending money and luxuries from the University, while the hockey team is struggling to finish their season and players are quitting due to lack of money. According to ESPN.com, “NCAA president Mark Emmert backed a proposal to allow conferences to increase grants to student-athletes by $2,000, “to more closely approach” the full cost of attending college, beyond the athletic scholarships given for tuition, fees, room, board and books.” Now, on top of the free gear that the varsity players receive, and free tuition for some, they will receive an extra $2,000 for spending money. The UK hockey team cannot give out scholarships because of their club status, which makes recruiting even harder for them, especially because of the financial struggles of many. Therefore, because of their club status, the team or any individual players will not be eligible for the extra scholarship money that is allowed in the NCAA rule book. Not only are they not eligible for scholarships or the extra money that is now being added on to scholarships, but also each member of the team must pay the $2,000 per year to play on the team. So the hockey team is paying the same amount of money as the varsity athletes are receiving just for playing their sport. The athletic department overlooks the hockey team even though they have proved themselves as a respected program since the program started in the early 1980’s.
Anyone in their right mind would accept free gear and equipment from the University, but the hockey team is more worried about being able to pay for their equipment just to play each game. Senior Assistant Captain Sean Mclaughlin said, “It is hard enough to get the money just to play each year, but on top of that I have to pay for all of my equipment in order to play.” Playing a sport on the collegiate level usually means that the equipment costs more money because the players are more serious about the sport. The most frequently purchased piece of equipment is the hockey stick because of the high risk of breaking it each game. Senior Captain Bill Glass said, “There is always a chance of breaking a stick during a game. I have broken multiple sticks in a single game before. It just depends on the night.” The top of the line hockey sticks run for about $250, which can add up very quickly if the player breaks a lot of sticks. Although pads and skates are not purchased as frequently due to the durability, when a purchase needs to be made it can be very expensive. Mclaughlin said that he usually buys a new pair of skates every 5 years and the last pair of skates that he purchased were $800. It is hard enough for the players on the team to pay to play, let alone their equipment expenses, and there is no time for them to work during the season either. If the University gave a little more financial support to the team, they will be able to attract many good players.
The lack of financial help from the University is definitely one of the teams’ biggest issues, but another issue that they are bothered about is the fact that they don’t get much recognition in the press or from the University. Going back to the ice rink, the only visual representation of the game in progress is the old scoreboard that is on the wall and the announcer occasionally speaking. The only cameras in the ice rink are the handheld ones used by the teams for game film. It seems to be a very low budget sport at this school and for the big teams that they bring in, the arena should be much more impressive. The Cats have big games this season against teams such as Ohio State University, University of Michigan, Indiana University, University of Illinois, and many more. Other than a few guest appearances from UK athletes and faculty, not that many representatives of the University are in attendance at the games, however, they are always in attendance at basketball and football games. Mclaughlin is playing in his second year for the Cool Cats and has a very strong opinion regarding their financial status. “It is crazy how overlooked we are by the University. We practice and play just as hard and as much as the other sports teams, but we don’t see the all of the luxuries that they do.” Although these sports seem to appeal to the general public more, the hockey team is out making a name for themselves each week and they deserve some recognition.
Problems concerning the teams financial struggles are always brought up in discussion with the team, but despite their complaints, the cats still continue to play and not let it bother them too much. Entering this season the team had lost two of their starting goalies, which left room for the younger goalies to step up and make a name for themselves. The two goalies this year, Matthew Bougie and Aaron Tenfelde, share ice time and are still battling for the starting position. The two goalies have led the Cats to victory many games this season and only losing a few on the way. Senior goalie Matthew Bougie is upset about how they are treated by the University, but is not as angry about it as others. Bougie did not play last year and he is very happy to have made the team and is able to play for them. He agrees that they should get more help financially from the University as well as some support from the athletic department, but he tries not to get caught up in it. “I am just happy to be on the team and to play with these guys,” Bougie says, “It would be nice if we could get all the cool things that other athletes get, but for me the money is worth it to play for this school.” Some of the players on the team are not as concerned about the financial issue that they have at hand, but it is very often debated about between teammates. Despite the exposure they already have on campus, the recognition from the University would be appreciated by all of the team and it would make their seasons much easier on everyone.
Instead of going through the University to gain exposure in the press, the hockey team has tried other ways of achieving their goals. For about the past decade the Cool Cats have brought in multiple actresses and models to pose for their posters, which display the team’s home schedule. In the past they have gotten celebrities such as Ashley Judd, Laura Bell Bundy and even the 2006 Miss USA winner Tara Conner. These posters have helped gain exposure for the team because of the names and faces on the posters. Earlier this year when the Cats played University of Cincinnati at home, they had former UK basketball star and current NBA star, DeMarcus Cousins, drop the ceremonial puck before the game started. Guest appearances like this really help bring in fans to the games and it shows the support of other UK athletes and the respect that they have for the program.
The current hockey team is made up of a mixture of all ages from freshman to Senior. There is a good balance of experience and wisdom as well as fresh, new talent ready to help the cats win games and make it to the post season. There are many seniors on the team who are playing in their 4th season for the cats and they know exactly what they need to do as the veterans of the team. So far through 18 games this season, the Cool Cats are 10-8 and they are ranked 14th in their division, which is the highest they have been ranked in about 10 years according to Mclaughlin. One of the Cats biggest strengths is playing at their home ice. Although it’s not the best ice they get to play on, there are many factors that give the Cats the advantage at home. First of all the home games all start at midnight, which throws many teams off because they are not used to playing that late, especially after traveling. Second of all, the Lexington Ice Center, though not very large, has a very energetic student section that intimidates most competitors. According to the official UK hockey website, “Kentucky hockey fans are known all over ACHA as some of the loudest and most enthusiastic fans. Opposing teams can’t help but feel intimated by the deafening roar and chants accompanying a UK goal.” The Cats are showing off their home ice advantage so far this year with an 8-3 record at home.
After completing 23 seasons, the University of Kentucky hockey team has proved themselves to be a well respected hockey team in their league and they have had some very good seasons, but they are still overlooked by many. Year after Year the team pays their dues and more in order to play for the team and nothing has changed, despite their efforts on the ice. They attract many fans and they are doing all that they can to win games for their school, bu t they have yet to see anything significant from the school itself. They do what they can to play and manage to get money by fundraising and from donations, but they seem to be far less appreciated than athletes on the basketball or football teams. The players are not asking for the same benefits and publicity as the basketball or football teams, they are simply asking for something that will help them out and keep them playing each year. They pay a large amount of money to play for the school, but yet the school barely notices they are there or what they have accomplished.
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