The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur athlete from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-America team for their sport. Some sports will have multiple All-America teams and will list the honorees as members of a first team, second team, or third team. As such, All-America teams are composed of outstanding US amateur players. Individuals falling short of qualifying for the honor may receive All-America honorable mention. The designation is typically used at the collegiate level, although, beginning in 1957, high school athletes in football began being honored with All-American status, which then carried over to other sports like basketball and cross-country running. The selection criteria vary by sport. Athletes at the high school and college level placed on All-America teams are referred to as All-Americans.
NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their student-athletes.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes quality in collegiate ice hockey. The ACHA currently has three men's and two women's divisions and includes approximately 450 teams from across the United States and Canada. Most ACHA teams offer few athletic scholarships and typically receive far less university funding. The ACHA offers an opportunity for college hockey programs that struggle with large budgets and Title IX issues, as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) financial structure.
The American Women's College Hockey Alliance debuted in 1997-98. It was a program funded through the United States Olympic Committee/NCAA Conference Grant Program. The AWCHA organized and developed activities with collegiate women's varsity ice hockey teams, and helped to promote women's ice hockey at all NCAA levels. The first AWCHA Division I National Ice Hockey Championship was held in March 1998. The New Hampshire Wildcats defeated the Brown Bears by a 4-1 score, to become the first recognized national champion in women's college ice hockey. There were two more AWCHA National Championships and then the NCAA became involved. In August 2000, the NCAA announced it would hold its first Division I Women's Ice Hockey National Championship. The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs captured the first NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Championship, defeating the St. Lawrence Skating Saints by a 4-2 tally on March 25, 2001.
The Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey team represents Ohio State University in NCAA Division I competition in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference. The team plays in Columbus, Ohio at The Ohio State Ice Rink, located on the Ohio State campus.
The RPI Engineers women's ice hockey team are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women's college ice hockey program that represents Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The Engineers are a member of the ECAC Hockey (ECACHL) conference. They play at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York.
The Boston College Eagles women's ice hockey team represent Boston College in the NCAA and participate in Hockey East. The Eagles are coached by former Olympic gold medallist Katie King-Crowley and play their home games at Conte Forum. They have won the Hockey East championship three times, and made seven trips to the Frozen Four of the NCAA tournament.
Mike McShane is a college men's ice hockey coach. He ranks ninth all-time among NCAA men's ice hockey coaches with 653 wins in 30 years as a head coach. As the head coach at Norwich University since 1996, he has led his teams to the Frozen Four nine times and NCAA Division III national championships in 2000, 2003, 2010 and 2017.
The Vermont Catamounts women's ice hockey program represents the University of Vermont. The Catamounts compete in Hockey East. Their first year of varsity women's hockey was in 1998–99. The Catamounts were in the ECAC at the Division III level of competition. In 2001–02, the Catamounts moved up to Division I. For the 2005–06 season, the Catamounts moved to Hockey East.
Penn State Nittany Lions women's ice hockey is a college ice hockey program that has represented Penn State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and College Hockey America (CHA) since the 2012–13 season. The program was preceded by a club team that competed at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 1 level, primarily as a member of Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League (ECWHL). Penn State plays its home games at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania.
The Laura Hurd Award is an annual award given to the top player in NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey. It is given by the American Hockey Coaches Association. It was known as the Division III Women's Player of the Year Award prior to 2007.
The Norwich Cadets women's ice hockey team represents Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. The school's women's team competes in NCAA Division III women's ice hockey, as part of the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC). Norwich alumna Sophie Leclerc has served as head coach of the program since the 2019–20 season.
NCAA Division III women's ice hockey is a college ice hockey competition governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as part of the NCAA Division III. Sixty-seven teams competed in NCAA Division III women’s hockey across eight conferences in the 2019–20 season.
The Sid Watson Award is an annual award given to the top player in NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey. It is given by the American Hockey Coaches Association. It was known as the Division III Men's Player of the Year Award prior to 2005.
Michael Sisti is the women's ice hockey current head coach at Mercyhurst University. Since 1999, he has coached Mercyhurst to 4 Frozen Four appearances, 15 College Hockey America (CHA) post-season titles, and 1 Great Lakes Women's Hockey Association (GLWHA) post-season title. He reached 500 wins in 2020, becoming only the second coach in Division I women's college hockey to achieve that milestone. In 2018, he was inducted into the Erie Hall of Fame.
The 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season began in September 2015 and ended with the 2016 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament's championship game in March 2016.
The 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season began in September 2016 and ended with the 2017 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament's championship game on 19 March 2017.
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs represented the University of Minnesota Duluth in WCHA women's ice hockey during the 2016-17 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season. The Bulldogs emerged as one of the best teams in the nation.
The AHCA Coach of the Year is awarded yearly to the top coach in NCAA Division I women's college ice hockey by the American Hockey Coaches Association.
