 | |
| Conference | ACHA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Region | Great Lakes |
| Most recent champion(s) | Northwood (1st title) (2024–25) |
| Most titles | Adrian Bulldogs (8 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 | Nickname | Joined | Left | Primary conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwood University | Midland, Michigan | 1959 | Nonsectarian | 1,344 | Timberwolves | 2024 | ? | Great Midwest (G-MAC) [a] |
| Oakland University | Rochester, Michigan | 1957 | Public | 20,519 | Golden Grizzlies | ? | ? | Horizon [b] |
| Saginaw Valley State University | University Center, Michigan | 1963 | Public | 7,523 | Cardinals | 2024 | ? | Great Lakes (GLIAC) [a] |
| University of Toledo | Toledo, Ohio | 1872 | Public | 18,319 | Rockets | 2024 | ? | Mid-American (MAC) [b] |
| Western Michigan University [c] | Kalamazoo, Michigan | 1903 | Public | 19,887 | Broncos | ? | ? | Mid-American (MAC) [b] |
| 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 |
| 2024 | Adrian College | Purdue Northwest | Farmington Hills Ice Arena, Grand Rapids, MI |
| 2025 | Northwood University | Northwood University | Midland Civic Arena, Midland, MI |