In December 2015, Mike Sullivan walked into the locker room in Pittsburgh to address a struggling Penguins team for the first time since he replaced Mike Johnston as head coach.

The club had gone 15-10-3 to start the 2014-15 season, which was six years removed from its last Stanley Cup and unfolding on the heels of an embarrassing five-game, first-round exit to none other than the New York Rangers the campaign prior.

Holdovers from the 2009 championship team in that room wanted to build a dynasty. The closest the Penguins had come to another title was the 2013 conference final, when they were swept by the Bruins in four games. They had lost three seven-game series over the years and were looking to restore their championship pedigree.

Sullivan, who was promoted from his head coaching post with the team’s minor league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., came into that room with conviction from his first day.

Change is coming to the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament, but not the change

some have been shouting for from center ice

the last couple of years.

Starting in 2025-26, the NCAA championship committee will use a different mathematical formula to select at-large teams and seed the 16-team NCAA tournament. The Pairwise rankings are being replaced entirely by the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI).

The NPI is similar to the Pairwise and a version has been used by NCAA Division I women’s hockey as part of their Pairwise rankings since 2022-23. The Division III ranks started using the NPI in 2024-25.

Only college hockey’s biggest math nerds will likely notice much of a difference.

What’s definitely not changing is where the NCAA tournament is being held, which is at neutral sites where college hockey is at best played once a year when an NCAA regional is placed there.

One arena where a regional will be held next season — what is now known as MVP Arena in Albany — only hosts ice hockey these days when an NCAA regional comes around.

As much as some high-profile figures in college hockey want that to change,

it’s not anytime soon. Minor league and junior hockey rinks have been booked as regional sites through the 2027-28 season.

That doesn’t mean discussing the regional format is a waste of time. These conversations need to happen well before bidding opens for 2029 and beyond. Change in men’s hockey takes time, as the move away from the Pairwise and Rating Percentage Index showed.

Advocates of the current system say playing at neutral sites is the most fair way to get to the Frozen Four, but that’s a load of bull because many of the sites regularly being used are not neutral, and only “fair” if the host misses the tournament.

What’s the difference between Denver hosting regionals in 2026 and 2027 at its own Magness Arena vs. 56 miles north at what is now called Blue Arena in Loveland, Colorado?

Why can’t UMass host a regional in 2027 at Mullins Center on campus in Amherst instead of 27 miles south in Springfield, Massachusetts?

Schools are permitted to bid for regionals at their home rinks, but haven’t because they’ve been told preference will be given to “neutral” sites. Let’s flip that and encourage North Dakota to host at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks instead of a rink — Scheels Arena — less than half its size 81 miles south in Fargo.

Clint Austin / File / Duluth News Tribune

Consider this the first step toward what some admittedly smart people believe is the best format: The top eight seeds hosting first round games one weekend and the four highest remaining seeds hosting regional finals the next.

If you want a tournament that’s fair, this is it. Under this system, you have to earn a home game, not just bid on it.

The group pushing for this — while growing — remains a vocal minority. There are too many underdogs from smaller leagues who are against this, in addition

to those who think the Pairwise or NPI is not a fair way to determine who gets a home playoff game.

So here’s a twist that might tip the scales: Give six of the eight first-round home games to conference tournament champions while the NPI decides who the other two hosts are.

Will the top eight teams be hosting NCAA tournament games? No, but I’d be willing to bet the arena won’t be half-empty. Raising the stakes of conference tournaments will also be an added bonus.

This idea was actually floated during the coaches convention this month in Florida, and the more I think about it, the more I love it.

The NCAA Division I men’s regionals need a refresh — leave the NCAA Frozen Four alone, it’s great — as badly as some of the arenas they play in. It will likely take baby steps and compromises to get somewhere.

Let’s start taking those steps now and not be afraid to think outside the box along the way.

By: Maddie Omana

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Dartmouth men’s and women’s track and field teams had their final split-squad meets of the season on Thursday evening, with student athletes competing at the UMass Last Chance Qualifier and the MIT Final Qualifier. 

