Spaceman
10-01-2001, 02:39 PM
I got this story fro the Watertown Times. Thought some of you Knights fans would be interested in it.
Clarkson University hockey coach Mark Morris hopes the walls of Cheel Arena will properly convey the proud history of the Golden Knights' program.
Morris hopes to help create a photo mural to honor past legends. He was inspired when the Golden Knights played a tournament at the University of Minnesota's Mariucci Arena in 1996 and he saw the photos of Gophers' greats on the walls.
"It's going to take a lot of planning," Morris said. "It's going to take some cooperation from our alumni to help pull it off. It's something I'd like to do. It's just a matter of trying to convince people it's a worthwhile project."
One reason Morris wants to decorate the walls of Cheel Arena is to find a way to honor many of the Clarkson players who helped build the program to national prominence back when Clarkson played at Walker Arena.
The Golden Knights moved to their new home before the 1991-92 season.
"There are many memorable moments in our rich tradition that have been dormant for many, many years," Morris said. "I'd like to try and pay tribute to all the different decades of memorable moments and teams and individuals that have impacted our hockey history."
Clarkson is still waiting for its first national championship team, but there is little else missing from its history.
The Golden Knights, in 79 years of hockey, have a record of 1,157 wins, 568 losses and 82 ties. Their winning percentage of .663 is the best of any NCAA Division I men's hockey program.
Clarkson has 65 winning seasons, including a streak of 26 straight years, and has won nine Eastern College Athletic Conference regular-season titles, including last season.
The Golden Knights have played in 18 NCAA Tournaments, made the Frozen Four seven times and produced 34 All-Americans.
"I'm a firm believer that people need to understand where it all started and young kids today have grown up on the hype of individual athletes that are superstars," Morris said. "Yet the foundation of our program began with really humble beginnings. People need to understand there were a lot of great people that cared deeply about Clarkson hockey that are the foundation of our hockey history."
Morris has no date set for when he hopes to begin the project. He hopes to cover two 15-by-40-foot spans of the arena walls and estimates the project would cost between $25,000-30,000.
"There are no firm plans in place to really have this thing come to fruition yet," Morris said. "It's a project that I've tried to sell to our alums and our people here at Clarkson as something that would touch the heartstrings of a lot of different eras of our hockey history.
"Times are tough, but it's a hard sell to get people to realize how much impact it can have on our institution," Morris said. "It's a project that can pay great dividends for our school."
Morris plans on the mural following a timeline from the early 1920s to the present.
"There's lot of neat photos that have surfaced over the course of time," Morris said. "I think it's only fitting that we showcase those moments in time that are important to people that follow the program.
"Any people in the community that have photos that may be missing, or that they feel could add to this, this would be welcomed. I'd like to speak with anybody or observe some of their memorabilia that they have from years gone by."
Clarkson University hockey coach Mark Morris hopes the walls of Cheel Arena will properly convey the proud history of the Golden Knights' program.
Morris hopes to help create a photo mural to honor past legends. He was inspired when the Golden Knights played a tournament at the University of Minnesota's Mariucci Arena in 1996 and he saw the photos of Gophers' greats on the walls.
"It's going to take a lot of planning," Morris said. "It's going to take some cooperation from our alumni to help pull it off. It's something I'd like to do. It's just a matter of trying to convince people it's a worthwhile project."
One reason Morris wants to decorate the walls of Cheel Arena is to find a way to honor many of the Clarkson players who helped build the program to national prominence back when Clarkson played at Walker Arena.
The Golden Knights moved to their new home before the 1991-92 season.
"There are many memorable moments in our rich tradition that have been dormant for many, many years," Morris said. "I'd like to try and pay tribute to all the different decades of memorable moments and teams and individuals that have impacted our hockey history."
Clarkson is still waiting for its first national championship team, but there is little else missing from its history.
The Golden Knights, in 79 years of hockey, have a record of 1,157 wins, 568 losses and 82 ties. Their winning percentage of .663 is the best of any NCAA Division I men's hockey program.
Clarkson has 65 winning seasons, including a streak of 26 straight years, and has won nine Eastern College Athletic Conference regular-season titles, including last season.
The Golden Knights have played in 18 NCAA Tournaments, made the Frozen Four seven times and produced 34 All-Americans.
"I'm a firm believer that people need to understand where it all started and young kids today have grown up on the hype of individual athletes that are superstars," Morris said. "Yet the foundation of our program began with really humble beginnings. People need to understand there were a lot of great people that cared deeply about Clarkson hockey that are the foundation of our hockey history."
Morris has no date set for when he hopes to begin the project. He hopes to cover two 15-by-40-foot spans of the arena walls and estimates the project would cost between $25,000-30,000.
"There are no firm plans in place to really have this thing come to fruition yet," Morris said. "It's a project that I've tried to sell to our alums and our people here at Clarkson as something that would touch the heartstrings of a lot of different eras of our hockey history.
"Times are tough, but it's a hard sell to get people to realize how much impact it can have on our institution," Morris said. "It's a project that can pay great dividends for our school."
Morris plans on the mural following a timeline from the early 1920s to the present.
"There's lot of neat photos that have surfaced over the course of time," Morris said. "I think it's only fitting that we showcase those moments in time that are important to people that follow the program.
"Any people in the community that have photos that may be missing, or that they feel could add to this, this would be welcomed. I'd like to speak with anybody or observe some of their memorabilia that they have from years gone by."