BEMIDJI, Minn. — In June, Tracy Dill retired after spending nine years as the director of athletics for Bemidji State. Then on July 5, he was named interim commissioner for the WCHA women's hockey conference. Dill discusses his career in athletics, which began by playing football at William Penn, then working as an assistant football coach and track and field coach and then in administration at St. Cloud State before taking the job at BSU. He talks about his career, trying to help women's hockey get more exposure, how he fell in love with the game and more in The Rink Live podcast with Jess Myers and Mick Hatten.
TIME STAMPS
2:00 How his new position with the WCHA came about after retiring from being athletic director at Bemidji State
4:50 His background, coaching football and track and field at SCSU, being an administrator at St. Cloud State before moving to Bemidji State, how he ended up at BSU
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6:20 Played football at William Penn, coaching and getting masters at SCSU
7:13 Was an English major and minor in math as an undergraduate
8:25 Keeping the WCHA tradition going, trying to close the gap between top four and bottom four teams in the conference, Ohio State pulling its goalie in a tie game against BSU, getting more TV coverage
12:05 How he fell in love with college hockey, his first college game was watching the University of Alaska with Mick Lucia
14:20 University of St. Thomas playing its first Division I season with head coach being the US Olympic team coach
16:25 Dealing with some radical changes in the NCAA, including the transfer portal, NIL.
19:25 Northern Michigan looking into women's hockey, rumors about North Dakota women's hockey and possible expansion
22:00 What it was like when the women's WCHA started
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23:45 SCSU joining the men's WCHA, beating Wisconsin in the Bradley Center in the WCHA Final Five, Tom Serratore being an assistant coach for the Huskies
26:30 How the move to Sanford Center has helped BSU, tradition of the men's hockey program
28:30 Dynamics of the BSU campus, outdoor friendly
30:00 Being able to cheer for a WCHA team in the NCAA tournament
