The 1976–77 IHL season was the 32nd season of the International Hockey League (IHL), a North American minor professional league. Nine teams participated in the regular season, and the Saginaw Gears won the Turner Cup.

Inquiry into professional sports

IHL commissioner

Bill Beagan William Thomas Beagan (born December 1, 1937) is a Canadian retired ice hockey administrator and ice hockey referee. He served in the Canadian Army for thirteen years, before refereeing in the National Hockey League (NHL) for two seasons. He ...

testified at the July 1976

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

inquiry into professional sports, which investigated

United States antitrust law In the United States, antitrust law is a collection of mostly federal laws that regulate the conduct and organization of businesses to promote competition and prevent unjustified monopolies. The three main U.S. antitrust statutes are the Sherman ...

, the effect of

United States nationality law United States nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds United States nationality. In the United States, nationality is typically obtained through provisions in the U.S. constitution, U.S. Constitution, various laws, and ...

, finances of leagues and their franchises, and violence in sport. He stated that IHL players were not considered professionals despite receiving some compensation, and were classified as amateurs by the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS).''Inquiry Into Professional Sports (1976)'', p. 329 He testified that the IHL was the largest financial contributor to AHAUS at the time, had an agreement with the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) to develop on-ice officials and players, but the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) showed no interested in negotiating any agreement. Beagan felt that the NHL was no longer able to contribute much towards amateur programs in the United States or Canada due to competition from the WHA, which undermined the IHL.''Inquiry Into Professional Sports (1976)'', p. 330 He stated the league faced challenges to maintain quality due to changes to immigration laws which deterred participation by players and referees who were Canadian.

Regular season

Turner Cup-Playoffs

References

General * Specific

External links

Season 1976/77
on hockeydb.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1976-77 IHL season IHL International Hockey League (1945–2001) seasons