Inside the fight to bring DI women’s hockey to Michigan: ‘Women belong on the same ice’

Denise Ilitch was tired of being told no.

For the last few years, she had been championing the idea of varsity women’s hockey to the University of Michigan administration. Because while the school is known as a men’s hockey powerhouse — with nine national championships, the second most all-time — Michigan has never iced a women’s Division I hockey team.

Ilitch — a regent at the University and the daughter of Marian and the late Mike Ilitch, who bought the Detroit Red Wings in 1982 — had been told repeatedly that it couldn’t be done. The reason? It was too expensive, though Ilitch had never been given any specific figures to back up the rejection.

“I had not heard a good enough reason on why we couldn’t have women’s hockey DI at Michigan,” Ilitch told The Athletic.

So, during the March regents meeting, Ilitch went public with her pitch: It’s time for the University of Michigan to launch a varsity women’s hockey program.

The women’s club team will be in its 30th year when the puck drops for the 2024-25 season on Thursday. And the appetite for women’s hockey in the State was apparent when a Professional Women’s Hockey League game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit drew a record crowd for a game back in March.

“Part of our mission statement at the University of Michigan says ‘to serve the people of Michigan.’ And right now, the people of Michigan are not being served. There is a demand for women’s hockey at (Michigan),” Ilitch said during the meeting. “Women belong on the same ice as men. The University of Michigan must show that on our ice, we support varsity women’s hockey. That’s leadership. Hockey is for everyone, and we are ‘HockeyTown.‘”

Michigan president Santa Ono said he would look into launching a feasibility study with athletic director Warde Manuel.

The athletic department launched the study in May; it is expected to be completed sometime in the fall.

The study is a significant step toward a potential future for elite women’s hockey at one of the biggest schools in college athletics. It’s the first real look at adding the sport in decades. This time, though, the push for women’s hockey comes at a historic moment for the sport, with a new professional league and more eyes on the game than ever before.

“It almost feels like we’ve got this perfect storm,” said Jenna Trubiano, the club team’s head coach. “I personally would have wished it happened many years ago. We can’t change the past but you can focus on the future.”

There’s reason to believe a women’s DI program would make sense at Michigan.

But the questions remain: Why has it never worked before? And can they make it happen now?

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It’s been 26 years since women’s hockey was seriously considered for varsity appointment at Michigan.

The club team was founded in 1994 by a group of women who played hockey in the area — mostly on men’s teams or in open adult leagues — and wanted to see more opportunities exclusively for women. By the 1997-98 season, Michigan was looking to promote two teams to varsity status and women’s hockey — which was about to debut at the 1998 Nagano Olympics — appeared to be high on the shortlist.

According to archived board minutes, business plans for the addition of women’s hockey and men’s soccer began development in March 1998. That process was not unlike the current feasibility study: The athletic department dug into how it could add women’s hockey as a varsity sport, and how much it would cost.

Plans were submitted in September 1998, according to the records, but only two months later the department moved on from hockey. In the end, the school opted to elevate men’s soccer and women’s water polo.

“It was just a money decision,” said Sue McDowell, one of the co-founders of the women’s club hockey team who became a longtime assistant coach.

Water polo, McDowell was told, would cost significantly less than hockey. And the women’s team could share a facility, the Canham Natatorium, with the men. Soccer already had fields in place. For hockey, though, Yost Ice Arena — with only one ice sheet and one up-to-standard locker room — isn’t easily shared.

“That was pretty much the nail in the coffin,” McDowell said. “Whenever you brought it up, it was ‘this is too expensive,’ and ‘there’s no way we can do it.’”

While Michigan passed on women’s hockey, other varsity programs started popping up, including at Big Ten rival schools Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio State. Since the NCAA sanctioned women’s hockey in 2000-01, Minnesota (6) and Wisconsin (7) have won the most championships. Ohio State — Michigan’s biggest rival — has won two championships in the last three years, which might actually be the biggest argument in favor of women’s hockey at Michigan in most circles.

