Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Letter from the Commissioner
Aug. 7, 2007
Dear WCHA and College Hockey Fans,
With the 2007-08 season getting underway, and on behalf of our 10 Association-member teams, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association wants to sincerely thank you for your enthusiastic support of both the league and college hockey in general. We are all tremendously excited about this new season and hope you are, too.
It's been a tremendous ride for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, both historically since the league's founding in 1951, and continuing on over the past decade. And thanks in large part to you the fans, the annual Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five has become an integral part of that success.
Teams representing the WCHA have won five of the past six national championships, seven of the past 11, and a collegiate conference record 36 overall. During the past seven seasons alone, WCHA-member teams are a collective 348-153-54 record in non-conference games, for a winning percentage of .676. More than 55 of our players have earned All-American honors since 2000 and attendance in the WCHA continues to soar above the rest, with a collegiate hockey record of 1,606,686 attending WCHA-member home games in 2006-07.
The annual Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five, which will be marking its eighth consecutive appearance at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul in March of 2008, has become one of the premier championship events in all of collegiate athletics. Last season, a record 88,900 attended the five Final Five tournament games, boosting the WCHA Playoff Championship's all-time attendance to 1,193,261 since 1988. WCHA Final Five attendance records were set in four of the five games in 2007, including an all-time single game WCHA attendance record of 19,463 for the Minnesota vs North Dakota game that saw the Golden Gophers capture the Broadmoor Trophy with a 3-2 overtime victory. The per game attendance average for the 2007 Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five was an amazing 17,780.
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National exposure, record sponsorships, college hockey's most competitive league, college hockey's best fans, and a facility and sports community that rank second to none have combined to create a truly magic atmosphere at the Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five.
As we proudly mark the WCHA's 56th season in 2007-08, we expect another spirited battle among the league's 10 teams for the regular season championship and MacNaughton Cup and then a two-week post-season tournament that is second to none. Earning that coveted trip to Saint Paul and the Final Five has become a primary goal of all of our teams.
The 2008 Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five is set for March 20-22 at Xcel Energy Center and we can't wait.
Due to the continuing success of the Final Five and the record crowds we have experienced at the championship in the past, we want to encourage you to renew your Final Five tickets today, and be there next March when the best of college hockey's premier league does battle for the 2008 Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five championship and the Broadmoor Trophy.
The 'State of the WCHA' has never been stronger than it is today, and on behalf of our nearly 300 student-athletes, our member team coaching and administrative staffs, we say 'thank-you' and hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
Bruce M. McLeod
WCHA Commissioner
