hockey independents (as of 2020)
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.
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.
| Institution | Team | Location | Founded | Type | Enrollment | Years | Primary Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State University | Sun Devils [1] | Tempe, Arizona | 1885 | Public | 57,588 [lower-alpha 1] | 2015–2024 | Pac-12 Conference |
| Long Island University | Sharks [2] | Brooklyn & Brookville, New York | 1926 | Private | 15,197 [lower-alpha 2] | 2020–present | Northeast Conference |
| University of Alaska Anchorage | Seawolves | Anchorage, Alaska | 1954 | Public | 15,174 | 1984–1985 1988–1993 2022–present | GNAC |
| University of Alaska Fairbanks | Nanooks | Fairbanks, Alaska | 1917 | Public | 6,813 | 1925–1985 1988–1993 2021–present | GNAC |
| Lindenwood University | Lions | St. Charles , Missouri | 1827 | Private | 6,491 | 2022–present | Ohio Valley Conference |
| Stonehill College | Skyhawks | Easton, Massachusetts | 1948 | Private | 2,500 | 2022–present | Northeast Conference |
Alaska played infrequently as an independent program prior to 1985. It returned to independent status after the Great West Hockey Conference dissolved in 1988 and then joined the CCHA in 1995. The team was one of two final members of the men's division of the WCHA in 2021 and formally dissolved the men's side of the conference in 2021 (the WCHA remains in operation as a women-only league). [3]
Alaska-Anchorage first moved to D1 status in hockey in 1984, and played its first couple years as an independent before joining the newly founded GWHC alongside the Nanooks. After it dissolved, the Seawolves also played as an independent before joining the WCHA in 1994, around the same time Alaska joined the nearby CCHA. In 2020, the University of Alaska announced that UAA hockey would be cut after the 2020-21 season due to a reduction in state funding unless the program could raise 3 million dollars, and the program went on hiatus that year while its future was uncertain. [4] Ultimately, the program was saved, and it returned to play in the 2022-23 season as an independent, following the dissolution of the men's side of its former conference, the WCHA. [5]
The Sun Devils moved up from club hockey in the ACHA to full varsity status. Arizona State began playing a full Division I schedule in 2016–17.
The LIU Sharks launched their men's program for the 2020–21 season, a year after starting a women's ice hockey program.
With the 2020–21 season dramatically impacted by COVID-19, both Arizona State and LIU were in scheduling alliances with Division I conferences for that season, respectively with the Big Ten Conference [6] and Atlantic Hockey. [2]
In 2021–22, Lindenwood fielded two separate men's club teams, each playing at a different level of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), which governs the sport at club level. On March 23, 2022, Lindenwood announced that it would launch a Division I men's varsity program starting in the 2022–23 season, while maintaining its ACHA program. This announcement came shortly after the school announced it was starting a transition from Division II to Division I in July 2022, joining the non-hockey Ohio Valley Conference. [7]
On April 5, 2022, Stonehill, then a member of the D-II Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10), announced it was joining the Northeast Conference (which also does not sponsor ice hockey) that July, starting its own transition to D-I. Before this announcement, Stonehill had been one of seven NE-10 members that played men's ice hockey under Division II regulations, despite the NCAA not sponsoring a championship event at that level. (All other D-II schools with varsity men's ice hockey play under D-I regulations.) [8]
On July 5, 2023, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced that Arizona State would join the conference beginning with the 2024-25 season. [9]
No women's program has competed as an independent in the National Collegiate division of women's ice hockey, the de facto equivalent of Division I in that sport, since the 2018–19 season. The NCAA has never sponsored a Division II championship in the sport, although it does sponsor a Division III championship.