“If Ohio State wins national championships, they should have to run through Michigan,” said Michigan regent Jordan Acker, who supported Ilitch’s argument in favor of a varsity team at the March meeting. “It absolutely plays a role (in the desire for a team), there’s no question about it.”

Female hockey registration has also grown in the state of Michigan in the decades since that late ’90s decision. Last season, Michigan ranked fourth behind major hockey hotbed states Minnesota, Massachusetts and New York in female registration, per USA Hockey. And yet, save for the Wayne State program, which folded in May 2011, there have been no DI women’s hockey programs in the state of Michigan. In contrast, there are seven men’s programs that will play in 2024-25.

This has resulted in homegrown talent from successful youth programs such as Little Caesars or HoneyBaked having to leave Michigan to pursue elite college hockey opportunities. Four players from Michigan — Kirsten Simms, Megan Keller, Abby Roque and Taylor Girard — appeared on Team USA rosters last season. All four left the state for college hockey; Simms — who grew up in Plymouth, Mich., and is a junior at Wisconsin — led all NCAA players in scoring last season.

For McDowell, it’s easy to feel like Michigan missed a critical window in 1997-98. “It’s always been a sore spot,” she said.

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When the feasibility study is complete it will provide decision makers with a comprehensive overview of what it will actually cost to run a program. This includes everything from the cost of scholarships, salaries, and travel budgets, to Title IX implications, and an evaluation of potential venues, which could mean updating an existing facility or building an entirely new one.

Michigan has hired Collegiate Sports Associates, an executive search and consulting firm, to lead the study. College Hockey Inc. is also involved. A spokesperson from the Michigan athletic department confirmed that the study is ongoing, but did not have anything to share publicly at this time.

A feasibility study can provide a clear path toward setting up a team. That was the case for the University of Delaware when the school announced at a press conference last year that it would add women’s hockey as a varsity sport for the 2025-26 season. The athletic department had already committed to move to the Football Bowl Subdivision — the highest level of college football in the nation — and was committed to adding a women’s sport to remain Title IX compliant.

“As we considered all of the NCAA-sponsored sports, women’s ice hockey did make the most sense at the highest level,” said Chrissi Rawak, Delaware’s athletic director.

Delaware’s study laid out the finances and found that Fred Rust Ice Arena, where the team will play — one of two rinks on campus — only needed small-scale renovations, which made women’s hockey more feasible financially.

Typically, the lack of an existing facility is the biggest hurdle when it comes to adding DI hockey. For Michigan, Yost Ice Arena is going to play a central role in the study and the future of a women’s varsity program. It was built in 1923 as a field house and was turned into a hockey facility in 1973. It’s an iconic venue in college hockey, but it has only one sheet of ice and one locker room — the men’s home locker room — that would be considered quality enough.

The varsity men’s hockey team is also the only full-time tenant at Yost. The women’s and men’s club teams do not have locker room space in the arena, and usually practice during off hours because the men’s team has priority. The women’s club team is required to pay to play at Yost, at a cost of between $30,000- $40,000 — it will cost players $2,500 in dues to play hockey at Michigan this season — though President Ono has reimbursed the team for most of its rink bill the last few years.

If a second team were to move into Yost on a full-time basis, renovations would likely be required, either to add another ice sheet or more locker rooms. But an expansion is unlikely given how old the arena is and the footprint it already has on campus — it backs up onto the baseball facility and sits between the football training facility and an academic building.

There are rinks in Ann Arbor — such as the Ann Arbor Ice Cube — that could potentially be used as practice facilities to make sharing Yost only necessary for games. The study will examine all of the possible facility options, including other sites on campus that could be renovated to accommodate hockey.

Donors will likely play an important role in women’s hockey at Michigan, especially if a new building is required.

