U.S. Collegiate Athletics
As I mentioned in my introductory entry, I play for the University of Minnesota's Division I NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Team. I want to talk a little bit about this now to give you an idea of what Division I Collegiate athletics are like in the United States, for their importance and glorification can be somewhat surprising.
For many universities in the United States, their athletic teams are a very large part of their sense of pride. Some universities are known world wide because of the success of their athletic teams. In many cases, college sports are held in the same or at least similar regard as professional sports teams.
Ice Hockey is a very big deal in Minnesota, more so on the men's side, but the women's team is also one of the most profitable sports teams at the University of Minnesota behind the high revenue sports such as Basketball, Football and Volleyball. Minnesota is referred to as the State of Hockey, and can boast having developed some of the best female hockey players in the world. I have had the opportunity to play with eight girls that have went on to play for Team USA, four of which have won Olympic medals. I, personally, have had the opportunity to play for Team Canada for a year, including a tournament in Germany in January 2007.
Here is a picture of my Team and I celebrating a goal:
The men's hockey program at the University of Minnesota has graduated many players who have went on to have extremely successfull professional careers, and others who have also went on to play at the Olympic Level.
College athletes, in general, have almost a celebrity status in some ways, in that they can often be seen on TV and quoted in the many papers. It is a crazy and almost surreal environment to be a part of sometimes, and I can not help but be surprised every time a fan asks me for an autograph, for I can never believe that my autograph is worth asking for.
As a student, there are many ways to get involved with the athletic programs at the University of Minnesota. There are countless events to attend that are all very fun and exciting opportunities to watch some of the premier athletes in the country. For almost every weekend throughout the school year there is a sport that you could go watch if you were looking for something to do, and as an added bonus - many of the sport events are free for students!
Below are some links if you are interested in learning more about Gopher Athletics, the Women's Hockey program or a little Info about my career as a Golden Gopher.
Gopher Athletics website:
www.gophersports.com
Women's hockey team website:
http://www.gophersports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8400&KEY=&SPID=3323&SPSID=38864
My Player Biography:
http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=38865&SPID=3323&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=261229&Q_SEASON=2007