 | |
| Conference | ACHA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Region | Great Lakes |
| Most recent champion(s) | Grand Valley State Lakers (1st title) |
| Most titles | Adrian Bulldogs (7 titles) |
| Official website | Official website |
The Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) is an American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I level ice hockey league. The GLCHL is made up of nine schools, including one in Indiana, one in Illinois, and seven in Michigan.
The league was announced in late 2009 and began play in the Fall of 2010 with six member teams, all located within the state of Michigan. [1] Eastern Michigan, Michigan-Dearborn and Western Michigan all joined the league after competing as members of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League. Oakland and Adrian College previously competed as ACHA Division 1 Independents. Davenport joined after making the transition from ACHA Division 2 to Division 1. [1] In 2012, Kent State announced they would move from the CSCHL to the league beginning in the 2012-13 season. Indiana Tech and Rochester College joined the league in the 2015-16 season. Before the 2017-18 season Indiana Tech left to join the newly formed NAIA Division. Calvin College moved up from ACHA Division 3 to fill the spot left by Indiana Tech. In 2019, Rochester and Michigan-Dearborn left the conference after the NAIA Division consolidated into the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC), the all-sport conference for both RU and UMD. [2] In recent years, though, the league has been able to supplement its membership with programs making the transition from ACHA D2 to D1, adding Grand Valley State for the 2020-2021 season, [3] and Purdue University Northwest for the 2022-2023 season. [4]
Adrian College has won the most regular season and playoff titles with seven regular season and five playoff titles.
The conference plays a 16-game league schedule, two games against each team—home team alternates each season. In addition team schedules will include other ACHA Division I opponents. The GLCHL holds a league championship tournament at the end of the regular season in February. [5]
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Team Nickname | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian College | Adrian, MI | 1859 | Private/Methodist | 1,800 | Bulldogs | MIAA (D-III) |
| Calvin University | Grand Rapids, MI | 1876 | Private | 3,918 | Knights | MIAA (D-III) |
| Davenport University | Grand Rapids, MI | 1866 | Private | 12,471 | Panthers | GLIAC (D-II) |
| Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti, MI | 1849 | Public | 22,974 | Eagles | Mid-American (D-I) |
| Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI | 1960 | Public | 24,406 | Lakers | GLIAC (D-II) |
| Oakland University | Rochester, MI | 1957 | Public | 20,169 | Golden Grizzlies | Horizon League (D-I) |
| Purdue University Northwest [6] | Hammond, IN | 2016 | Public | 9,363 | Pride | GLIAC (D-II) |
| Roosevelt University | Chicago, IL | 1945 | Private | 6,391 | Lakers | CCAC (NAIA) |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo, MI | 1903 | Public | 24,576 | Broncos | Mid-American (D-I) |
Note: Adrian has NCAA Division III hockey competing in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. Western Michigan has NCAA Division I hockey competing in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Institute of Technology | Fort Wayne, Indiana | 1930 | Private/Nonsectarian | Warriors | 2010 | 2017 | Wolverine–Hoosier (NAIA) |
| University of Michigan–Dearborn | Dearborn, MI | 1959 | Public | Wolverines | 2010 | 2019 | Wolverine–Hoosier (NAIA) |
| Rochester College | Rochester Hills, MI | 1959 | Private | Warriors | 2015 | 2019 | Wolverine–Hoosier (NAIA) |
| Kent State University | Kent, OH | 1910 | Public | Golden Flashes | 2012 | 2020 | Mid-American (D-I) |
| School | Hockey Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Adrian | Arrington Ice Arena | 500 |
| Calvin | Eagles Ice Center | |
| Davenport | Patterson Ice Center | 1,200 |
| Eastern Michigan | Ann Arbor Ice Cube | 1,000 |
| Grand Valley State | Griff's Georgetown | |
| Oakland | Onyx Rochester Ice Arena | 750 |
| Purdue Northwest | Kube Sports Complex | |
| Roosevelt | Edge Ice Arena | 3,000 |
| Western Michigan | Wings West Arena | 1,000 |
| Regular season | Tournament | Tournament site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Adrian College [7] | Oakland [8] | The Peak Ice Arena, Romulus, Michigan |
| 2012 | Oakland [9] | Adrian College [10] | Arrington Ice Arena, Adrian, Michigan |
| 2013 | Adrian College | Davenport | Patterson Ice Center, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2014 | Adrian College | Adrian College | ONYX Ice Arena, Rochester, MI |
| 2015 | Adrian College | Adrian College | The Rink, Battle Creek, MI |
| 2016 | Davenport | University of Michigan-Dearborn | University of Michigan-Dearborn Fieldhouse, Dearborn, MI |
| 2017 | Adrian College | University of Michigan-Dearborn | KSU Ice Arena, Kent, OH |
| 2018 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Ann Arbor Ice Cube, Ann Arbor, MI |
| 2019 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Arrington Ice Arena, Adrian, MI |
| 2020 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Patterson Ice Center, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2021 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Griff's Georgetown, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2022 | Adrian College | Grand Valley State | Griff's Georgetown, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2023 | Adrian College | Adrian College | Eagles Ice Center, Grand Rapids, MI |
NAIA independent schools are four-year institutional members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that do not have formal conference affiliations. NAIA schools that are not members of any other athletic conference are members of the Continental Athletic Conference (CAC), formerly the Association of Independent Institutions (AII), which provides member services to the institution and allows members to compete in postseason competition. The CAC has one member institution in the U.S. Virgin Islands and another in Canada's British Columbia. It provides services to the member institutions that are not fitting in any other NAIA conference and allows members to compete in postseason competition. The AII renamed itself the Continental Athletic Conference at the end of June 2021, citing the need to identify as a proper conference.
