After several years of discussion, Illinois announced Monday afternoon that it has discontinued its exploratory phase of adding a men’s hockey team.
Effective immediately, the athletic department said it will end its efforts to pursue hockey at the university.
“This is a painful decision, made all the more difficult because of the incredible commitment shown by so many to make hockey a reality,” said athletic director Josh Whitman in a statement.
As Whitman said in his statement, this exploratory phase has been going on for nearly half a decade, shortly after he came into his current role.