The atmosphere at the “Big Pond” is unlike any other in college hockey.

Students and locals alike file up the stairs to sit in the upper deck of the Illinois Ice Arena. Those lucky enough to get to the rink early are rewarded with front-row seats that allow fans to lean right over the ice. Others are rewarded with a good view of the rink and the team’s banners — reminders of past championships on the walls.

Being an opponent at the rink is what some might consider a nightmare. Outside of the bigger rink, the home fans are relentless. At player introductions, visitors are met with chants that are not suitable to publish. An opposing goalie dare not make a mistake or he risks hearing chants of “it’s all your fault.” And if an opponent does something that upsets fans, the student section, conveniently placed right above the opposing bench, will let him have it.

With an atmosphere like this, you might think that Illinois hockey is a Division I program.

It’s not, however.

Students pay to watch the club team play. More importantly, the players pay to play a sport that they’ve played for most of their lives. It was possible that the team wouldn’t have had a place to play this season when the Ice Arena was forced to close for repairs.

Despite the obstacles, there is hope. If a plan were put into place now, it would be possible for there to be a Division I hockey team at Illinois in five years.

There are two major hurdles schools have to face when considering adding a new athletic team on campus: finances and Title IX.

The main financial concern for a potential Division I hockey program would be its home. The 1,200 seat Ice Arena is too small to house a Big Ten hockey team. Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena has the lowest capacity in the Big Ten, 6,014 but is also something that provides a glimmer of hope for a potential Illinois program.

Pegula Ice Arena was built after alumni Terry and Kim Pegula made a $100 million donation to help build the stadium and the program. Illinois has alumni around the country that might be able to help fund a new stadium or a major renovation of the Ice Arena. Alumnus Shahid Khan, the owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, is a potential donor the University could approach about a donation to help build a new arena for the team to play in.

Another potential home for the hockey program could be State Farm Center. Both Wisconsin and Ohio State use their basketball homes as their hockey homes, too.

It’s convenient that State Farm Center is undergoing renovations. As of right now, the renderings for the bowl of the stadium do not appear to be big enough to hold a hockey rink. The good news is that there’s been no work on the bowl area yet, as that is set to start in March 2015. If the plan were developed soon, changes could be made to host a hockey team in the arena too.

There are other expenses that a varsity team will incur, including equipment costs, ice maintenance and travel. The first few years of a varsity program might not show big gains, but eventually, Illinois hockey could turn a profit.

In 2010, the five hockey schools in the Big Ten — Penn State was a club team then — reported $19 million in profit, according to the U.S. Department of Education. After the Big Ten started sponsoring hockey in the 2013-14 season, the Big Ten Network announced that each school would receive $2 million dollars from the network. The schools in the Big Ten used to play in the CCHA and the WCHA conferences.

An Illinois varsity program would most likely garner large student crowds. With the recent success of the Chicago Blackhawks, hockey is popular on campus. A Division I program would encourage students to come out and watch the team play. The locals might be skeptical at first, but a winning program will be well supported by the community.

The program will also have great potential for success. A recent Chicago Tribune article mentioned that Illinois’ hockey talent has no in-state program to attend. Illinois has hockey talent that can compete with states like Minnesota and Massachusetts. A new program would draw prospects from in-state and maybe even from other states.

The second roadblock to a varsity hockey team is Title IX. Title IX was created in 1972 “to prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs that receive Federal financial assistance.” For Illinois, that means that it would have to add another women’s varsity team. If the University was to build a new stadium or use State Farm Canter, it would be logical to have a women’s hockey team. There is a club women’s team that would surely benefit from the promotion.

Although it’s not realistic to expect this to happen in two or three years, there is a potential for there to be a Division I program in the near future. If things are treated with a sense of urgency, Illinois hockey fans will be able to provide a varsity team with home-ice advantage as early as 2020.

Michal is a sophomore in Media. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @mdwojak94.