Hockey is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States.
So it's no surprise that UNM has a hockey team of its own.
The UNM Ice Wolves enter their sixth year of existence this year. A club team, the Ice Wolves are not NCAA-sanctioned, nor does the UNM Athletic Department support them.
"We obtain most of our funding on our own or through the ASUNM Senate from student fees," club president Ben Mjus said. "There are really only two way to raise money outside that - by ticket sales and fundraising."
Tickets for the team's games at the Outpost Ice Arena, 9530 Tramway Blvd. NE, are $3 a game.
Mjus said players like him, who donate their time, run the team. Mjus works 20 hours a week on the team in addition to his studies and team practices. Even the team's coach, Otley Smith, is unpaid by the team. The team has expenses, like ice time which runs as much as $150 an hour at the Outpost. Team members are also required to buy their own equipment, though the team does provide jerseys.
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The team is made up of 17 players, including two goalies. To be on the team, you must be an enrolled student at UNM. If you're an undergraduate, you must have nine credit hours. Graduate students must be enrolled for six credit hours.
The team also has tryouts at the beginning of each semester. Players must pass a test of minimum skating and hockey requirements. Tryouts for the 2002-2003 season took place Sept. 5 and 6. The team accepted every player who tried out, but Mjus said it is always looking for good players.
"We have to be fair, but I guess this season if someone wanted to get on the team they could still do it," Mjus said.
The team competes in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Hockey Association, which is a Division II league within the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The RMCHA includes UNM, BYU, Montana State University at Bozeman, the University of Utah, Utah State University and Weber State University.
The Ice Wolves played a 20-game schedule in the 2001-2002 season, going 5-14-1.
UNM opens its 2002-2003 season Oct. 4 and 5 against Northern Arizona University. Despite not playing in the same conference, NAU and the Lobos have developed a heated rivalry, Mjus said. Game times are 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 4 and 10:15 p.m. on Oct. 5.
UNM also sponsors coed club sports in rodeo, rugby, bowling, cycling, men's gymnastics, women's Frisbee, karate and mountaineering.
