MADISON, Wis. – Bruce McLeod, one of the most influential and successful commissioners in the history of collegiate ice hockey, has announced his intent to retire on June 30 at the end of his current contract. Now in his 20th season at the helm of the 62-year-old Western Collegiate Hockey Association, McLeod has made a truly significant mark on both the game itself and the organization he has led.
“It has been my distinct honor to serve this wonderful organization as Commissioner for the past 20 years and to be associated with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for 49 years – since 1965,” said McLeod. “The opportunity to get to know and to work alongside so many outstanding coaches and administrators, to become acquainted with so many marvelous student-athletes, and watch our sport grow and prosper has been a blessing. I will forever be a fan.”
Chosen by the membership to succeed the retiring commissioner Otto Breitenbach in 1994, McLeod has led the WCHA to ever greater heights. Recognized throughout the sport as one of its true leaders, his half-century of experience and wealth of knowledge about the game run the gamut from his days as a standout collegiate player at Minnesota Duluth in the 1960s, to a school administrator in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s where he worked closely with the league and served on numerous committees, and on to a notable tenure as commissioner of a premier collegiate athletic association. Pure and simple, McLeod has always been one of the game's biggest fans.
“We will forever be grateful for the commitment, loyalty and leadership of Commissioner McLeod,” said Dr. Richard Davenport, President of Minnesota State University and Chair of the WCHA Board of Directors. “His integrity, work ethic, unselfishness and enthusiasm for both the WCHA and the sport of college hockey shine through in every thing he does. Bruce has led the league to tremendous successes over his 20 years, all the while keeping the focus on the member institutions, student-athletes and staffs. We also are indebted to him for the tremendous efforts and leadership he put forth during the recent transition period in college hockey, where he was instrumental in making certain the WCHA remained a leader and a competitive and successful organization. We wish him all the best in retirement.”
A native of Fort Frances, Ontario, McLeod has presided over some of the most successful seasons in the seven decades of men's WCHA history, including eight national championship campaigns by league teams in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2011, and has from the get-go been a vocal and strong proponent of a women's WCHA that has won 14 consecutive national championships since its founding in 1999-2000. His tenure with the WCHA has also seen 10 men's member team players awarded the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey's top player and six women's skaters win the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award. Conference attendance for both the men's and women's leagues has also grown throughout his tenure, with the men's WCHA exceeding the 1,000,000 mark in home attendance for 18 consecutive seasons through 2012-13.
“On behalf of the conference's athletic directors, I want to thank Bruce for his years of service to the WCHA,” said Suzanne R. Sanregret, Director of Athletics at Michigan Technological University and Chair of the WCHA. “He has been a passionate leader for the league, and his work has added to the legacy of the WCHA and the prominence of college hockey across the country.”
Within the WCHA, McLeod has been the driving force behind the success of the WCHA Final Five playoff championship, having built productive, long-term relationships with the NHL's Minnesota Wild, Xcel Energy Center, the City of Saint Paul and FOX Sports North as a television partner between 2000 and 2013, and now forging new partnerships with Van Andel Arena, the City of Grand Rapids and the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins for future WCHA Final Five championships beginning this coming March. At Xcel Energy Center, the WCHA Final Five steadily grew into what's been considered by many to be the best conference hockey tournament in the land based on attendance, revenue, sponsorships and exposure. The WCHA Final Five drew attendance totals in excess of 82,000 six times in the decade of the 2000s, with a record 88,900 in attendance in 2007, 87,579 in 2006, and 87,295 in 2013.
McLeod was behind the launch of a new era for the league with the advent of an official web site at WCHA.com, the production of a weekly radio show known as 'This Week in the WCHA', a decade-by-decade video and narrative chronicle of the men's WCHA that covered the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the creation of an all-new Broadmoor Trophy that is presented to the league playoff champion each year, high quality reproductions of the MacNaughton Cup and Broadmoor Trophy that go to the championship teams each year, a striking and bold update of the league's iconic logo and a unique WCHA Style Guide created in 2013 that accentuates the WCHA brand, its history and championships and is complete with downloadable league and team logos, official colors, and usage guidelines. And now, here in 2013-14, he was a driving force in the first-ever conference-wide broadband and video streaming initiative with America ONE Sports – a successful development which has enabled fans around the world to watch men's league-member home games live and on demand.
McLeod's tenure has also included a regular connection to the international hockey community, which resulted in overseas trips for WCHA All-Star Teams in 1998 to Switzerland for the Kolin Cup and in 1990 to Norway, as well tours of WCHA member clubs by European-based hockey teams from Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Italy and Latvia. McLeod has also been a regular visitor to the annual IIHF Men's World Championship, where he meets up with officials and his many friends within the international hockey community.
McLeod orchestrated the WCHA's memorable 50th Anniversary Season celebration in 2000-01, which featured among the many promotions a season-long announcement of the WCHA Top 50 Players in 50 Years, a commemorative poster and commemorative merchandise, and a highlight reception and celebration of the WCHA in Saint Paul during the WCHA Final Five weekend. Among the legends in the WCHA Top 50 Players in 50 Years are the likes of John Mayasich, Bill 'Red' Hay, Keith Magnuson, Tony Esposito, Bill Masterton, Red Berenson, Brett Hull, Chris Chelios, Doug Palazzari, Mark Johnson, 'Huffer' Christiansen, Bill Nyrop, Tom Kurvers, Ron Grahame and Greg Johnson.