Five schools competed as independents in the 2018–19 season, all participating in the nascent New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA), which had originally been established in 2017 as a scheduling alliance among all of the then-current National Collegiate independents. The NEWHA initially included six schools, but Holy Cross left after the inaugural 2017–18 NEWHA season to join Hockey East. The NEWHA officially organized as a conference in advance of the 2018–19 season, [10] but was not officially recognized by the NCAA as a Division I league until the 2019–20 season, by which time the newly launched LIU program had joined as the sixth member. [11]
The newest National Collegiate hockey school is Assumption, which joined the NEWHA for administrative purposes in 2022 but did not start conference play until launching its varsity team a year later. [12] Also, Robert Morris, which had dropped the sport after the 2020–21 season due to COVID-19 impacts, resumed play in 2023–24, returning to its previous conference of College Hockey America. [13]
| School | Arena | Location | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Carlson Center | Fairbanks, Alaska | 4,595 |
| Alaska Anchorage | Seawolf Sports Complex | Anchorage, Alaska | 800 |
| Arizona State | Mullett Arena | Tempe, Arizona | 5,000 |
| Lindenwood | Centene Community Ice Center | Maryland Heights, Missouri | 2,500 |
| LIU | Northwell Health Ice Center | East Meadow, New York | 500 |
| Stonehill | Bridgewater Ice Arena | Bridgewater, Massachusetts | 1,000 |
| School | Years | Subsequent conference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Force Falcons [14] | 1968–1999 | CHA | Joined Atlantic Hockey in 2006 |
| Army Black Knights [15] | 1903–1961 1991–1999 | ECAC CHA | Joined Atlantic Hockey in 2000 |
| Bemidji State Beavers [16] | 1947–1950 | dropped program | Bemidji returned to Division I in 1999 as a charter member of College Hockey America, and moved to the WCHA for 2010–11. The Beavers were among the schools that revived the CCHA in 2021. |
| Boston College Eagles [17] | 1917–1961 | ECAC | Currently competes in Hockey East |
| Boston University Terriers [18] | 1917–1943 1945–1961 | suspended program ECAC | Currently competes in Hockey East |
| Brown Bears [19] | 1897–1961 | ECAC | |
| Clarkson Golden Knights [20] | 1920–1950 | Tri-State League | Clarkson was a member of the Tri-State League concurrently with ECAC from 1961 until the Tri-State's dissolution in 1972. |
| Colgate Raiders [21] | 1915–1917 1920–1950 1957–1961 | dropped program Tri-State League ECAC | Colgate dropped their program in 1951 due to the lack of an indoor facility but returned to the ice in 1957. |
| Colorado College Tigers [22] | 1937–1951 1958–1959 | MCHL WCHA | Joined the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) in 2013 |
| Cornell Big Red [23] | 1900–1903 1906–1916 1920–1931 1933–1948 1957–1961 | dropped program suspended program suspended program dropped program ECAC | |
| Dartmouth Big Green [24] | 1905–1918 1919–1961 | suspended program ECAC | |
| Denver Pioneers [25] | 1949–1951 1958–1959 | MCHL WCHA | Joined the NCHC in 2013. |
| Harvard Crimson [26] | 1897–1917 1918–1943 1945–1961 | suspended program suspended program ECAC | |
| UMass Minutemen [27] | 1908–1939 1947–1951 1953–1961 1993–1994 | dropped program dropped program ECAC Hockey Hockey East | Joined ECAC 2 in 1964. Dropped program from 1979 until 1993. |
| Merrimack Warriors [28] | 1956–1961 | ECAC Hockey | Joined ECAC 2 in 1964. Returned to Division I in 1989 as a member of Hockey East. |
| Miami RedHawks [29] | 1978–1980 | CCHA | Joined the NCHC in 2013. |
| Michigan Wolverines [30] | 1922–1951 | MCHL | Was also a member of the Big Ten from 1958 through 1981. Moved to CCHA in 1981. Joined the new Big Ten men's hockey league in 2013. |
| Michigan State Spartans [31] | 1921–1930 1949–1951 | dropped program MCHL | Was also a member of the Big Ten from 1958 through 1981. Moved to CCHA in 1981. Joined the new Big Ten men's hockey league in 2013. |
| Michigan Tech Huskies [32] | 1919–1951 1958–1959 | MCHL WCHA | Played in the CCHA from 1981–84. Re-joined the WCHA in 1984; became part of the revived CCHA in 2021. |
| Minnesota Golden Gophers [33] | 1921–1951 | MCHL | Was also a member of the Big Ten from 1958 through 1981. Joined the new Big Ten men's hockey league in 2013. |
| Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs [34] | 1930–1932 1946–1949 1961–1965 | dropped program MIAC WCHA | Joined the NCHC in 2013. |
| Minnesota State Mavericks [35] | 1996–1999 | WCHA | After moving up from Division II and before joining the WCHA. Became a member of the revived CCHA in 2021. |
| New Hampshire Wildcats [36] | 1924–1961 | ECAC | Currently competes in Hockey East. |
| Niagara Purple Eagles [37] | 1997–1999 | CHA | Niagara began varsity hockey in 1997, and became a charter member of the CHA in 1999. They moved to Atlantic Hockey for 2010–11. |
| North Dakota Fighting Hawks [38] | 1929–1936 1946–1951 1958–1959 | dropped program MCHL WCHA | Joined the NCHC in 2013. |
| Northeastern Huskies [39] | 1929–1961 | ECAC Hockey | Currently competes in Hockey East. |
| Northern Michigan Wildcats [40] | 1976–1977 | CCHA | Joined the WCHA in 2013; joined the revived CCHA in 2021. |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish [41] | 1912–1927 1968–1971 1984–1991 | dropped program WCHA CCHA | Left the CCHA in 2013 for Hockey East; moved to the Big Ten in 2017. |