In 2011, Michigan promoted men’s and women’s lacrosse teams to varsity; two years later the athletic department received a $100 million donation from Stephen M. Ross, the owner of the Miami Dolphins, which helped fund the new athletic campus that includes a lacrosse stadium. In hockey, Penn State men’s and women’s hockey debuted in 2012-13 after a $102 million donation from Terry and Kim Pegula, the owners of the Buffalo Bills and NHL Sabres, which funded the construction of the Pegula Ice Arena.

“I think that there’s cautious enthusiasm for this,” Ilitch said. “I’ve received numerous calls from people that want to help, that want to get involved, that want to donate. Generally you have to call donors. Donors don’t call you.”

Another major consideration for Michigan will be where the team plays. Delaware is joining Atlantic Hockey America, which already includes Lindenwood, Mercyhurst, Penn State, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse.

For Michigan, the most likely options are the AHA and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Big Ten doesn’t currently sponsor women’s hockey like it does for men’s hockey, but it’s fair to wonder if that would change if Michigan entered the picture.

The WCHA makes a lot of sense with three Big Ten teams (Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota) and would allow Michigan to capitalize on preexisting rivalries. But, the conference’s footprint stretches over 900 miles between Bemidji, Minn., and Columbus, Ohio, which would impact travel costs. Joining the AHA would mean more drivable trips, and would likely be easier to compete in — that’s ultimately what made it a “perfect league” for Delaware, Rawak said.

AHA commissioner Michelle Morgan said she’s had some “very preliminary” conversations with Michigan about league dues and travel. When asked if Michigan would be a fit for the WCHA, commissioner Michelle McAteer said, “Like everyone in women’s hockey, the momentum, interest and potential around Michigan elevating to DI status is very exciting. We would work with College Hockey Inc., institutional representatives and the other DI hockey conferences to help make that happen.”

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The current push for women’s hockey at Michigan appears to have all the right pieces assembled: the support of the regents — including the power and influence of Denise Ilitch — and President Ono, potential donors, and the desire to beat Ohio State in every sporting arena.

Two years ago, those ingredients might have led to an easy yes. But now?

“It might be the worst time to add a varsity sport to an athletic program,” said Greg Dooley, a professor at Michigan who teaches courses about the history of college athletics.

College athletics are on the cusp of unprecedented change. The explosion in NIL compensation for athletes has already changed the landscape. And now — after the NCAA and the nation’s five biggest conferences have agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle several antitrust claims — the stage is set for millions of dollars to go directly to student athletes.

A groundbreaking revenue-sharing model outlined in the March settlement proposal would have schools each provide up to $21 million annually to student athletes. That has already led to budget cuts across the NCAA, with more difficult decisions — particularly when it comes to Olympic or “non-revenue sports” — sure to come.

“Most athletic departments right now are going to be making decisions about which programs to support and possibly cut,” Dooley said. “Who is going to add a hockey program right now?”

In June, the Michigan athletic department projected total operating revenues for 2024-25 to be $255.7 million — a $25 million increase from the 2024 fiscal year — with projected operating expenses of $253.4 million. Michigan athletics financially benefits from its football program — the defending national champions — and the Big Ten’s $8 billion media rights deal that began last season. But even Michigan, with its large revenues, is going to face major challenges in the new landscape of college athletics.

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“It has to make sense financially for the athletic department to support all the teams in this new world, which we’re not quite clear on yet,” Dooley said. “If you’re running a business, you probably wait to make any significant changes until you understand the real impact.”

When Delaware decided to move forward with women’s hockey, the athletic department had no sense of what was to come. Rawak said the looming changes wouldn’t have altered their decision, given the increased exposure and national visibility that comes with a move to FBS football. But she did admit this is a much more complicated time to add significant expenses to an athletic department.

And while Dooley has many reservations about the changes to come, if there’s a school that can pull this off at this time in collegiate athletics, it’s Michigan.

“I think it’s the right thing to do at the right time,” he said. “I think people in this town will support it, and frankly most people wished they had this team 20 years ago.”

(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic. Photos of Denise Ilitch, Michigan hockey and Yost Ice Arena: AP; Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)