Club ice hockey team partners with NHL’s Ducks


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With the football team and an up-and-coming basketball team garnering a large student following at USC, other athletic programs are often left in the dark — not to mention club sports.

But in an effort to change this, the USC men’s club ice hockey team recently announced a partnership with the Anaheim Ducks and THE RINKS development program in an effort to create interest and increase the team’s marketability.

Though USC’s ice hockey team has been affiliated with the Ducks in the past, this new partnership looks to strengthen the bond and hopefully increase the popularity of ice hockey at the university, according to Art Trottier, General Manager of THE RINKS Anaheim and Westminster ICE.

“USC Hockey has already had a long-term affiliation with the Ducks, having called Anaheim ICE home for over 14 years,” Trottier said in a statement on the Ducks’ official website. “This partnership agreement is a natural extension of the strong relationship that already exists between the two organizations.”

The hockey team hopes to take advantage of the Ducks’ several press outlets as a means to build interest in the team. As part of this new agreement, USC Hockey will have a presence on AnaheimDucks.com, Anaheim’s radio and television broadcasts of games, and at select future Ducks home games.

USC also hopes the agreement will increase the team’s marketability, as the team will receive Ducks memorabilia, tickets and promotional items to be used in future USC Hockey auctions and raffles.

USC plays in the Pac-8 Conference. In the conference’s 16-year existence, USC has won eight of the championships, and is the reigning 2010 Champion.