| Ohio State Buckeyes [42] | 1963–1971 1973–1975 | CCHA CCHA | Joined the new Big Ten men's hockey league in 2013. |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | 2012–2013 | Big Ten | In September 2010, Penn State announced they would add men's and women's NCAA Division I hockey programs in 2012, competing in their first season as an independent. [43] In March 2011, the Big Ten Conference announced that Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State would leave the CCHA, and Minnesota and Wisconsin announced that they would leave the WCHA to form a Big Ten hockey conference to begin play in the 2013–14 season. [44] |
| Princeton Tigers [45] | 1899–1961 | ECAC | |
| Providence Friars [46] | 1926–1927 1952–1954 1955–1961 | dropped program Northeast League ECAC | Currently competes in Hockey East. |
| RPI Engineers [47] | 1901–1950 | Tri-State League | Rensselaer was a member of the Tri-State League concurrently with ECAC from 1961 until the Tri-State's dissolution in 1972. |
| RIT Tigers [48] | 2005–2006 | Atlantic Hockey | Played first year of its probation period after joining Division I as an independent. |
| Sacred Heart Pioneers [49] | 1993–1998 | MAAC | |
| St. Cloud State Huskies [50] | 1931–1942 1946–1961 1987–1990 | dropped program College Division WCHA | Dropped their program during World War II. Relegated to second-tier level when the division was formalized in 1961. Joined the NCHC in 2013. |
| St. Lawrence Saints [51] | 1925–1930 1938–1950 | dropped program Tri-State League | St. Lawrence was a member of the Tri-State League concurrently with ECAC from 1961 until the Tri-State's dissolution in 1972. |
| Union Dutchmen [52] | 1903–1904 1905–1911 1919–1920 1921–1942 1947–1949 | dropped program dropped program suspended program suspended program dropped program | Resumed playing in 1975 with ECAC 2. Returned to Division I in 1991 with ECAC Hockey. |
| Wisconsin Badgers [53] | 1921–1935 1963–1969 | dropped program WCHA | Joined the new Big Ten men's hockey league in 2013. |
| Yale Bulldogs [54] | 1895–1961 | ECAC | Yale is the oldest active NCAA program. |
| School | Years | Subsequent conference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clarkson Golden Knights [55] | 2003–2004 | ECAC | Played the first year of their program as an independent before joining the ECAC |
| Franklin Pierce Ravens | 2017–2019 | NEWHA | Moved from the Division III NEHC in 2017, joining the NEWHA. [56] Left independent status upon NCAA recognition of the NEWHA. |
| Holy Cross Crusaders [57] | 2017–2018 | Hockey East | After playing as a de facto Division III program from the varsity program's creation in 1999–2000, joined the NEWHA at its formation in 2017–18 before moving to Hockey East the following season. |
| Lindenwood Lady Lions | 2011–2012 | CHA | The university competed as an independent for the 2011–12 season during the transition process of joining the NCAA from NAIA, during which, the team was reclassifying from ACHA Division I to NCAA Division I. Lindenwood placed an application in Fall 2011 and was accepted as a member of CHA starting in the 2012–13 season. [58] |
| Post Eagles | 2017–2019 | NEWHA | Played inaugural women's hockey season of 2016–17 as a Division III independent ineligible for postseason play. [59] Joined the NEWHA at its formation in 2017 and left independent status upon NCAA recognition of the NEWHA. |
| Quinnipiac Bobcats [60] | 2002–2004 | CHA | Left the ECAC after 2002 and spent two years playing as an independent before joining the CHA. They returned to the ECAC after one season in the CHA. |
| RPI Engineers [61] | 2005–2006 | ECAC | Moved up from Division III (where they were a member of the ECAC East) in 2005. |
| Sacred Heart Pioneers [62] | 2003–2019 | NEWHA | Moved from the Division III ECAC East in 2003. Founding member of the NEWHA in 2017; left independent status upon NCAA recognition of that league. |
| Saint Anselm Hawks | 2017–2019 | NEWHA | Moved from the Division III NEHC in 2017, joining the NEWHA. [63] Left independent status upon NCAA recognition of the NEWHA. |
| Saint Michael's Purple Knights | 2017–2019 | NEWHA | Moved from the Division III NEHC in 2017, joining the NEWHA. [64] Left independent status upon NCAA recognition of the NEWHA. |
| UConn Huskies [65] | 2000–2001 | ECAC | Played the first year of their program as an independent before joining the ECAC, and moving to Hockey East in 2002. |
| School | Years | Subsequent conference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama–Huntsville Chargers [66] | 1987–1992 1998–1999 2010–2013 | Division II CHA WCHA | The Chargers first competed as a Division I independent between stints in Division II. After winning 2 championships and finishing as runners-up twice more, UAH returned to Division I in 1998, spending one season as an independent before becoming a charter member of College Hockey America. Following the demise of the men's side of CHA, and being denied entry to the CCHA, [67] the Chargers were independent for three seasons (2010–11 to 2012–13) [68] until joining the Western Collegiate Hockey Association beginning in the 2013–14 season. [69] The team was temporarily suspended in 2021. The university currently plans to bring the program back when they secure placement in a Division I conference. |
| Carnegie Tech Tartans [70] | 1905–1909 1920–1921 | Intercollegiate League dropped program | The program was suspended after 1910 when the Intercollegiate League collapsed. The team resurfaced in 1937 in the Penn-Ohio League but discontinued the program in 1940. |
