The Huntington Blizard were not a "semi pro" team, they were a professional minor league team in the ECHL, the lower of the two organized NHL affiliated leagues. The moved the team to Beaumont, TX after the 99-00 season. It bounced around a few other towns before going broke after the 18-19 season. Wheeling and Cincinnati still have teams in that league.
Anyway, hockey is a very expensive sport. Equipment, place to play, travel, and 26 scholarships, which turns out to be 52 because Title IX would require a matching number of women's scholarships (doesn't necessarily mean women's hockey, but 26 scholarships in something you pick) .
There are only 64 Division I (and II, the NCAA combines DI and D2 into one division for hockey) schools fielding hockey teams, the only ones close would be Little Miami, Ohio State, Bowling Green, and Robert Morris, the first three of which play at the championship contender level and wouldn't be interested in playing us. The only hockey school in a non-traditional state is Arizona State, which has nearly 70,000 students and an athletic budget of $125M (ours is $40M). Alabama-Huntsville tried to have a hockey team, but couldn't afford it.
We used to have a club hockey team. They would play USPAM's club team at the rink behind Target in South Charleston, but lately the Spamies have been playing the Pitt club team, I don't know if our club is still active.
As to basketball, I'm saying .500 for the men and maybe .600 for the women. Certainly watchable.
If MU were to add another men's sport, the most logical would be wrestling. The WVSSAC has wrestling, so you could mine local talent, and all you need is a mat and some inexpensive uniforms.
