Penn State announced plans Friday morning to add men's and women's hockey to its roster of varsity sports beginning in 2012, possibly opening the door for a Big Ten hockey conference.

Until now, Penn State has played hockey at the club level. But now the university has a "transformational" $88 million private donation will fund a state-of-the-art arena, athletic director Tim Curley announced.

Penn State will begin NCAA play for the 2012-13 season and will play an independent schedule for two seasons. Curley said the university will explore "the appropriate conference affiliation" for Penn State.

Penn State is the sixth Big Ten school to offer hockey as a varsity sport, the necessary number of teams needed to form a conference.

The league's existing programs - Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Minnesota and Wisconsin - are split between the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and the Western College Hockey Association.

In a statement issued Friday, Big Ten officials said while Penn State's addition suggests a natural set-up for the formation of hockey conference, the league won't rush to make any moves.

Curley said Penn State is interested in facing Big Ten competition during its independent stage, saying the earliest the Nittany Lions would join a conference would be 2014, when its new arena opens.

"A decision of that nature cannot be made without a significant amount of discussion both internally with conference chancellors, presidents, administrators and coaches, and externally with the hockey community as a whole," the statement read. "Whatever we do, we will communicate in a respectful and responsible way as we endeavor to balance all of the unique interests in play."

Michigan coach Red Berenson said Friday afternoon that although Penn State's financial commitment to hockey is a "huge step in the right direction for any more future growth in college hockey" having the Nittany Lions join one conference over another doesn't make a difference to him.

Berenson expects a lot of speculation to take place over the next four years, but he doesn't think the answer is breaking up existing leagues with long-standing traditions.

"I don't think teams are anxious to leave their own conference and abandon them and start a new conference," Berenson said. "I don't think anyone wants to see a league take a hit."

In an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said that he expects the matter to be discussed at next month's Big Ten meetings. He told the State Journal that Big Ten president Jim Delany had spoken in the past about making hockey a staple on the Big Ten Network.

Alvarez called the idea of a Big Ten hockey conference "very appealing," saying he didn't expect any more obstacles than the league's existing programs getting out of the CCHA and WCHA.

CCHA officials said they will court Penn State, which would give the league a 12th team. The CCHA has 11 members after Nebraska-Omaha left the league after last season.

"The CCHA’s formation 40 years ago was based on the development of emerging programs," CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos said in a statement issued Friday afternoon. "We look forward to working with programs such as Penn State and hopefully others, in providing leadership that will increase the profile of college hockey and foster continued growth."

Alvarez believes over the next five years that a Big Ten hockey schedule makes sense.

“I don’t know the logistics — how long it takes to get out of a league, all of that," Alvarez told the State Journal Thursday. "But I sense that we will move in that direction."

Jeff Arnold covers Michigan hockey for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by e-mail at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.