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) held a men's national ice hockey championship from 1968 to 1984 when ice hockey was dropped as an NAIA sport.
Indiana Institute of Technology is a private university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was founded in 1930 as Indiana Technical College by John A. Kalbfleisch, who was also the school's first president.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity 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. 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 Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and it's heaquartered in Livonia, Michigan. The conference consists of twelve colleges and universities located in the U.S. states of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Founded in 1992, the conference was created as a successor group for the now-defunct NAIA District 23.
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies are the athletic teams that represent Oakland University (OU) in the Horizon League and Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The school fields 16 teams: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, men's and women's track, and women's volleyball.
The Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) is Division I ACHA level hockey-college athletic conference. The CSCHL is in its 51st season of existence and is one of the top ranked ACHA leagues. It currently has 4 member teams in the Midwestern United States.
College Hockey Mid-America (CHMA) is an American Collegiate Hockey Association Division I ice hockey conference with teams in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The league was formed in 2006 after members of the now defunct University Hockey League organized the league and moved from the ACHA's Division II to Division I.
The Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) is a collegiate hockey conference at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I level. The league was created in 2017 and is made up of eight teams located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
The Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League (TSCHL) is an ACHA Division II level ice hockey league. ACHA Division II level consists of players with previous Jr. A, AAA or Midget Major experience, along with high caliber high school experience. The level can range from varsity high school up to NCAA Division III skills, depending on the programs.
The Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC) is a Men's ACHA Division 3 conference made up of smaller colleges and universities in the state of Michigan.
The Lindenwood Lions and Lady Lions are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the Ohio Valley Conference for most of its sports since the 2022–23 academic year.
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks, commonly known as the IUP Crimson Hawks and formerly called the IUP Indians, are the varsity athletic teams that represent Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which is located in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The university and all of its intercollegiate sports teams compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) within the NCAA Division II. The university sponsors 19 different teams, including eight teams for men and eleven teams for women: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, football, men's golf, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball.
College Hockey South (CHS), formerly known as the South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference (SECHC), is a non-varsity ice hockey conference in the Southern United States. The conference plays in Division 2 of the Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF). The member clubs of College Hockey South are member universities of several different conferences in NCAA athletics.
The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Davenport University, located in Caledonia Township, Michigan, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for most of its sports as a provisional member since the 2017–18 academic year. The Panthers previously competed in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2005–06 to 2016–17.
Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey, formerly known as the Penn State Icers, is a college ice hockey program that represents the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to the 2012–13 season the program was designated a club sport and competed at the ACHA Division I level. PSU was previously a member of the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL, although the team competed as an independent ACHA D-I member for the 2011–12 season before moving to the NCAA D-I level. They play at the Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Thomas A. Anastos is an American ice hockey coach, former player, and former league administrator. He was most recently the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team (MSU), a member of the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He played junior hockey for the Paddock Pool Saints, college hockey for the Michigan State University Spartans and professional hockey for the Sherbrooke Canadiens. He was an ice hockey league administrator most recently serving as commissioner of the original Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), a now defunct NCAA Division I conference, from 1998-2012. Anastos is a member of the Dearborn (Michigan) Sports Hall of Fame, inducted in 2000.
The Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey team represents Lindenwood University located in St. Charles, Missouri. The Lady Lions currently participate in the NCAA Division I competition as a member of College Hockey America (CHA). The team played with no conference affiliation as an Independent program for its first season of NCAA competition. During the 2011–12 season, Lindenwood was accepted into College Hockey America (CHA) beginning in the 2012–2013 season. Prior to 2011 the university was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), because the organization does not sponsor women's ice hockey, the program competed in the American Collegiate Hockey Association at the ACHA DI level.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (1986–1989) (ACHA) was an American college ice hockey conference from 1986 to 1989 made of varsity programs from Division I and Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The league disbanded after three seasons because it did not meet the minimum number of members required to be recognized by the NCAA. The American Collegiate Hockey Association that started in 1991 and governs a national collection of club hockey teams is unaffiliated with the ACHA (1986–1989).