This is a list of current and former varsity ice hockey programs that played under NCAA guidelines and/or predated the NCAA's oversight of ice hockey.
Time in the NAIA is included for any team so long as they played at the varsity level.
as of May 7, 2024.
Institution | Location | Nickname | First season | Number of seasons | Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saint Michael's College | Colchester, Vermont | Purple Knights | 1922–23 | 65 | Northeast-10 |
Assumption University (Worcester) | Worcester, Massachusetts | Greyhounds | 1918–19 | 60 | Northeast-10 |
Saint Anselm College | Goffstown, New Hampshire | Hawks | 1969–70 | 54 | Northeast-10 |
Southern New Hampshire University | Manchester, New Hampshire | Penmen | 1975–76 | 48 | Northeast-10 |
Franklin Pierce University | Rindge, New Hampshire | Ravens | 2002–03 | 22 | Northeast-10 |
Post University | Waterbury, Connecticut | Eagles | 2016–17 | 7 | Northeast-10 |
No women's ice hockey programs currently play under Division II regulations. The NCAA allows D-II members to play under Division I regulations in any sport that does not have a D-II national championship, and all D-II members that sponsor varsity women's hockey choose to play as D-I.
Of the six schools that play under D-II regulations in men's ice hockey, four currently have women's varsity teams, all of which play in the NEWHA. Assumption started women's varsity play in 2023–24 as a NEWHA member.
† UMass Boston's program began in 1980, however, the school merged in 1982 with Boston State College, which had started its ice hockey program in 1962.
Institution | Location | Nickname | First season | Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Binghamton University | Vestal, New York | Bearcats | 1987–88 [lower-alpha 1] | TBA |
Simon Fraser University | Burnaby, British Columbia | Red Leafs | 2005–06 | Independent [lower-alpha 2] |
Tennessee State University | Nashville, Tennessee | Tigers | TBD | TBA |
Institution | Location | Nickname | First season | Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|
University of Delaware | Newark, Delaware | Fightin' Blue Hens | 2025–26 | AHA |
Tennessee State University | Nashville, Tennessee | Lady Tigers | TBD | TBA |
Institution | Location | Nickname | First season | Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Keene State College | Keene, New Hampshire | Owls | 1982–83 [lower-alpha 1] | Independent [lower-alpha 2] |
St. John Fisher University | Pittsford, New York | Cardinals | 2025–26 [1] | TBD |
Institution | Location | Nickname | First season | Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Framingham State University | Framingham, Massachusetts | Rams | 2024–25 | MASCAC |
Keene State College | Keene, New Hampshire | Owls | 2024–25 | Independent [lower-alpha 1] |
St. John Fisher University | Pittsford, New York | Cardinals | 2025–26 | TBD |
Defunct teams are listed at the level and in the conference they were when they ceased sponsoring ice hockey as a varsity sport. For programs that ended prior to the delineation of college hockey in 1961, all will be listed under Division I classification.
Institution | Location | Nickname | First season | Last season | Total seasons | Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, North Dakota | Fighting Hawks | 2002–03 | 2016–17 | 15 | WCHA |
Niagara University | Lewiston, New York | Purple Eagles | 1998–99 | 2011–12 | 14 | CHA |
Institution | Location | Nickname | First season | Last season | Total seasons | Conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finlandia University | Hancock, Michigan | Lions | 2004–05 | 2022–23 | 18 | NCHA |
Currently Active | ||
Currently Inactive |
† Boston State merged with UMass Boston in 1982.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference.
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) was an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other college athletic conferences, Atlantic Hockey had no women's division, though it shared some organizational and administrative roles with the women's-only College Hockey America (CHA).
College Hockey America (CHA) was a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference was made up of six women's teams, with three in Pennsylvania; two in New York, and one in Missouri.
NCAA Division III independent schools are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics at the NCAA Division III level, but do not belong to an established athletic conference for a particular sport. These schools may however still compete as members of an athletic conference in other sports. A school may also be fully independent, and not belong to any athletic conference for any sport at all. The reason for independent status varies among institutions, but it is frequently because the school's primary athletic conference does not sponsor a particular sport.
NCAA Division I independent schools are four-year institutions that compete in college athletics at the NCAA Division I level, but do not belong to an established athletic conference for a particular sport. These schools may however still compete as members of an athletic conference in other sports. A school may also be fully independent, and not belong to any athletic conference for any sport at all. The reason for independent status varies among institutions, but it is frequently because the school's primary athletic conference does not sponsor a particular sport.
New England Hockey Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference.
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
Douglas George Ross was an American college ice hockey player, 1976 USA Olympic hockey player and college ice hockey head coach. Ross is most noted as head coach of the University of Alabama in Huntsville ice hockey team from 1982–2007 where he won two national club championships and two NCAA Division II championships. Ross also coached the club hockey program at Ohio University and oversaw the transition of Kent State University hockey from club status to varsity status in 1980.
NCAA Division I independent schools are teams that compete in NCAA ice hockey but are not members of a conference. There are several current schools who, at one time or another, competed as Division I independents.
The Merrimack Warriors men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Merrimack College. The Warriors are a member of Hockey East. They play at the 2,549-seat J. Thom Lawler Rink in North Andover, Massachusetts, which underwent renovation in 2010. Merrimack's 92.08% capacity during the 2013–14 season was second in Hockey East.
The following is a list of NCAA women's collegiate ice hockey teams, and conferences they compete in, that compete for berths in the annual NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament. The championship has existed since the 2000–2001 season and conferences include the university teams of Divisions I and II of the NCAA.
The New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) is a women's college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. As of the most recent 2023–24 NCAA hockey season, the conference is made up of eight teams, with two each in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and one each in New York and Vermont.
The LIU Sharks women's ice hockey team represents Long Island University in NCAA Division I ice hockey competition as a member of the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA). They play their home games at Islanders Iceworks in Syosset, New York and Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow, New York.
The 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season is the 19th season of competition in the National Collegiate division of NCAA women's ice hockey, the de facto equivalent of Division I in that sport. The season began in September 2019 and ended on March 10, 2020 following the conclusion of the ECAC Championship. The 2020 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament at Agganis Arena in Boston which was supposed to be held March 20 and 22 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NCAA Division III independent schools are teams that compete in NCAA ice hockey but are not members of a conference. There are also several current and former schools that previously competed as Division III independents.
The Stonehill Skyhawks men's ice hockey team represents Stonehill College in NCAA Division I ice hockey. On April 5, 2022, the school announced that they were promoting all of their varsity programs to Division I for the 2022–23 academic year.
The 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season was the 129th season of play for varsity ice hockey in the United States. The regular season began on October 1, 2022 and concluded on March 11, 2023. Two programs played their first Division I games this season while a third restarted its program.
The 2022–23 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season began on October 27, 2023, and will conclude on March 23, 2024. This was the 51st season of Division III college ice hockey.