With the recent cut of the Women’s Hockey program at the University of North Dakota, a lot of people have been affected. Countless current players and alums from all around the world have had their school choose to discontinue their sport for financial reasons. Coaches, support staff, fans, and those in the community have lost a team that provided so much. People are out of jobs, fans can’t go see the next generation of women’s hockey stars in Grand Forks, the players affected will have to go to an even smaller number of schools. Also, many local schools and non-profits will lose out on thousands of hours of time being spent with outstanding role models both in their sport and in life.

This article is not about all of the back story or the drama of the cuts or how they were implemented, however, this is about how the Women’s Hockey program opened my eyes to another side of working in sports I never thought possible, and without it , I would not have helped co-found this blog. This article is a small thanks to all the people whom I met as a student and remain connected with now because of Women’s Hockey.

During my first year at UND, I wanted to help out with a sports team in some way. After seeing the opportunities available I contacted the team and learned how to shoot video. Nearly every Friday and Saturday home game, I had behind the scenes access to sit in the press box of the Ralph Englestad Arena, which is absolutely stunning. I always got to my post early to set up. It was great to see UND hockey from that angle and feel like I was a part of something bigger than myself.

In the following years I met a lot of great people as I worked as a volunteer for the athletics department editing highlights. I wanted to do that because telling a story about UND athletics and its world-class athletes was and will always be fun. Being able to edit games and pick out key moments for the rest of the world to see has always been fun for me. Working as a volunteer for UND athletics, specifically editing videos for Women’s Hockey games got me started in the sport and communications industry which I am proud to always be a part of.

I wish the best of luck to all those affected by this terrible tragedy and wanted to thank everyone with UND Athletics for letting me volunteer as a student, and inspiring a desire to always be in sports and communications at the same time.