The MCHA has appointed Terry Brand as league commissioner. The six-team league, which enters its eighth season of play in 2005, had been headed by Northland College athletic director Steve Wammer, who served as league president for three years, succeeding Milwaukee School of Engineering athletic director Dan Harris, the league’s founding president.
Brand is the first person to head the league from outside a member institution.
“This is a great opportunity for me to give something back to a game that has given a lot to my family and I,” said Brand. “College hockey is a great game to be involved in and it provides student athletes an outstanding activity to enhance their college experience.
“I look forward to working with all the coaches and players during this upcoming season.”
Brand currently serves as the Supervisor of Community Services in the D.C. Everest School District in Weston, Wis., where he schedules all facility use in the community, including youth sports and youth and adult recreation programs. His background includes over twenty years of experience in the management of ice skating facilities. Additionally, his coaching experience in hockey dates back to over twenty years. Coaching stops include University of [nl]Wisconsin-La Crosse (1983-86), Lawrence University (1987-90), the Fox Valley Youth Hockey Association (1990-92), the U.S. Naval Academy (1992-93), the University of Maryland (1992-94), and USA Hockey (1993-94) before reaching his current coaching positions. He presently serves as head coach and general manager of Central Wisconsin AAA Hockey (since 1996) and the head coach of the Antigo Area Youth Hockey Association (since 1995).
“The MCHA offers student athletes the opportunity to extend their hockey careers into their college years.” said Brand. “I look forward to building on the efforts of both Dan [Harris] and Steve [Wammer] and the progress they led the league through in the first seven years.”
Expansion is one of Brand’s goals, as is raising the profile of the league. “I will work towards building a league that will draw the same respect from prospective student athletes that some of the long standing leagues have now,” Brand said. “At both UW-LaCrosse and Lawrence University, I was involved in the years of transition from club teams to varsity teams. I think that is very valuable experience that I can use in expanding the MCHA.”
Chris Zills, who has served as the MCHA public relations director for the past four seasons, will be back but will no longer be at Marian College. The former Marian SID has taken a new position in the sports information office at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but will stay on in his role as PR Director of the MCHA from his new position.
