NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton is always busy at this time of year, with the college hockey season nearing its halfway point.
Now, though, he has even more on his plate as he transitions from leading a conference with one sport to another with 19.
Fenton was announced Friday as the next commissioner of the Summit League and will officially assume that role April 11. From Jan. 1, he will serve as a special consultant to that conference while maintaining his stewardship with the NCHC, an entity he has led throughout its eight-year on-ice history.
NCHC member schools Denver, North Dakota, Omaha field other sports teams in the Summit League, which does not sponsor football or wrestling. North Dakota belongs to the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Denver discontinued its football program after the 1960 season, and Omaha cut its football and wrestling programs in 2011 when the university’s athletic department transitioned to Division I.
During a media availability Tuesday over Zoom, Fenton fielded questions from reporters covering both the NCHC and the Summit League. He invoked the credentials of the quickly-successful NCHC, which boasted four consecutive national champions from 2016 to 2019.
Fenton also spoke of his role in the NCHC’s establishment in 2011 and how, a decade later, he looks to see out his time with the conference in the best way possible while also keeping tabs on what is soon to come in his career.
“I had pretty intimate involvement with many other people that built what the NCHC is today, so I think ultimately I probably hang my hat on is the fact that we created a conference and built it into what we think is one of the best conferences across all of college hockey,” Fenton said.
“I will be very, very active, along with (the Summit League’s) interim commissioner, Myndee Kay (Larsen), to ensure that the Summit League is well positioned nationally as we get into this new year and, obviously, a changing landscape across the NCAA.
“As it relates to the NCHC, my focus is going to be to properly transition and complete the year, ensuring that our student-athletes across the conference have great experiences throughout the rest of the regular season, and particularly the postseason experience with our tournament. I think a lot of my time will be spent on ensuring that the postseason tournament goes off, and (that) our students have the best possible experiences. I’ll be serving dual purposes, but I believe that we can manage it appropriately on both sides.”
Fenton is expected to be on-site March 19 in St. Paul, Minnesota, to crown the winners of this season’s NCHC Frozen Faceoff. Hosting that at the Xcel Energy Center will mark a change from last season, when the entire NCHC playoffs were held at North Dakota’s Ralph Engelstad Arena. The entire 2020-21 season was extraordinary, and it started with all eight NCHC teams playing in a three-week pod at Omaha’s Baxter Arena.
The world still isn’t out of the COVID-19 pandemic woods, as Fenton will have to remain aware going forward. However, the situation has taught him about flexibility in management, and taking lessons from that will see his career continue to develop.
“I think that’s probably the biggest thing for me that comes out of the challenges that were faced last year,” Fenton said.
“I think I can carry that (flexibility) forward into the opportunity with the Summit League, but I hope that we’re beyond the significant challenges that we had to get through last year, and eventually get to the point where we can return to some sense of normalcy with collegiate athletics across the country.”
