I talked to UNO AD Trev Alberts on Sunday, not too many hours after he had returned from St. Paul to take in the WCHA's Final Five.

Even though the 2009-10 hockey season is over for the Mavs, the school will have plenty on its plate this spring and summer as it begins the process of moving from the CCHA to the WCHA.

As always, Trev had lots of interesting things to say after his weekend in the Twin Cities. So let's break things down by subject and share his perspective on a number of hot topics:

Alberts on the rumors that Minnesota already is talking to coach Dean Blais about taking over the Gophers:
"They (reporters) asked me about it up in St. Paul. First of all, I have not had a phone conversation with (Minnesota AD) Joel Maturi. And I have had only positive conversations with Dean, and I know he's out recruiting this week. I think, for all Maverick fans, we ought to be flattered that people mention our coach. If nobody ever wants your coaches, and nobody thinks much of your coaches, then maybe you need new coaches. When we hired Dean, we understood that he was a known and proven commodity that certainly would be a coach people would be interested in. I feel like it's our job — my job — at UNO to try and create a culture and a situation that Dean and (his wife) Jackie so appreciate and so enjoy that they're not interested in any other opportunity. We'll work hard at doing that. We certainly expect and look forward to having Dean as our coach for a long, long time."

Alberts on the long-held speculation that Blais came to Omaha with plans to take over at Minnesota if the job opened:
"We would not have hired somebody to lead our hockey program that we didn't believe was going to be here for a good length of time. I think Dean and I are a little bit alike in that (we both came to UNO) because we love a challenge. I think Dean wants to build something special. So we'll see. Like I said, I think our fans and the community ought to be flattered that our coach is going to be mentioned any time there is an opening — or not even openings — and people are still attaching his name to it. At the same time, it's a crazy world we live in, and people are given opportunities, and that's just business. Like I said, it's our job to build an environment that coaches are going to want to be a part of."

Alberts' thoughts on UNO's first season under Blais:
"It was a pretty difficult weekend for me (when UNO was eliminated in the CCHA playoffs at Ferris State). I didn't want it to end. I've thought about this a lot, and I don't think the average person — and I probably don't, either — truly understands what goes into everything when you make a coaching change. Anytime you have a new coach and a new staff, there's a tremendous amount of potential problems that arise. You throw in the fact that the former head coach (Mike Kemp) now is in administration — we had all the ingredients for some really difficult times. But when I look back, I just could not be more proud of the ultimate team player in Mike Kemp and how he handled the situation. I would tell you that I was equally pleased with Dean and Mike (Hastings) and Nick (Fohr). It had all the ingredients to blow up in our face, but because everybody bought into the concept of something bigger than any individual — it was all about the good of the program.

"We accomplished some great things, and I give all the credit to Dean and Mike. I also give a lot of credit to those seniors. Here you've got a group of seniors, it's their last year, they've been through a lot, then you've got a new guy strolling through the door who commands a completely different style. But they bought into it, and they put in the work. I think those seniors are going to be able to look back, and as the result of this year, say they played a big part in starting something special at UNO. So after the initial disappointment of the loss, I'll tell you that I couldn't have been more excited about how things transpired, and I couldn't me more excited about our future."

Alberts' latest thoughts about joining the WCHA:
"As we continue this transformation, I'm finding out that there's just a lot of things that go into building a championship team. One of those things that was most attractive to me about the WCHA was how important hockey is to all of the schools in that league, and the commitment they make to it. So the onus is really on us — if we're going to win championships and compete at the highest level — we've got some work to do. We have to look at everything — even things like how those students do chants and the brand awareness. These schools have done it for a long time, and they know what they're doing. I think our fans have a good leg up, and that they know what they're doing, too. Administratively, I think we need to get better.

"We're not going into the WCHA to finish in the bottom half. We're going to attempt to win that Broadmoor Trophy. That's why we're in the league. We've got to continue to make the commitment. Obviously we've made a pretty strong statement with our coaches, and I think the recruiting has gone well. But again, having our own facility is probably almost a mandate if we're going to compete at the highest level. ... And going into the WCHA is going to be a new ballgame. Our most ardent fans who truly understand hockey know the type of league we're stepping into. It's exciting, and at the same time it's a bit daunting. Not only are we joining a league that's already so strong, we're joining it with a team like Bemidji State that made it to the Frozen Four and was sixth in the country when we played them in Omaha. I'm certainly pleased that Dean and Mike are our coaches, because this is not going to be an easy task."

Alberts' latest report on UNO's effort to build an on-campus hockey arena:
"I'm encouraged, and we continue to work through the process. I've learned that everything probably takes a little bit longer than I would like, but we'll keep working. There's really nothing concrete to report other than I'm encouraged by the process."

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