Unbelievable. But then again, maybe not. The Interim Chancellor of the University of Alabama in Huntsville did what everyone said he was going to do. Today, Dr. Malcolm Portera killed UAH Charger hockey.
Oh, that is not how the spin-laden press release puts it. But rest assured, there is one person to blame for this, and that is Interim Chancellor Malcom Portera. Dr. Portera ignored the commitments to fund the program, he ignored the commitments to market the program, he ignored the community support that was overwhelming in its determination to maintain UAH Hockey as a Division I sport. He carried through with the agenda he brought into the position when he came to work in Huntsville earlier this year.
Note I said came to work… he never lived in Huntsville. He has no earthly idea of what hockey means to the community… and quite frankly, never cared to learn. He has shown a callous disregard for the surrounding Huntsville community throughout this whole sordid affair. Dr. Portera now holds the infamous title of the first college Chancellor to kill a championship winning program, all under the guise of saving money. Dr. Portera saved nothing, what he managed to do is give the university a black eye during the same season UAH is hosting the Frozen Four!
In the press release, Portera shows his ignorance even further by saying how dropping Division I hockey is good for the young hockey players in Northern Alabama. Really, it’s in the release… Could you imagine if Dr. Portera was announcing the end of Alabama football, telling you that it would be good for the young football players in Alabama??? Utter rubbish.
According to the good doctor’s logic, a university team’s players have to come from the surrounding area. Watch out… I guess the men’s Cross Country team is next… over 60% of the roster comes from outside of Alabama, half of the women’s volleyball team and 65% of the men’s soccer roster and 70% of the school’s men’s tennis team hails from outside of the state. What a ludicrous suggestion! It truly defies logic.
Dr. Portera cannot reasonably claim a lack of support. The Save UAH Hockey group had pledges of over $525,000 for the next three years raised over a five week period. Local business leaders, y’know, people who live in Huntsville and know the value of the program stepped up to offer marketing help and business direction to ensure the long term viability of the program. The Mayor of Huntsville was behind the efforts, the Huntsville Convention and Visitors Bureau was behind the efforts, student leaders stepped up to help get better transportation for students to attend the games. The City Council and City Commission of Huntsville passed resolutions in full support of D1 hockey at UAH.
All kinds of credit goes to folks like Nathan Bowen and the entire Save UAH Hockey Group. They jumped through every hoop that Dr. Portera put out there, did everything they were told to do to prove the viability of the program, only to have the rug pulled out from under them.
A new Chancellor takes over at the end of this week. As of Friday, Dr. Portera can slink back off to whatever part of Alabama he came from and pass off a university that, quite frankly, is worse than when he found it… a thirty year tradition of hockey gone with the stroke of a pen. Congratulations Doctor… I hope you are happy with the decision you made, I hope you are pleased that you negatively impacted the lives of these fine student athletes. I hope you can rest well knowing that you ripped out a big piece of not just the UAH community, but the entire Huntsville area with one uninformed and ill-reasoned decision.
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