UMass Last Chance Qualifier

On the throwing side, Colton McMaster won the shot put with his 17.31m finish, which is good for fourth all-time. Additionally, McMaster clinched the discus with his 51.44m mark. Cate Schelly won the women’s discus with a 46.10m throw. 

Jada Jones continued her success, clinching the 200m for the Big Green with a final time of 23.80. 

Mariella Schweitzer placed first in the long jump with her 5.92m mark, while Charlotte DiRocco placed second in the high jump after clearing 1.65m. 

Painter Richards-Baker triumphed in the 110m and 400m hurdles, winning both events with 15.39 and 53.25 finishes, respectively. Liam Murray finished second in the 400m, recording a time of 47.27. 

MIT Final Qualifier

Andie Murray, who holds the third all-time best finish in the 800m, set a personal record in the event with her 2:05.32 finish. 

Albert Velikonja was the runner-up in the 1500m and put himself at second all-time with his 3:42.67 mark. Ashton Bange finished fourth in the event and set a personal record after recording a 3:47.34 finish. 

ALL-TIME RESULTS

Men’s 1500m

1. 3:40.17 – Ben True – 2007
2. 3:42.67 – Albert Velikonja – 2025
3. 3:43.42 – Sean O’Neal – 1985
4. 3:43.81 – Eric Gibson – 2022
5. 3:44.85 – Sam Wilbur – 1994
6. 3:45.02 – Silas Talbot – 2015
7. 3:45.20 – Ben Gose – 1992
8. 3:45.26 – Henry Raymond – 2018
9. 3:45.35 – Harry Norton – 2008
10. 3:45.36 – Steve Mangan 2012

Men’s Shot Put

1. 19.89 – Adam Nelson – 1997
2. 18.00 – Max Klein – 2023
3. 17.45 – Wayne Moody – 1973, 17.45 – Ted Moody – 1972
4. 17.31m – Colton McMaster – 2025
5. 17.25m – Burt Anderson – 1991
6. 17.12m – Ken Jansson – 1979
7. 17.08m – Shaun McGregor – 2000
8. 17.01m – Pacey Pet – 1982, 17.01m – Jeff Rettig – 1991
9. 16.89m – Marty Perkins – 1991
10. 16.87m – Peter Kortebein – 1986

Women’s 800m

1. 2:03.81 – Julia Fenerty – 2023 
2. 2:03.82 – Megan Krumpoch – 2014
3. 2:05.32 – Andie Murray – 2025
4. 2:06.99 –  Meggie Donovan – 2014
5. 2:07.35 – Annie Jackson – 2024
6. 2:07.40 – Bella Pietrasiewicz – 2025
7. 2:07.86 – Kristin Manwarning – 1996
8. 2:08.11 – Abbey D’Agostino – 2013
9. 2:08.12 – Abbey Livingston – 2018 
10. 2:08.15 – Cecily Garber – 2003 

TROY, N.Y. – Johnny Hwang, a first-year from the Skidmore College golf team, earned All-Liberty League Second Team recognition as announced on Thursday.
 
Johnny Hwang (Fy., Falmouth, Maine) – All-Liberty League Second Team
Hwang led Skidmore with a 74.67 scoring average over 10.5 rounds, including a ninth-place finish at the Liberty League Championship in April with rounds of 74, 36 (9 holes), 72. Arriving as a mainstay to the team’s lineup in the spring, Hwang had the second of the team’s two rounds in the 60s for the season when he shot a 69 in the second round of the Tim Brown Invitational in a round that featured four birdies in a row and a 13-hole period played at 6-under par.
 
2024-25 All-Liberty League Men’s Golf Teams and Awards
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shibo Wang, Rochester
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Luke Evans, Rochester
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rochester
 
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Arjun Aujla, Rochester
Matt Buckley, RPI
Luke Evans, Rochester
Kevin Kim, NYU
Jomyuth Luangtana-anan, NYU
Shibo Wang, Rochester
 
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
Johnny Hwang, Skidmore
Jacob Lindsay, RPI
Eddie Ren, Rochester
Alvin Su, Rochester
Oscar Uribe, NYU
 
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
Ryan Komp, RPI
Sam Lyman, St. Lawrence
Eric Spoth, Clarkson