Roger Williams University Now Has a Hockey Program

It's official, Roger Williams University now has an official club hockey program. Beginning next fall, a Hawks men’s hockey team will be competing against other official college club programs for the first time in nearly 15 years.

As the season comes closer leading up to next fall, on campus excitement for the team is beginning to pick up steam.

Last year, Joe Dellamura worked endless hours to gain finances and approval to begin a men’s club hockey program for students to partake in. “It was a difficult process on many different levels,” says Dellamura.

“I sat with many different boards to gain approval and at times the process was frustrating. However, after months of planning and at times arguing, we now will have a full fledged ice hockey team.”

When Dellamura first came to Roger Williams three years ago he knew the university did not have a hockey team of any sort. However, he made it one of his goals to create some type of team by the time his four years of college were complete.

Dellamura has been playing hockey since he was four years old and like many other Hawks students has been missing their time on the ice while attending school. This has not been the case this year as hockey games have been a weekly activity for many athletes.

Last spring after gaining club approval, the club was able to start playing hockey at the beginning of this past school year. Launching in October, the club started logging ice time and competing in a league called the NECHA.

The club featured eighty or so Roger Williams hockey lovers who wanted the chance to compete on a weekly basis. The club was able to play competitive games in New Bedford and Fall River as a member of an adult based league.

The hockey club has been a major success on campus this past year. Not only do they have a large amount of participants and active members but they even were named club of the month in March. All of the positive support helped Dellamura parlay his team from a school club to an official collegiate sports team.

About a week ago, Dellamura received word that the club had been approved to become an official team. With this news, the club began preparing for their first legit season of play. Throughout the summer they will begin recruiting and contacting incoming freshman to help build the strongest team possible.

There will be tryouts in September where team cuts will take place to build a competitive roster. A coach will be hired to run the team and fundraising and different financial decisions will be put into place to meet the team’s budget goals. As of now, Dellamura believes the team will need around 60,000 dollars to get the squad in place and begin competition.

“This past year has been a true success for what I envisioned our hockey program to look like,” recalls Dellamura. “I’m excited for next year and look forward to what we can do has an actual certified team.”

After tryouts are to be held, the team will start their season in late October or early November of 2009. They will play about 20-30 games throughout the season while traveling up and down the east coast. The team will play most of their home games at Driscoll Arena in Fall River, where their weekly practices will also be held.

If the program turns out be a success, the team will look to someday be rewarded with a home ice arena. This is clearly a long process and as Dellamurra says, “On campus ice would be great; if the President ever sold his car the process would be much easier. For now, I am just happy to play hockey and will continue to look forward to our first season.”