Women's Hockey
The path to launching a varsity women’s hockey team at the University of Michigan is clear — and it’s going to be expensive.
A feasibility study conducted in late 2024, which The Athletic obtained through a public records request, found that one of two things would be required to launch a women’s hockey program at the school: a multimillion-dollar renovation of Yost Ice Arena, or the construction of a new facility.
Back in October, The Athletic examined the reasons why a women’s Division I program would make sense at Michigan, why there’s never been a team in the first place, and what the study might uncover about the feasibility of women’s hockey at one of the biggest schools in college athletics.
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Now, we have more answers. The 36-page study was officially completed in October by Collegiate Sports Associates, an executive search and consulting firm, and provides stakeholders with a comprehensive review of what it will actually cost to run a women’s hockey program. This includes everything from the cost of scholarships to salaries, travel budgets and facility construction.
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According to the study, many stakeholders in the athletics department view the decision to sponsor women’s hockey as “long overdue,” “a no-brainer” and being “all about values and where we want to spend our resources.” But there were concerns predominantly around funding the team at such a volatile time in college athletics, with the landmark $2.8 billion class-action settlement that — if approved — would significantly increase the athletic department’s expenses.
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So, how much will a team cost? What about the new (or renovated) arena? How realistic is it that Michigan could get a women’s team?
Here are the major takeaways from the study.
That a feasibility study was even launched is significant for a potential future for elite women’s hockey at Michigan. It’s the first real look at adding the sport in decades, and it comes at a critical moment in women’s hockey with a new women’s professional league and more eyes on the game than ever before.
The women’s club team is playing in its 30th season, and the appetite for women’s hockey in the state of Michigan was apparent when a Professional Women’s Hockey League game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit drew a record crowd for a game back in March 2024. The league will return to LCA March 16 for a second game as the PWHL eyes expansion.
It’s been 26 years since women’s hockey was seriously considered for varsity appointment at Michigan. Business plans were drawn up for the addition of women’s hockey and men’s soccer in March 1998, but ultimately the school chose to elevate men’s soccer and women’s water polo.
“It was just a money decision,” said Sue McDowell, one of the co-founders of the women’s club hockey team who became a longtime assistant coach. “Whenever you brought it up, it was ‘this is too expensive,’ and ‘there’s no way we can do it.’”
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The subject has come up again largely due to the support and influence of Denise Ilitch — a regent at the University and the daughter of Marian and the late Mike Ilitch, who bought the Detroit Red Wings in 1982 — who publicly called for the study at a March regents meeting.
“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 women’s hockey at (Michigan),” Ilitch said during the meeting. “Women belong on the same ice as men. The University of Michigan must show that on our ice, we support varsity women’s hockey. That’s leadership. Hockey is for everyone, and we are ‘HockeyTown.’”
And the fact that rival Ohio State has won two national championships in women’s hockey in three years cannot be overstated.
Typically, the lack of an existing facility is the biggest hurdle when it comes to adding DI hockey.
Michigan has Yost Ice Arena, the 102-year-old iconic rink the men’s team calls home. But the study found Yost to be “extremely limited” in what it offers in terms of locker rooms, ice access, revenue generation and other typical hockey-related resources.
One potential path forward is a $50 million expansion of Yost to create enough space for two varsity teams with better resources comparable to other elite programs. The expansion would be into the south parking lot near Schembechler Hall – the football team facility – and would significantly reduce parking in the area. It would also likely mean fewer community events at the rink, according to the study, but a Yost expansion would be the least expensive venue option.
Michigan could also construct a brand-new area, which would cost around $300 million. This rink would have one sheet of ice for both teams, but improved resources and increased seating capacity (8,000 to 10,000), which could boost revenue.
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A third option laid out in the study would be to build a facility with two sheets of ice for around $330 million. The study used the University of Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena (used by the men’s team) and Ridder Arena (the women’s rink) as one potential model.
Leaving Yost, despite its shortcomings, might be difficult for more sentimental fans of a historic program.
“I don’t know if the study quite captured how people feel about Yost and how iconic it is,” said Greg Dooley, a professor at Michigan who teaches courses about the history of college athletics. “Let’s say there was some funding that was found to say we’re moving out of Yost, a lot of people would be upset. That place is sacred.”
