Above the locker room door in the Carlson Center hangs a banner that reads "UAF Hockey: The Pride of Fairbanks." Recent successes have confirmed that honor -- first round playoff wins each of the last three years, national rankings, junior forward Kyle Greentree's Hobey Baker Award candidacy -- yet the program struggles financially.

"On most nights, if we have good attendance, we pretty much break even," said Forrest Karr, UAF athletics director, from his Patty Center office.

Numbers for the current season were unavailable, but in the 2005-06 season UAF did not make a profit on any of its 19 home games. Total revenues for the season were $115,824, compared to expenses of $176,180, a deficit of more than $60,000. UAF lost $5,904 alone on its December 9, 2005 game verses unranked Michigan State University.

According to Karr, UAF is not alone.

"Very few hockey programs generate excess revenues," he said. "Wisconsin is one of only a few that do."

Over the past few seasons, ticket prices have increased in an attempt to boost revenue, but fan reaction to increases is a concern.

"Close attention has been given to ensure ticket prices remain comparable to other schools in our conferences, and also to teams within our state and city," stated Karr in his January 2007 business plan.

The value of the most recent price hike is apparent when comparing a UAF home game verses archrival UAA.

Last season, 4,551 tickets were sold, yielding $30,638.23. This season, UAF sold virtually the same number of tickets and took in $38,133.20, a revenue jump of almost 25 percent.

"It's easy to say, hey, we made $38,000 on that game," Karr said, "when the truth is that the cost of running the hockey program is enormous -- about $800,000."

Two major revenue streams for other teams, concessions and parking, are non-existent for UAF.

"We get zero from concessions," Karr said.

SMG, a worldwide entertainment management firm based in Philadelphia that runs the borough-owned Carlson Center, had no comment about concession stand revenues.

Parking not only generates no revenue for UAF, it is also an expense.

"We actually pay them for parking, per ticket, since they have to maintain the lot," Karr said. The amount paid per game for parking during the 2005-06 season ranged from a low of $1,107, to a high of $2,013.

UAA, which hosts its hockey games at the Sullivan Arena -- also managed by SMG -- also receives no additional revenue from concessions and parking.

Other fees add up as well, including $300 a game for spotlights, $455 for traffic control, $100 per hour for practices, not to mention ushers, security, medical personnel, and janitors, just to name a few.

Before the games start, UAF is at a financial disadvantage.

"We provide 27 airline tickets for our opponents," Karr said. "That was a condition for us to join the CCHA." In fiscal year 2006, The UAF Athletic Department spent a whopping $786,000 on airfare for all of its teams.

Corporate sponsorships, while bringing in over $800,000 in cash and trades, still fall short of the price tag for running the hockey program, and knowing how much of that revenue is attributed to hockey is complicated, Karr said.

"Would the money still be there if hockey wasn't?" he asked. "You just don't know."