It would become of one of the university’s most expensive athletic programs. And also require a multi-million dollar renovation of an existing facility or the construction of a complete new one.
For the University of Michigan to add women’s hockey to its Division I programs, all options come with cos
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After months of multiple regents and community members publicly urging officials to add women’s hockey as a varsity sport, the school launched a feasibility study last May to examine the possibility.
Michigan now has more information regarding the next steps and associated costs if it was to pursue that venture. The university hired Collegiate Sports Associates, an executive search and consulting firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina, to conduct the study, which was completed in October.
The 34-page report, which was obtained by MLive through a public records request, highlights several challenges of adding a Division I program, especially during a volatile time in college athletics. There are currently zero Division I women’s hockey programs in Michigan, compared to seven on the men’s side.
The study estimates a women’s hockey team would add an annually escalating expense of approximately $4.5 million to the athletics budget. That would be mitigated, only in part, by an annual revenue projection of $400,000, but the $4.1 million in net expenses would make women’s hockey one of the school’s costliest programs. Women’s basketball was the only Michigan program of the school’s 29 to have a net expense greater than $4.1 million in the 2023 fiscal year.o accommodate a women’s team, Michigan would need to renovate and expand historic Yost Ice Arena, or build a new facility.
In the report, CSA noted the current physical limitations of Yost, and estimates expanding the arena southward, which would significantly reduce parking in the immediate area, would cost around $50 million. Constructing a new arena with one sheet of ice is estimated at $300 million, while a rink with two sheets would cost approximately $330 million.
The new rink would be home to both the men and women’s hockey teams with a capacity between 8,000-10,000. The ice also would be available for campus and community use.
The study comes on the heels of a landmark $2.8 billion class-action settlement that was granted preliminary approval in October. If the NCAA vs. House settlement is approved by the courts on April 25 as expected, Michigan’s athletic department could be facing approximately $50 million in additional expenses each year.
The study notes the Michigan athletic department is currently one of the few in the country operating without an institutional subsidy, but maintaining that standard presents challenges as most power conference schools are expected to participate in revenue sharing when it begins during the 2025-26 academic year.
Michigan also spends more money ($32.5 million in 2023) on student-athlete aid than any other school in the nation, the study found, and that number is expected to rise with schools soon to be able to provide as many scholarships as there are roster spots if the settlement is approved. For example, the scholarship limit for men’s and women’s Division I hockey would increase from 18 to 26.
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CSA determined there are three financial pathways forward to creating a women’s hockey program at Michigan:
1) Placing responsibility on the athletic department to fund the program, noting that would come with “significant financial challenges prompting arduous resource allocation decisions and/or likely projected athletics deficits at a volatile time in the NCAA.”
2) The university determines an appropriate institutional subsidy to the athletics department.
3) Major philanthropic gift(s) to fund all related short-term and long-term resources and endowment to sponsor women’s hockey as a varsity sport.
CSA, which also worked with the NHL and College Hockey Inc. during the study, believes the third option is the best path forward, offering fewer risks and aligning with the athletic department’s “core value of sponsoring a broad-based, competitive varsity sports program, the university’s values of equity and opportunity, and the state of Michigan’s task force objectives.”
Large gifts have been a catalyst for launching Division I programs at other institutions. Penn State men’s and women’s hockey transitioned to Division I in 2012 largely due to a $102 million donation from the Pegula family to build a rink on campus to support both programs.
In 2014, a $32 million donation allowed Arizona State to elevate its club men’s program to Division I.
Augustana University is in its second season as a varsity men’s program, and it wouldn’t have happened without a large donation to build a new rink. But those endeavors also took place before the NCAA’s groundbreaking $2.8 billion settlement.
“Universities are arguably experiencing the most chaotic and disruptive environment in the history of college athletics,” the CSA report states. “The uncertain future frames a problematic context questioning the financial wisdom of expanding sport sponsorship at this moment. Subsequently, Michigan’s athletics values are competing with each other, which will challenge the long-held culture of investment in student-athlete success, broad-based program offerings, and championship performance versus an athletics program that serves fewer student-athletes and with fewer services, is less self-sustaining, and values participation over championships.”
Last February, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said adding women’s hockey wasn’t something the department was interested in at the time. But with the recent success of the women’s club team and the support of several regents, the push continued.
“We’re in a historical moment,” Regent Denise Ilitch, whose family owns the Detroit Red Wings, said at a board of regents meeting last March. “It’s time for the University of Michigan to have a varsity team for its women’s hockey program.”
“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 varsity women’s hockey at the University of Michigan by the people of Michigan.”
CSA interviewed university athletics stakeholders for the study.
“The answer, philosophically, is simple and has been a universal response from stakeholders: sponsoring women’s ice Hockey is consistent with the University of Michigan’s philosophy of providing equitable opportunities within intercollegiate athletics as a catalyst for holistically maximizing student-athlete growth and development,” the report reads. “However, the financial answer is much more problematic and cautions against proceeding without a deliberate financial and capital plan with clearly defined funding and not relying solely on anticipated new revenues, donations or distributions. This note of caution is especially meaningful with revenue-sharing with student-athletes and expanding roster limits on the horizon.”
How the university proceeds remains to be seen. MLive has requested an interview with Michigan athletics officials.
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The intent of a feasibility study is not to recommend whether a university should or should not add a team but rather provide as much information as possible so school officials can make educated decisions on next steps. A feasibility study led to the University of Delaware announcing the addition of a women’s hockey program in December 2023.
But not all have led to the addition of varsity programs. Northern Michigan University greenlighted a women’s hockey feasibility study in 2018 but it never materialized into an official proposal to the regents because of the need to build another facility to support a women’s program – a costly venture for a Division II school in all sports besides men’s hockey.
The state has not had a Division I women’s team since 2011, when Wayne State folded its program after 12 seasons because of funding issues. Michigan produced 45 Division I women’s players during the 2023-24 season – the fourth-most in the country behind Minnesota (221), Massachusetts (103) and New York (52).