Hockey is an expensive sport for athletic departments to take on.
The Michigan men’s team, for example, cost $4.71 million in the 2023 fiscal year, per the study. And despite being among the most successful teams in the nation, the men’s program loses around $900,000 per year.
According to the study – which considered the men’s hockey team’s expenses as well as peer women’s hockey programs – a varsity women’s hockey team would add an annually escalating expense of around $4.5 million to the Michigan athletics budget.
Those expenses include coach compensation, athletic aid (the most expensive category), team travel, equipment and other operating expenses. Total program expenses across the NCAA in 2023 ranged from $1.64 million to $3.99 million, which means Michigan would spend more than the average team should it get a team.
The projected figures in the study rely on the assumption that Michigan would fund the program “at an elite level, among the top few programs in the country.”
Elite DI women’s hockey programs generated annual revenues between $200,000 and $1.4 million in 2023. With that in mind, the study projected a conservative revenue of $400,000 for a team at Michigan, which would make the net expense around $4.1 million. And that’s without the addition of any scholarships past the current limit of 18, which could change pending the results of the House settlement.
There are three financial pathways laid out in the study.
First, the athletic department could pay the bill.
Michigan is one of the few athletic departments that is financially self-sufficient, which means it does not use university money to pay for athletic programs. But, according to the study, placing the entire funding on the department would come with “significant financial challenges” and projected athletics deficits.
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Alternatively, Michigan could subsidize a “small part” of the university budget to the athletic department. The school’s operating budget for the 2025 fiscal year is $14.9 billion, according to the University of Michigan budget book.
“The school probably needs to start subsidizing sports here at Michigan, because the jig is up,” said Dooley. “We’ve created an enterprise that was built on well below market labor and now, through the courts, we can’t do that anymore.
“I think the pride around no institutional subsidy is an antiquated notion.”
Still, the study concluded that the best course of action would be to secure a major philanthropic gift — or gifts — to fund “all related short-term and long-term resources and endowment” to sponsor varsity women’s hockey.
“Although adding varsity sports is especially risky financially at this moment in time, Option 3 provides the best path forward with the fewest risks,” the study said.
Ilitch said in October that she’d already gotten multiple calls from people who want to get involved and donate to the cause.
“Generally you have to call donors,” she said. “Donors don’t call you.”
Will there be $300 million in donations? That’s more difficult to imagine, especially for “non-revenue” teams at such a volatile time in college sports.
Hockey-related donations are not unheard-of, but the price tag has been nowhere near that amount.
Penn State men’s and women’s hockey debuted in 2012-13 after a $102 million donation from Terry and Kim Pegula, the owners of the Buffalo Bills and NHL Sabres. Their donation funded the construction of the Pegula Ice Arena.
There’s still a huge leap up to the $300 million required for a new rink at Michigan, which might make a $50 million expansion of Yost more realistic.
In June 2023, the Nashville Predators and Tennessee State University announced a partnership to establish the first men’s hockey team at a historically Black college. The Predators are assisting the program through funding, scholarship program donations, facility access, internships and job opportunities.
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The University of Delaware is set to launch a varsity women’s team in 2025-26 with a Philadelphia Flyers partnership, which includes community events and professional development opportunities.
The study suggested Michigan explore a similar relationship with the Detroit Red Wings, which are still owned by the Ilitch family. The study also said there is a “high probability” the NHL would work with Michigan athletics to secure funding for an upstart program or by sharing facilities, operations and hosting events.
The study is still being evaluated by stakeholders and has yet to be officially discussed at a Michigan regents meeting. The February meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, does not list women’s hockey on the public agenda. It’s fair to wonder if the matter will be tabled until the settlement is officially approved in April.
Either way, the study gives Michigan a clear path to launching a long-awaited varsity women’s hockey team.
(Photo: Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Hailey Salvian is a staff writer for The Athletic covering women’s hockey and the NHL. Previously, she covered the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators and served as a general assignment reporter. Follow Hailey on Twitter @hailey_salvian
