 | |
| Conference | NCAA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Ceased | 2013 |
| Commissioner | G. Steven Larson (since 2010) |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division III |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Headquarters | Waukesha, Wisconsin |
| Region | Midwestern United States |
| Official website | www |
Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association was a college athletic conference which operated in the midwestern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. The conference included only men's teams.
The league was founded in 1998 with six teams: Benedictine University, the University of Findlay, Lawrence University, Marian University, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and Northland College. After one year in the conference, Benedictine dropped hockey, and Findlay moved to the Division I College Hockey America conference. The University of Minnesota Crookston joined in 1999. As a Division II school, Minnesota Crookston operated the hockey team with no scholarships like the other Division III members of the league. While they competed in the conference championship, they were ineligible for the NCAA Division III Tournament, but they were eligible for the Harris Cup.
In 2007, in order to meet NCAA guidelines and receive an automatic bid for the Division III tournament, the NCHA mandated that all member programs be Division III by the end of the 2008–09 season. [1] Minnesota–Crookston continued to play in the conference for the next two years but after the '09 season the university dropped varsity hockey and were replaced by Lake Forest.
Finlandia University joined the conference for the 2004–05 season. Before the 2007–08 season, the MCHA added Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, and Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan.
In the summer of 2012, the five hockey-playing schools in the University of Wisconsin System announced that they would leave the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) to begin playing hockey in their all-sports conference, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. [2] [3] The move would have left only two men's teams in the NCHA, leading St. Norbert College and the College of St. Scholastica to join the MCHA. [4] In April 2013, the NCHA and MCHA announced a merger, where the NCHA would absorb the MCHA's teams (of the MCHA's 10 schools, all seven who also sponsored women's hockey played in the NCHA). [5] The men's and women's sides will retain separate administrative structures, as well as their automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. [6]
| School | Location | Nickname | Founded | Affiliation | Colors | Joined | Left | Subsequent conference | Current conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian College | Adrian, Michigan | Bulldogs | 1859 | Private/Methodist | 2007 | 2013 | NCHA | ||
| Benedictine University | Lisle, Illinois | Eagles | 1887 | Private/Catholic | 1998 | 1999 | Dropped program | ||
| Concordia University Wisconsin | Mequon, Wisconsin | Falcons | 1880 | Private/Lutheran (LCMS) | 2007 | 2013 | NCHA | ||
| University of Findlay | Findlay, Ohio | Oilers | 1882 | Private | 1998 | 1999 | CHA (D-I) | Dropped program (2004) | |
| Finlandia University | Hancock, Michigan | Lions | 1896 | Private/Lutheran (ELCA) | 2004 | 2013 | NCHA | ||
| Lake Forest College | Lake Forest, Illinois | Foresters | 1857 | Private | 2009 | 2013 | NCHA | ||
| Lawrence University | Appleton, Wisconsin | Vikings | 1847 | Private | 1999 | 2013 | NCHA | ||
| Marian University | Fond du Lac, Wisconsin | Sabres | 1936 | Private/Catholic | 1998 | 2013 | NCHA | ||
| Milwaukee School of Engineering | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Raiders | 1903 | Private | 1998 | 2013 | NCHA | ||
| University of Minnesota Crookston | Crookston, Minnesota | Golden Eagles | 1905 | Public | 1999 | 2009 | Dropped program | ||
| Northland College | Ashland, Wisconsin | Lumberjacks | 1906 | Private/United Church of Christ | 1998 | 2013 | NCHA | ||
The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in the midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference.
The Harris Cup is an ice hockey championship trophy, awarded annually to the NCAA Division III Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) league playoff champion.
The Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Bemidji State University. The Beavers are a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and play at Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota, as of the 2010 season, after previously playing at the John S. Glas Field House.
The 2010–11 WCHA women's ice hockey season marked the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive ice hockey among Western Collegiate Hockey Association members.
Adam Krug is an American ice hockey coach and former player who was the NCAA Division III coach of the year in 2022.
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 Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles are the athletic teams that represent University of Minnesota Crookston, located in Crookston, Minnesota, in intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) since the 1999–2000 academic year; with the women's equestrian teams competing in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).
The Findlay Oilers Men's Ice Hockey is a defunct NCAA's Division I ice hockey team. The Oilers joined the Division I ranks in 1999 as a founding member of the College Hockey America (CHA) conference, along with six other schools, after only three years in existence as a Division II program. Findlay spent five years in the CHA, never finishing higher than fourth in the standings, and only winning a single game in the conference tournament.
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The NCHA men's tournament is an annual Division III conference tournament that has taken place since 1986. The winner of the tournament has received an automatic bit to the NCAA Tournament since they were first offered in 2000.
The 1999–2000 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season began on October 22, 1999 and concluded on March 18 of the following year. This was the 27th season of Division III college ice hockey.
The Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association tournament was a Division III college ice hockey tournament held annually to determine the MCHA champion. The tournament operated from the inception of the conference in 1999 to its absorption by the NCHA in 2013.
The 2007–08 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season began on October 19, 2007 and concluded on March 23 of the following year. This was the 35th season of Division III college ice hockey.
The 2013–14 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season began on October 26, 2013, and concluded on March 22, 2014. This was the 41st season of Division III college ice hockey.
The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's ice hockey tournament is the annual conference ice hockey championship tournament for the NCAA Division III Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The tournament has been held annually since 2014.
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.
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Steve Freeman is an American men's college ice hockey coach. He has been the men's ice hockey head coach at Wisconsin–River Falls since 1996.