NCAA Division I women's ice hockey conferences and teams

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The following is a list of women's college ice hockey programs (teams) that participate in Division I ice hockey of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and compete for berths in the annual National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship. Programs (teams) are sorted by the conferences in which they play. [1] [2]

Contents

Atlantic Hockey America (AHA)

Atlantic Hockey America is a college ice hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. [3] The conference was formed in 2024 via the merger of the men-only Atlantic Hockey Association and the women-only College Hockey America (CHA). [4] The University of Delaware will join the AHA in the 2025–26 season.

The AHA conference champion currently receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament. The demise of the Robert Morris program after the 2020–21 season reduced the then-CHA's membership to five, one fewer than the six required to qualify for an automatic bid. Under current NCAA rules, any conference with an automatic bid that drops below six members has two years to restore its membership to the required six before losing its automatic bid. This issue became moot when Robert Morris reinstated its program and rejoined CHA effective during the 2023–24 season.

ECAC Hockey

Located in the northeastern United States, ECAC Hockey has changed to meet the needs of the exploding collegiate sport as 24 teams have called ECAC Hockey home since the first regional championship was contested in 1984. [5] [6] Clarkson became the first non-WCHA team to win the national championship when it defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 2014 Frozen Four, and has since won titles in 2017 and 2018.

It is the only NCAA Division I hockey conference whose members all field varsity teams for both men and women.

Ivy League

Several universities with programs in ECAC Hockey are also members of the Ivy League conference. All six Ivy League schools with ice hockey programs participate in NCAA competition as members of ECAC Hockey and, therefore, ice hockey does not function as a sponsored Ivy League sport. [7] The conference honors women's ice hockey players from its member institutions with annual selection of the Ivy League player of the year, rookie of the year, and All-Ivy teams. [8]

Hockey East Association (HEA)

Hockey East (officially the Hockey East Association) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in New England and features men's and women's competition. [9] The women's side of the conference is also known as Women's Hockey East Association (WHEA) and, throughout its history, has exclusively included programs based in New England. The conference is regarded as one of the top women's ice hockey conferences in United States.

New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA)

The newest conference to receive NCAA Division I recognition in ice hockey is the New England Women's Hockey Alliance. The NEWHA formed in 2017 as a scheduling alliance between the sport's six then-existing National Collegiate (Division I/II) independents, all located in New England. Of these schools, Sacred Heart was the only one that played at the National Collegiate level before 2017, having competed as an independent since 2003. The other five charter members, which all began National Collegiate play in 2017, consisted of one Division I member (Holy Cross) and four Division II members (Franklin Pierce, Post, Saint Anselm, and Saint Michael's). Holy Cross left after the first NEWHA season of 2017–18 to join Hockey East. Shortly before the 2018–19 season, the remaining five members formally organized as a conference and began the process of gaining full NCAA recognition. [10]

In the meantime, LIU Brooklyn announced it would add women's ice hockey effective in 2019–20, and would join the NEWHA at that time. [11] Shortly after this announcement, the school's parent institution, Long Island University (LIU), announced that it would merge the athletic programs of its two main campuses (Division I Brooklyn and Division II Post) into a single Division I program [12] that would later be unveiled as the LIU Sharks. [13]

With the conference membership returning to six for the 2019–20 season, the NCAA officially approved the NEWHA as a Division I conference shortly before the start of that season. This action also meant that no independent programs existed in that season, since the NEWHA membership included all of the previous National Collegiate independents. The NEWHA received its first automatic NCAA tournament berth in 2021–22. [14] Stonehill had originally planned to begin varsity play in the 2021–22 season as the NEWHA's seventh member, [15] but due to recruiting issues brought on by COVID-19, delayed its debut until the 2022–23 season. [16]

Another Division II school, Assumption, joined the NEWHA for administrative purposes alongside Stonehill in 2022–23, but did not start varsity play until 2023–24. [17]

Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA)

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is a NCAA Division I women's-only conference operating in the northern Midwest states of Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. [18] Apart from the three titles won by Clarkson, every other National Collegiate women's title has been won by a WCHA team.

The WCHA was founded in 1951 as a men-only league. Women's competition was introduced in 1999. After seven of ten men's WCHA members left the conference after the 2020–21 season to reestablish the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, the WCHA disbanded its men's division and has since operated as a women-only league.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Hockey</span> NCAA Mens Division I Ice Hockey 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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Hockey America</span> College ice hockey conference in the United States

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's final membership featured six women's teams, with three in Pennsylvania; two in New York, and one in Missouri.

The annual NCAA women's ice hockey tournament—officially known as the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship—is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the top women's team in the NCAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast-10 Conference</span> US college athletic conference

The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. It is the only Division II collegiate ice hockey conference in the United States.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College ice hockey</span> US and Canadian amateur collegiate ice hockey competition

College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.

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 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 2023–24 season.

The following is a list of teams that have made appearances in the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship listed by their conference. The championship has existed since the 2000–2001 season and groups include the university teams of Divisions I and II of the NCAA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013–14 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season</span>

The 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 2013 and ended with the 2014 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game in April 2014. This was the 67th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and the 120th year overall in which an NCAA school fielded a team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Women's Hockey Alliance</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LIU Sharks women's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019–20 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season</span>

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 2021–22 CCHA season was the 43rd season of play for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and part of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The regular season began on October 2, 2021, and concluded on February 26, 2022. The conference tournament began on March 4 and ended on March 19, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stonehill Skyhawks men's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

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 team plays their home games at Bridgewater Ice Arena, located over 9 miles away from Stonehill's campus in Easton, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season</span>

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 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season began in September 2023 and ended with the 2024 NCAA National Collegiate women's ice hockey tournament's championship game at Whittemore Center in Durham, New Hampshire on March 24, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season</span>

The 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began on October 6, 2023, and concluded with the NCAA championship on April 13, 2024. This was the 76th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship is being held, and is US college hockey's 130th year overall.

References

  1. ↑ 2010-11 NCAA Division I Manual (PDF). August 1, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  2. ↑ 2024-2025 NCAA Division I Manual (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 9, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America to Merge Operations in 2024". Atlantic Hockey Association. June 6, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Atlantic Hockey, CHA women will combine as Atlantic Hockey America for 2024–25 season". USCHO. April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  5. ↑ Women's in ECAC Hockey [ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "ECAC Hockey Women's History". ECAC Hockey . Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Women's Ice Hockey". Ivy League . Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Women's Ice Hockey All-Ivy, Postseason Awards Announced". Ivy League (Press release). March 1, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  9. ↑ women's in Hockey East
  10. ↑ "NEWHA announces intent to be recognized as NCAA national collegiate women's hockey conference". USCHO.com. September 26, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Women's Ice Hockey Added as Varsity Sport at LIU Brooklyn; Morgan Tabbed as Inaugural Head Coach" (Press release). LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. September 10, 2018. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Long Island University Announces Unification Into One LIU Division I Program" (Press release). LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. October 3, 2018. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Welcome to the Shark Tank: Long Island University Chooses the Shark as New Mascot" (Press release). Long Island University. May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  14. ↑ "New England Women's Hockey Alliance approved for NCAA Division I status, effective with '19–20 season". USCHO.com. September 4, 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Stonehill to Add Women's Ice Hockey; Accepts Invitation to Join NEWHA" (Press release). New England Women's Hockey Alliance. December 9, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Stonehill to Delay First Women's Hockey Season to 2022–23" (Press release). Stonehill Skyhawks. September 11, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Assumption accepts invitation to join NEWHA as its eighth member" (Press release). New England Women's Hockey Alliance. June 29, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  18. ↑ Women's in WCHA
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