ALTOONA, Pa. -- May 26 will be a date forever embedded into the the minds of Robert Morris men's hockey coach Derek Schooley and athletic director Chris King.
It was on that date the university -- not athletic department -- made the decision to eliminate both the men's and women's ice hockey programs at Robert Morris, a decision that altered the course of nearly 100 peoples hockey careers and created much turmoil throughout the college hockey community.
Since then, the administration has had an about-face and has ultimately made the decision that it's up to the fans and supporters of Robert Morris hockey to bring the program back, giving a deadline of Dec. 15 to raise $1.4 million in cash and $1.4 million in pledges.
As it stands, the programs are about halfway there with just under three months left to go.
To get to this point though, it's not been easy for King or Schooley, both of whom have had to deal with the repercussions of the university's decision in a multitude of ways.
"It's been a roller coaster, for sure. I don't know of any Division I athletic director who ever wants to be part of discontinuing sports and it's a tough, tough situation, because you kind of feel like you're switched on, you're in the middle," King told DK Pittsburgh Sports.
It's important to note this was not an athletics decision and this came straight from the top of the administration and according to King, financially, the athletic department had even balanced the budget despite going through a pandemic with very little revenue coming in as a result.
With that said, it makes the decision to eliminate the programs all the more difficult to comprehend and has put King in a vulnerable position as the athletic director who had to break the news to the coaches and student-athletes of both programs.
"We go through a situation like this, and I think the toughest thing is on that day, having to sit down with your friends and tell them and then get on a video call, regardless of how long it was and tell 55 young men and women that their opportunity to play hockey is no longer available at Robert Morris," King said.
Schooley was rehired as the men's ice hockey coach, a position he's held since the program's creation in 2003 and was also named director of men's and women's hockey operations.
"Being able to hire Derek back in the significance of what he's done for the program, and the entire region, when it comes to college hockey is really significant in our efforts and trying to get him reinstated," King said.
Having started the program from the ground up and then seeing it stripped away has been quite the experience for Schooley and that's putting it mildly.
It's been a roller coaster of emotion, sometimes different emotions in the same day," Schooley said.
And now the past is the past as those with in the athletic department work toward acquiring the proper funds necessary for reinstatement, a process that is going seemingly well all things considered.
"I think it's gone pretty well. And obviously you look at that the countdown on the GoFundMe page. And you look at the look at what the campus has given you, you wish it was higher," Schooley said. "There's a couple big donations that have not been received that will make those those numbers climb drastically at a quicker rate. Our job right now is we've got to reach back out to everybody who pledges their money and get everybody to follow through on their pledge while cultivating new people to donate to the program."
The program fell a little short of the initial July 31st goal, but there's still a glimmer of hope this can get done by December.
I'm really proud of the job that the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation, T.J. Brown (associate athletic director for development), Chris and myself, that we did. I mean, we raised close to $1.4 million in close to 21 days in the month of July in August."
Two-time Olympic silver medalist and current Olympic goaltenders coach Brianne McLaughlin is serving as the special assistant to hockey operations and with that serves as the liaison between the Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation and the athletic department.
"What is really exciting right now is being able to start showing some progress showing the fact that I'm here, Brianne's here and that there is commitment," Schooley said. "We do believe that this is going to be a feasible thing. And I think that that's being shown by what's going on right now. And, yeah, I do believe it's feasible, or I wouldn't be doing this."
Well, we've got to roll up our sleeves, we've got a lot of work to do. We've been coordinating our efforts, our plans here over the last few days. We've always had a plan of action the whole time," King said. "Now we really have to get serious and we got to start asking people that have the capabilities to be difference makers to be difference makers."
Those difference makers can be found throughout the college hockey community and even Moon Township where Schooley resides with his family.
"I've got three kids that are all in high school right now. And they told me that there was still belief that Robert Morris hockey still could survive and that's why I'm still here and I believe it can and but like I said we need to continue the fundraising. We need to continue to work in the in the correct direction and be prepared and ready to go," Schooley said.
That direction is getting Robert Morris back to being a nationally prominent team for both the men's and women's programs, a position they were in just a few months ago.
"If we can get where we need to be. I really believe that we can get our program back to our programs back to competing for championships." Schooley said. "We put up three banners this past year, Atlantic Hockey - West Division champions, CHA Women's Championship and an NCAA Tournament banner. And that's a pretty successful program. That's gonna be the goal day in and day out is to get the program's back to that level."
There's much more hope for Robert Morris hockey to return than in may and while that's a great sign, this journey is far from over and just starting to ramp up as the homestretch nears.
"At the end the day, I'd like to think we stand a very good chance to have these programs reinstated, but I can't ever guarantee that," King said.
While the programs being reinstated is far from a guarantee, the Schooley, McLaughlin, King and company are in it for the long haul. Who better than to lead the rebuilding of the program than the guy who built it from the ground up himself?
If you would like to help Save RMU hockey the link to the GoFundMe page and the Hockey is the Goal link