| Case Rough Riders | 1909–1911 | dropped program | The team resurfaced in 1938 in the Penn-Ohio League but discontinued the program after the collapse of the conference in 1941. |
| Columbia Lions | 1896–1915 1920–1923 1937–1938 | dropped program dropped program dropped program | |
| Johns Hopkins Blue Jays | 1894–1898 | dropped program | Johns Hopkins played the first two intercollegiate games against Yale in 1896. [71] |
| Kent State Golden Flashes [72] | 1985–1992 | CCHA | Program folded in 1994. |
| Illinois Fighting Illini [73] | 1937–1943 | dropped program | |
| UIC Flames [74] | 1981–1982 | CCHA | Moved up from Division II in 1981. Program folded in 1996. |
| MIT Engineers [75] | 1900–1961 | ECAC | The program joined the lower-tier division in 1964 and was dropped in 1975. |
| Northern Arizona Lumberjacks [76] [77] | 1980–1985 | GWHC | Folded their program after one season in the GWHC due to rink problems. |
| Penn Quakers [78] | 1896–1899 1900–1901 1908–1911 1919–1924 1928–1930 1958–1967 | suspended program dropped program dropped program dropped program dropped program ECAC | Program ended after the 1977-78 season. |
| Pittsburgh Panthers [79] | 1898–1900 1906–1909 | dropped program Intercollegiate League | The program was suspended when the Intercollegiate League collapsed in 1910. The team restarted with the inception of the Penn-Ohio League in 1937 but was suspended after just two seasons. |
| Saint Louis Billikens [80] | 1970–1971 | CCHA | St. Louis was a founding member of the CCHA and continued with the conference until the program was demoted to club status in 1979. They currently play as an unrecognized Division II team. |
| Syracuse Orange [81] | 1911–1913 1923–1928 1939–1940 | dropped program dropped program dropped program | |
| US International Gulls [77] [82] | 1979–1985 | GWHC | Dropped their program in 1988. |
| Villanova Wildcats [83] [84] | 1929–1932 | dropped program | Returned as a Division III team and later dropped their program again after the 1997–1998 season for Title IX reasons. |
| Western Reserve Red Cats | 1909–1911 | dropped program | The team resurfaced in 1937 in the Penn-Ohio League but discontinued the program after the collapse of the conference in 1941. |
| School | Years | Subsequent conference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota Fighting Hawks [85] | 2002–2004 | WCHA | Played the first years of their program as an independent before joining the WCHA. Dropped women's ice hockey after the 2016–17 season. [86] |
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.
College Hockey America (CHA) is a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is made up of six women's teams, with three in Pennsylvania; two in New York, and one in Missouri.
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.
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
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 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth at the AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. The team is a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Division I tier. The Bulldogs have won five NCAA Championships.
The North Dakota Fighting Sioux women's ice hockey team was the college ice hockey team at the Grand Forks campus of the University of North Dakota. They were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competed in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women ice hockey.
The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Seawolves were an original member of the now defunct men's division in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). They played at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska, and moved to the Seawolf Sports Complex on campus at the start of the 2019–20 season.
The Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Mavericks compete in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). Their home arena is the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center located in downtown Mankato, Minnesota.
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 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 2014 and ended with the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game in April 2015. This was the 68th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and the 121st year overall in which an NCAA school fielded a team.
The 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 2015 and ended with the 2016 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament's championship game on April 9, 2016. This was the 69th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and the 122nd year overall in which an NCAA school fielded a team.
The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 2017 and ended with the Frozen Four in April 2018. This was the 71st season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and US college hockey's 124th year overall.
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 current 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 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.
The 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began on October 1, 2022, and concluded with the NCAA championship on April 8, 2023. This was the 75th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and was US college hockey's 129th year overall.
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.
