The Tigers will start off at the club level, but Division 1 is the goal. Could we see a Coach Subban in their future?

NASHVILLE - In the first step of what will hopefully be many, Tennessee State University announced the formation of a men's club hockey team at the NHL Draft here in Nashville. The Tigers will become the first college hockey squad to hail from an HBCU (Historically Black College and Universities) school in the U.S. and have aspirations to go Division 1 in men's and women's hockey in the future.

The ramifications of this are big: As the sport continues to grow in the U.S., the NCAA will remain a huge spoke in the wheel of development, whether it's attracting new participants to the sport or helping elite players get to the pro level while also providing them with a college education. Nashville, which has thrived as a hockey market thanks to the NHL's Predators, also seems like the perfect place to recruit players from outside of Tennessee, assuming TSU eventually goes Division 1. Want to play NCAA hockey in a warm city with tons of fun things to do? Sure you do. It's no mystery why Arizona State hasn't had any problems recruiting. Anson Carter, the former NHLer turned broadcaster and ECHL Atlanta Gladiators part-owner, also pointed to the atmosphere at HBCUs, noting that his business partner went to Morehouse.

"I went to Michigan State, 60,000 strong and our homecoming is pretty fun," Carter said. "Al took me to Morehouse's homecoming and it's a whole different animal. So any recruits you have (for TSU), bring them to homecoming."

TSU got to this point with the help of a feasibility study that the NHL, NHLPA and College Hockey Inc. has offered up to any schools thinking about adding college hockey. Lindenwood, a D1 newbie, did the same in concert with their local NHL franchise, the St. Louis Blues, for example. Naturally, the Predators have been integral to TSU's announcement.

Adding college hockey is not just a matter of wanting it, however: It's a costly sport that requires a suitable arena to play in. Thanks in large part to the Predators, Nashville has a number of arenas in and around town, including the Ford Ice Center Bellevue, about 10-15 minutes from TSU's main campus. That facility does have seating (approximately 1,200) plus a second sheet of ice for practices. And while that may not be big enough for a D1 school all the time, there were at least 11 D1 men's schools that averaged fewer fans this past season. Not only that, but TSU could also host mini-tournaments at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Predators. Nashville has already hosted NCAA hockey at Bridgestone, with North Dakota and Penn State playing a U.S. Hall of Fame Game there in 2021 in front of around 15,000 fans. A number of schools already host four-team tourneys during the season and again, with Nashville being such a tourist draw, TSU could easily sell out a weekend by inviting three others schools to join them.

But the grassroots side of the equation is even more important here. HBCUs grant a unique college experience for students, whether they are BIPOC or not. Providing that destination for hockey players from around the world who might be interested in that experience opens so many doors for a sport that is making a concerted effort to become more diverse - and by extension, more popular.

"If you haven't been to the North Nashville community, it's a very prideful community that loves what they do," said TSU director of athletics Dr. Mikki Allen. "And this city has turned into a hockey town. The people that wear gold and blue turned it there and we want to get on that train. If I was talking to a student-athlete I'd say, 'Why not come to Tennessee State? Why not compete for one of the most attractive cities in the country? Why not be a part of this special initiative we're bringing to the forefront?' I want the next P.K. Subban, the next Ryan Reaves, the next Willie O'Ree."

Starting with club hockey is the right move here because you don't want to jump into the deep end on something like this. You build from within to set yourself up for success later: Arizona State actually kept their club team coach, Greg Powers, when the Sun Devils went D1 and they've been pretty successful already.

But I will contradict myself with one (possibly) out-there proposal for the Tigers: If and when the men's team does go D1, they should try to hire P.K. Subban as the head coach. The biggest story in HBCU sports in recent years was when Deion Sanders took over as football coach at Jackson State in Mississippi, turning that program into a powerhouse. I don't even know if Subban has interest in coaching hockey, but if he does, he could be that Deion Sanders-type figure; a popular and well-known former player (and one who starred for the Nashville Predators for years) who could recruit talent and attract eyeballs to the nascent program (according to Carter, Subban was very excited about the TSU news and would have been at the press conference were it not for travel woes due to weather). Just a concept...

Meanwhile, the TSU Tigers are slated to start club hockey in 2024-25 (with women's club hockey up next) and it will be very fun to see how things go. Club hockey players do it for the love (you can't get a scholarship for club sports and you would actually have to pay fees yourself), but those first Tigers will be history-makers.

At the NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa this year, College Hockey Inc.'s Mike Snee mused about a future where there could be an HBCU Beanpot, similar to the four-team annual tournament between Boston's four D1 programs. That may be a long way off, but Tennessee State has gotten the ball rolling. Could we see more HBCUs join them soon? Howard University is in Washington, D.C., home of the NHL's Capitals, while North Carolina A & T is in Greensboro, not far from the Carolina Hurricanes (who originally played at Greensboro Coliseum before moving to Raleigh).

"While we are the first HBCU to add hockey," said TSU president Dr. Glenda Glover. "We certainly won't be the last."

The NHL, NHLPA and College Hockey Inc. are here and willing to help. But the benefits are coming already. Glover related a story about an email she got from a mom whose son wanted to go to an HBCU but was disappointed that none had hockey. Glover beamed over the "warmth" of the follow-up email when she told the mom that TSU was getting into the hockey game.

"There's no shortage of players," Allen said. "And my inbox has been inundated with requests from hockey moms and others, asking 'how can I be a part of this special initiative?' And it starts today."