Al Murdoch, who was born in Neepawa, Manitoba, came to Iowa State in August 1969 after receiving his bachelor’s degree at Bemidji State University earlier that spring. Having accepted a graduate assistant’s position in the athletic department at ISU, Murdoch had also come to Ames to continue his involvement in hockey.

Al Murdoch

“I didn’t realize what type of hockey they had,” said Murdoch of ISU hockey. “When I saw they had some type of hockey that probably put me over the edge.”

What Murdoch didn’t realize was that hockey at Iowa State amounted only to a team in an adult league 30 minutes south in Des Moines.

“It was definitely a beer league team in the late 60’s,” Murdoch said. “It was play for the fun of it, throw your equipment in the back of the car and head down to Des Moines.”

Murdoch, who grew up on a farm 15 miles from Neepawa, decided he’d help organize the team better and started “Cyclone Hockey” in 1969. “Cyclone Hockey” joined the Iowa Collegiate Hockey League in Murdoch’s first season at ISU, and the former Brandon University player suited up as a player/coach his first two seasons.

In Murdoch’s second season at Iowa State, “Cyclone Hockey” helped found the Central States Collegiate Hockey League in 1970. Thirty-four years later, the Cyclones, now known as the ISU Men’s Ice Hockey, still play in the nine-team CSCHL.

Playing and practicing late nights in Des Moines during the early years, hockey at ISU received a major boost when the James H. Hilton Coliseum was completed in 1971. Known today as the home of Cyclone basketball, volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics, the arena hosted “Cyclone Hockey” games regularly in its first decade of existence.

“Excellent facility,” Murdoch said of the arena that would seat 12,500 for hockey. “It was a bit expensive and very dependent on crowds, but we would draw four to six thousand fans at Hilton Coliseum.”

Despite playing games in the Hilton Coliseum, “Cyclone Hockey” still practiced on an outdoor ice sheet for much of the winter until the Cyclone Area Community Center was completed in 1979. The CACC gradually became the home of “Cyclone Hockey” in the 80s as competition for time at the Hilton Coliseum increased, but it also provided indoor ice for many of the other ice programs Murdoch had started in Ames.

Introducing Ames to broomball, curling and ringette upon arrival from Canada, Murdoch also founded the Ames Minor Hockey Association in 1973, providing youths of all ages an opportunity to play organized hockey. Murdoch soon moved toward organizing all high school hockey in Iowa.

Murdoch’s efforts began when he organized the first State Championship tournament in late February of 1975 at the Hilton Coliseum. One year later in 1976, the Iowa High School Hockey League was formed with Murdoch serving as commissioner of the 10-team league.

The IHSHL began the 1976-77 season with five teams from Des Moines, two from Waterloo, and one each from Ames, Sioux City and Mason City. Today the league includes 11 teams ranging from the Quad Cities, to Sioux City, to Lincoln, Neb., to Kansas City, Kan. Murdoch‚s contribution to the formation of the IHSHL is honored each spring when the State Tournament’s Most Valuable Player is awarded the Murdoch Trophy.

Fifteen years after the IHSHL began play, Murdoch was among the founders of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA, not to be confused with the American Hockey Coaches Association, or, AHCA.) Established April 20, 1991 in the North Shore Hilton in Skokie, Illinois, by 15 charter members, including “Cyclone Hockey,” the ACHA sought to legitimize non-varsity collegiate hockey by standardizing procedures. “Cyclone Hockey” won the first ACHA National Tournament in 1992, hosted by Penn State University.

Since its foundation in 1991, the ACHA has grown to a four division association, with three men’s divisions and a women’s division. The ACHA had 278 member teams in 2003-04, and will have nearly 300 teams in 2004-05. The ACHA honors Murdoch every March at the ACHA D-I National Tournament by awarding the national championship team the Al Murdoch Cup, recognizing the contributions of the ACHA’s first president.

Murdoch finds the growth of the ACHA the past 13 years incredible.

