St. Edward’s University offers a wide range of club sports, including rugby, lacrosse and crew. However, a group of students is looking to add ice hockey to the list.

Long-time hockey fan junior Joe Vrana has been in communication with Andy Lemons, Coordinator of Campus Recreation, about forming this hockey club.

“Once I started playing hockey my freshman year at college, I fell in love with the sport,” Vrana said.

Hockey lost funding in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II in 1999 due to a lack of sponsorship from schools in the division.

Vrana hopes the club will be able to join the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and play competitively against other colleges. The club would compete against teams from schools such as the University of Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor University and the University of North Texas.

Vrana and his friends have been playing street and ice hockey on a regular basis for the past two years.  They typically scrimmage and shoot around on the roof of the parking garage.

“We kept talking about how a St. Edward’s hockey team would build more school spirit, and it would be cool if we played against schools such as UT. We eventually got tired of talking about it and decided to do something about it,” Vrana said.

Junior Patrick Casey said the hockey club would benefit St. Edward’s.

“Hockey is still in the growing stages in Central Texas but has exploded in the DFW area,” he said. “Starting a hockey program here at St. Edward’s would help jump start more interest in the sport here in the Austin area and could attract more students from out of state debating on attending college in the South—primarily students who have played high school hockey up north.”

However, in order to form the club, the group will need more male students willing to play. They currently have eight and will need to recruit a total of 15.  Also, they will need to raise money to be able to join the ACHA.

Until they reach the requirement of 15 students, the group cannot post flyers to advertise the club.

“It can be hard to get school support. You need a group of dedicated students,” junior Hunter Eighme said.

Not much hockey experience is required, although those who want to play will need to provide their own pads. The group is also in need of a goalie, according to junior Mark Hawley.

“I want to be a part of creating something great at the school and check some people in the process,” Hawley said.

Vrana said hockey is like no other sport he has played before.

“It is very physically demanding, but it is also very rewarding as well,” he said.

Anyone interested in joining can contact Joe Vrana at [email protected].