The University of Georgia Ice Dawgs hockey team was established in 1987 by team founder Larry Hall and a group of students who wanted to start a new tradition in Athens. The Ice Dawgs compete in the South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference (SECHC) of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), and play under NCAA rules. Georgia faces-off against ten (10) SEC opponents including east division rivals Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. Other opponents include cross-state rival Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State, and many of the other 38 teams in the South region of ACHA Division III.
The UGA Hockey Foundation is a 501-C3 Non-profit and provides students at the University of Georgia the opportunity to play high level hockey, the sport they love. With over 1,500 fans selling out nearly every home game, UGA Hockey is by far the most attended Club Sport at the University.
The Ice Dawgs have called The Classic Center home since April 9, 2014, in a 6-3 victory over Georgia Tech. The match was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,197 in what is now called the Akins Ford Arena, signifying the start of a new style of entertainment in Athens.
Before 2014 the Ice Dawgs had to travel to the Atlanta Ice Forum in Duluth, where games were played in front of few and without the atmosphere that exists at Georgia’s matches today.
It wasn’t long before the Ice Dawgs’ home established its value. During the 2015-16 season, their second full season at The Classic Center, the Ice Dawgs won their first South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference Championship.
They continued by winning two of the next three SECHC championships, as well as qualifying for back-to-back American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 3 National Championships in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
However, in late January or early February of every season, the Ice Dawgs have to move across the street to The Classic Center’s Foundry Pavilion, an outdoor venue that eliminates some fan attraction due to cold weather and less seating.
But soon enough, the Ice Dawgs won’t have to use the Foundry Pavilion.
In July 2019, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission added a proposal to provide $34 million toward the construction of a new arena at The Classic Center to the Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax 2020 project list. Voters approved the project — one with a larger permanent seating capacity of 5,500 — when they passed the SPLOST 2020 referendum in November.
This gives the Ice Dawgs a permanent home for games and creates a significant advantage for future players, as they won’t have to resort to practicing on the local YMCA field before the ice rink is put together. The new arena will remain within walking distance from North Campus.
The arena will also play a role in attracting potential players. It creates an advantage against other schools in the SECHC, like Florida, which practices and plays in Jacksonville, Florida, nearly 75 miles away from its campus in Gainesville, Florida.
“The arena is going to validate and put a big stamp on what we’re trying to build,” head coach Rick Emmett said. “Players from coast to coast will take notice about being able to play a club sport that has the facilities that we’ll have.”
The Ice Dawgs have created a new passion in the Athens area that can expand once the arena is built.
“The arena will certainly further the excitement for our fan base,” Emmett said. “People will want to come and see what the venue is all about, to be a part of that and see what our Ice Dawgs have to offer.”
Success on the ice also met with success off the ice. The team gives back to the community as well. When vying for the Thrasher Cup in Savannah, they visit and provide some smiles to kids in local hospitals. They raise funds for breast cancer research every year and partner with the military in a Teddy bear toss that provides cuddly toys to kids in need. This year the Ice Dawgs will partner with Nuci’s Space to provide mental health care and other resources to those in need.
The team has an operating budget of nearly $200,000. This goes to ice rink rental, equipment, travel, coaches salaries, recruiting and marketing. The school will provide the team $900 this year, up from $600 the year before. $900 only pays for about 2.5 hour of ice time! Many teams in the leagues get far more than that, up to $40,000 from their school. The Ice Dawgs get very little revenue from ticket sales, as most revenue pays for the ice time.
Come out and support the Ice Dawgs, a team that can make every Georgian dang proud!
Contact:
Julia Duncan ~ Marketing
julia.duncan@ugahockey.com
404-433-7991