Ever a proponent of encouraging the growth and expansion of the collegiate game, McLeod has been instrumental in the addition of new men's member teams in Minnesota State University, Mankato in 1999, Bemidji State University and University of Nebraska Omaha in 2010, and most recently, in the midst of an upheaval of the collegiate hockey landscape and the loss of eight teams during the summer of 2012, keeping the WCHA out front as a leader. The league went out and secured six new teams in University of Alabama Huntsville, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bowling Green State University, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University and Northern Michigan University, and combined with University of Alaska Anchorage, Bemidji State, Michigan Technological University and Minnesota State, give the league a highly-competitive 10-team circuit beginning with the 2013-14 season.
McLeod has always been among a select group of individuals who have had continual impact on the college hockey scene – whether the topic concerns playing rules, expansion, the national tournament, sponsorships and promotions, professional ice hockey, or television. He was instrumental in the formation of a new Division 1 college hockey league – College Hockey America – which announced in 2001 that they would name their championship trophy in his honor. He is a key contributor to the sport on national, international and professional levels and plays a lead role in the Hockey Commissioners' Association. The HCA has been a springboard of ideas for the six Div. 1 conference's, having introduced a national rookie of the year award, the Derek Hines' Unsung Hero Award, national player and rookie of the month awards, a XM Satellite radio show, and the formation of College Hockey, Inc. He also serves on the Board of Directors for both College Hockey Inc., and USA Hockey, Inc.
“Bruce has been a great colleague, and, more importantly, a mentor and friend, said Steve Hagwell, ECAC Hockey Commissioner. “From the moment we met back in the late 1990s to today, Bruce's passion for the sport and tireless efforts to enhance the game – not just the league he administers – have been evident. Hockey, not just college hockey, is losing a true advocate of the sport. It truly is my privilege and honor to call Bruce my friend.”
In January of 2007, at the passing of longtime colleague and former WCHA Commissioner Otto Breitenbach, McLeod's passion could be felt in his words.
“There are really no adequate words to describe what Otto meant to all of us in the WCHA family as well as throughout athletic circles across the country,” said McLeod. “Otto touched so many lives in so many positive ways over the years and so many of us owe so very much to him. Our lasting memories of his qualities as a father, grandfather, coach, leader and mentor are a fitting tribute to a truly great man. Three words always come to mind when I think of Otto – quality, class, gentleman. He has left a noteworthy legacy through everyone that ever had a chance to know him and we will all miss him dearly.”
McLeod's on-going efforts on behalf of amateur ice hockey have seen him twice honored nationally – first with the United States Hockey Hall of Fame's first-ever President's Award in 2003 and second with the American Hockey Coaches' Association Jim Fullerton Award in 2004. The President's Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant and long-term commitment to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Being honored with the first President's Award was unexpected, but I'm very appreciative”, said McLeod at the time. “When I work with various groups, I don't think about recognition such as this. In my many years of working with the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, the pleasure has truly been mine.”
The Jim Fullerton Award, meanwhile, recognizes an individual who loves the purity of the sport of ice hockey – whether a coach, administrator, trainer, official, journalist or simply a fan – and who exemplifies Jim Fullerton, who gave as much as he received and never stopped caring about the direction in which the game was heading. McLeod has been involved with the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame's annual fund-raising game since it's inception in 1974, when it was first played in the Eveleth Hippodrome, and has helped bring the game into ever bigger arenas.
“Through Bruce's efforts and commitment to help the Hall, we have this wonderful college hockey game once a year and in many cases our Faceoff Classic has opened new arenas across the country,” said Jim Findley, Board of Directors and President of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Here in the 2013-14 season, commitment to the game of college hockey by the league and its teams continues as strong as ever, and McLeod could not be happier that the future of the league is bright. Covering a wide and diverse geographical area of more than 4,100 miles and across five time zones, the 10 men's and eight women's member institutions that make up the WCHA feature the best in both educational and athletic environments, administrations dedicated to the sport and the student-athlete, and enthusiastic fans across the board.
“As a group, we've had some bumps and bruises and weathered some difficult times, but the one thing that has remained constant has been our respect of each other and our collective commitment and effort to do what's best both for the WCHA and the game of ice hockey,” said McLeod. “And of that I could not be more proud.”
Prior to being named WCHA Commissioner, McLeod had over 25 years of service at his alma mater of Minnesota Duluth, serving as Athletic Director, assistant athletic director, business manager, and sports information director after graduating in 1969. One of the people he worked for at UMD and still admires to this day was the late Ralph Romano, former hockey coach and successful athletic director who was a major influence in the growth and success of collegiate athletics there. McLeod was a four-year hockey player for the Bulldogs, producing 81 points in 77 games as a winger between 1966-69. He ranked second in scoring in the WCHA as a sophomore and served as UMD's team captain in 1968-69.
Indeed, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association – and the entire ice hockey community – owe a debt of gratitude to Bruce McLeod. His tireless efforts in promoting the game at all levels, ensuring a memorable experience for student-athletes who play the game, and working diligently to ensure its continued growth and health, have ensured a legacy that puts him among the legends of the game.
