by Anna MillerAugust 12, 2024
For years, University of Michigan Regent Denise Ilitch has brought up the prospect of a varsity women’s hockey program to her colleagues on the board.
And for years, she got the same lackluster responses, from concerns about financial difficulties to straight rejections.
But this year, she decided to stop taking no for an answer, going in front of the board to advocate for the importance of having a Division I women’s hockey program at the University of Michigan.
“It was never a question of, ‘can girls play hockey?’ ” Ilitch told The Michigan Daily. “ … I just got tired of being told no, and so I just decided I’m going to put it out there and say what I think about it and why. And I was kind of astonished. But it really took off, I think I hit a nerve with the hockey world.”
This time, her colleagues finally listened and decided the next course of action would be to launch a feasibility study on the factors that would go into turning the current club women’s hockey team into a varsity program.
The announcement of the study came in April, and since then, the Michigan and hockey communities have been curious about updates on the study: What exactly are they looking into, when will the study be completed and where does this leave Wolverine coach Jenna Trubiano’s team for the upcoming season?
For the past three years, Trubiano has been the head coach of the club women’s hockey team, gaining more recognition for the program as each year passes. As more people immersed themselves in Michigan women’s hockey, support from the greater Michigan community followed, granting them a brighter spot on the map.
All that being said, it doesn’t mean women’s hockey will become a varsity sport immediately when the feasibility study is over. But without Ilitch’s passion and platform to uplift women’s hockey and the foundation Trubiano has built, this feasibility study wouldn’t even be in discussion.
And while the study isn’t complete, there are now some answers to the lingeringquestions.
***
As it currently stands, Ilitch confirmed in an interview with The Michigan Daily that the feasibility study is in the interviewing process, and the overall study is expected to be completed in the fall. Trubiano, the Regents, Wolverine men’s hockey coach Brandon Naurato and more are being interviewed to get a comprehensive understanding of what goes into making the women’s team varsity.
They will do a financial analysis, looking into the implications of Title IX, as well as the finances of potentially building another arena or keeping the team at Yost Ice Arena. It’s not as easy as just declaring the team as varsity — there is a lot that goes into the promotion of a team to varsity status.
What Trubiano and Ilitch are excited about is the sheer discussion of women’s hockey and the positive energy swirling around the study.
“The NHL has been extremely supportive, as well as the PWHL,” Trubiano told The Daily. “Both organizations have been extremely supportive and understand what this potential varsity program would mean for not only women’s hockey, but for the state of Michigan.”
Typically, the Regents contact donors and ask for aid. But for this case, it’s been the other way around. Donors have been reaching out to the Regents asking what they can do to help make Trubiano’s team varsity. Additionally, Michigan alumni, including high-profile alumni such as former Wolverine and 1997 Hobey Baker winner Brendan Morrison, have been asking how they can help with the movement.
With more eyes on the Michigan women’s hockey team comes more pressure to perform well. And this year, it lived up to those expectations and has plans to exceed them in the coming years. This past season, Trubiano led the Wolverines to another ACHA playoff appearance, in addition to heralding one of the strongest goaltenders in the country, senior Sandrine Ponnath.
“There’s a lot of focus on our program right now,” Trubiano said. “Right now, we built the foundation. There are a lot of eyes on us, and ultimately, we need to be successful on the ice, as well, to further the conversation for a varsity women’s hockey program. … We just have to operate like we don’t know who’s watching, but have the integrity in our day-to-day movements as if the president of the University is watching us, or the Regents, or the NHL or the PWHL.”
Trubiano is currently breathing life back into a program that has been around for 30 years due to her sheer passion for the game and getting female representation on the ice. With her team held under a microscope, she has risen up to the pressure, and she is finally getting her flowers for it — even on the international scale.
Despite having club status, she’s running the team as if it’s varsity.
“We’re about to celebrate our 30th year of club women’s hockey,” Ilitch said. “ … Which shows that it has a lot of legs, that it has sustainability, that women continue to come to Michigan and want to play hockey, and so I think it’s been a wonderful foundation.”
Ilitch and Trubiano have been working hand-in-hand to advocate for the women’s hockey team. Without Ilitch, with both her title as a Regent and her family’s background in hockey, the feasibility study would still be a fever dream. She decided to speak publicly on the topic, drumming up attention to donors and alumni. And without Trubiano and her success as a coach, the prospect of uplifting their status would be out of the question.
As people wait for the results of the feasibility study, it’s clear Trubiano has made a name for herself on the international stage. However, it all comes down to what the board decides — whether to take a step in changing the landscape of women’s hockey in Michigan, or maintain the status quo.
