UB’s Student Association (SA) has de-recognized two sports teams — the men’s and women’s ice hockey clubs — as of May 1, according to leaders of the men’s hockey club, who received notice of their de-recognition via an email from SA President Becky Paul-Odionhin.
The de-recognitions come after years of bureaucratic turmoil for at least some of the teams. Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams have expressed frustration with the SA in recent years for not processing payments and other logistical issues. The SA fined the men’s hockey team more than $4,000 for not requesting funds early enough and for not paying referees prior to games.
The SA dismissed the men’s team for a “failure to complete the above stated meeting and event requirement,” which states that clubs must hold at least three on-campus events during the year. The team regularly practices and holds games at the nearby Northtown Center at Amherst throughout the season.
They also face 21 “separate alleged violations,” but “no final decision has yet been made” on how it will affect their club status.
“We don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Morgan von Hedemann, the men’s hockey head coach, said. “If we go independent, there’s some other red tape that we have to kind of sift through or I have to go back and read. I never thought we’d get to this point.”
The top UB men’s ice hockey team currently competes in the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL), which is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). During the 2022-23 season, the team won the NECHL title, earning them a trip to the ACHA National Tournament. The men’s hockey club also includes a team in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).
It is unclear whether the two teams will be able to compete next season.
Henry Daley is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at henry.daley@ubspectrum.com
Henry Daley is an assistant sports editor at The Spectrum. His work has featured on other platforms such as Medium and Last Word on Sports. Outside of the newspaper, he enjoys running and watching sports (when he’s not writing about them).
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
