Ken Rocheleau's letter ripping former UAA Chancellor Fran Ulmer for not helping get hockey facilities included in the new on-campus arena has me wondering how much he knows about UAA athletics.
First, he says the hockey program is "the only Division 1 program at UAA." That is completely wrong. His statement that the new arena doesn't "even have practice ice" is true but silly because UAA already has "practice ice" in the current facility.
If his contention is that building a new arena without hockey ice is "pathetic" I have to wonder where he was 5 or 6 years ago when UAA proposed an on-campus arena with all of the facilities the currently under construction arena has — plus two ice sheets.
If Mr. Rocheleau and others who seem to have not much positive to add to this issue had joined us back then and lobbied the regents for this project maybe all of this program-wrecking verbiage would not have been needed and we would not be seeing the negativity surrounding UAA athletics these days.
— Jim O'Toole
Anchorage