“It’s mind-boggling,” Murdoch said. “We knew in the beginning that there were other schools around the country that probably had non-varsity, non-scholarship hockey and we just encouraged them to follow our organization. We shared a lot of ideas on fundraising, marketing and recruiting, and we showed hockey was a good complement to education without having to have the varsity status and the scholarships.”

Serving as the ACHA’s president for the first two seasons, Murdoch served as the Past-President for the next two seasons and later as the ACHA Vice-President D-I from 1997 through 2001. In 1996, when the ACHA reached 100 member teams, USA Hockey recognized the ACHA as a section, creating the “College Club Section.” Each section within USA Hockey has a director, and Murdoch was tabbed as the first USA Hockey Director, College Club Section. Eight years later Murdoch still serves as the director and is the only person to have served as the College Club Section director.

The ACHA’s relationship with USA Hockey was forged further in 2001 when Senior Director of International Administration Art Berglund called upon Murdoch and the ACHA to field Team USA’s entry in the 2001 World University Games in Zacopany, Poland. Murdoch was tabbed as Team USA’s head coach for the 2001 WUG and managed to lead the ACHA rostered team to a 4-2 victory over Russia.

“That was huge for me, for the USA team, and for non-varsity, non-scholarship hockey nationwide,” Murdoch said. “It kind of gave it instant credibility.”

Making the victory more special for Murdoch was the fact that ISU players Mark Krueger, Tory Larson, Nat Little, Jason McCollum, Jeremy Meyer and Murdoch’s youngest son, Andrew Murdoch, helped him to what Murdoch considers the biggest victory of his career.

Team USA called upon Murdoch again for the 2003 WUG in Taravisio, Italy, this time as the team’s general manager. Although the team finished 10th out of 11 teams in Italy, Murdoch was glad that 22 ACHA players had the opportunity to play international hockey and travel abroad, including Tony Daniels and Mike Moren, both Cyclone Hockey players.

Murdoch has been tabbed by USA Hockey again to serve as the general manager of the 2005 World University Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Joining Murdoch will be ISU student athletes Scott Hagen and David Moline, both of whom were selected to represent their country after playing at the 2004 Winter World University Games Selection Camp in St. Cloud, Minn., August 6-8. Fellow ISU players Mike Moren and Tim O’Shea have been selected as alternates and could be added to the World University Games roster should one of the previously selected players become injured.

Having helped establish organized hockey in his community, his state, nationally with the ACHA, and internationally with the ACHA’s involvement with the World University Games, Murdoch’s legacy also expands in a more subtle manner. By sharing his passion for hockey, Murdoch hopes that others pass that passion along to yet others. One such individual is ISU Men’s Ice Hockey associate coach Andrew Hancock.

Hancock, a native of Leamington, Ontario, who has played semiprofessionally in Luxembourg and France, is one of the hundreds of people Murdoch has influenced. Hancock, who credits Murdoch with mentoring him in organization, marketing and fundraising, says he’s learned even more from Murdoch.

“The respect and the love of hockey,” Hancock said. “Coach Murdoch has a great deal of respect for the game, for opposing players, for his players, for opposing coaches, for officials, for everything surrounding hockey.”

Simultaneously pursuing his master‚s degree in educational leadership and policy at Iowa State University, Hancock has also learned “that being humble and having humility goes a long way.”

While many involved with hockey at ISU have gone on to further involvement in hockey in the United States and Canada, Hancock may emulate Murdoch more than anyone previously associated with Murdoch at ISU.

“Luxembourg is ripe for hockey,” Hancock said. “They’re in an area where hockey could take off and I wouldn’t mind heading back over to Luxembourg and help start that up.”

While Luxembourg does have some organization with the HC Luxembourg Tornado team and the Luxembourg national team, the small European nation is still in its hockey infancy, and people with the experience and knowledge Hancock has learned from Murdoch could help the growth of hockey in the grand duchy tremendously.

Hancock’s desire to further hockey in Luxembourg mirrors Murdoch’s desires 35 years earlier in Iowa. Murdoch’s enthusiasm still continues in 2004.

“After all these years I still get excited about the games, I still get excited about the practices,” Murdoch said. “I still get excited helping young people learn how to market and promote the sport and get the most out of their education that they possibly can.”