Recapturing that touch of gold
'What it means to pull that sweater over their heads when they go to play—reestablishing a tradition of greatness and winning.'
Jamie Russell, Husky hockey coach, is a realist. He has nine recruits joining the team this year.
"How good are they?" he is asked.
"I'll tell you in four years," he responds, only partly in jest.
Russell is also a dreamer, and he hopes the youngsters contribute to his grand goal of returning Michigan Tech to the national spotlight in Division I hockey.
Beginning his second year as coach, Russell is encouraged so far. Financial support, especially for recruiting, is key, he says, and fundraising for hockey progresses well. "The response so far has been great," he says.
Part of the success is in large part due to what the hockey staff calls "a silent donor" who made an anonymous challenge gift of $900,000. If the University raises that amount in 2004, the donor will match the sum on this timetable—$400,000 by April 30; $300,000 by August 31; and $200,000 by December 31. So far the effort is on schedule. If realized, the donations will constitute $1.8 million of a $3- million goal by the all-year hockey reunion on campus in August 2005. "It's hard work, but I think we'll make it," says Bill Steele, director of athletic development.
To ensure continued success, Russell and Steele hit the road this past summer, visiting with alumni in Toronto, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and western Canada—all places where there are many hockey alumni.
The fundraising effort continues an ongoing upgrade in the program. Phase One raised $2 million and built the Hockey Educational Center and spiffed up the locker room. "Firstclass facilities are key," Russell says. He notes that Tech is the only WCHA program that doesn't have a new rink.
Phase Two, called the Hockey Enrichment Campaign, will bolster financial support for things like travel and recruiting. Travel is a priority. For instance, Tech has a difficult tenhour bus trip to play in North Dakota, and a grueling seventeen-hour bus trip to play at St. Lawrence University in New York. "We'd like to fly," Russell says.
Phase Two also will cover unexpected challenges—such as unforeseen recruiting trips. Russell says recruiting is an all-year-long endeavor. He and his staff call potential recruits every week and sometimes have to make unplanned trips. Without glitzy facilities and riches to spare, "We have to outwork our competition," he says.
That outlook dovetails with Tech's hockey tradition, in which alumni and community are "very connected" and function as what Steele calls "an extended family." "Michigan Tech has always been a special place to people who have been here," he says. "The friendships formed because of this place last a lifetime."
Russell, who also coached at Ferris State University and Cornell University, had a chance to coach on the professional level. He opted to stay on the college level. "I wanted to see the kids for four years and watch them develop as players and well-educated men."
That attitude reflects his recruiting philosophy—" To get recruits to trust and believe in us."
Steele is optimistic about rebuilding the hockey program to national prominence. "We're going in a new direction," he says, "and the right people are in place."
Steele played on Tech's national championship team in 1975. Highly recruited, he came to Tech because of then-coach John MacInnes, whom he describes as "my mentor, my teacher." Steele is convinced that Russell is cast in the same mold and character as MacInnes. "He'll be a convincing part of the equation of why students choose to come here," Steele promises.
For his part, Russell is rebuilding the program on renewed pride. He wants to instill in today's players "what it means to pull that sweater over their heads when they go to play"—that is, that they are charged with reestablishing a tradition of greatness and winning.