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Sport | Ice hockey |
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Founded | 2011 – 2017 |
President | Michael Smietana |
No. of teams | 25 |
Country | ![]() |
Most recent champion(s) | University at Buffalo (2016–17) |
Official website | NCHA.us |
The National Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) is a defunct national organization of men's college- and university-level ice hockey programs in the United States. The NCHA used to be known as the Collegiate Ice Hockey Association (CIHA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Hockey (NAIH). The association was primarily composed of American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division III teams from the Northeast.
The NAIH was formed in 2011 as an alternative to the ACHA for hockey teams that wanted a lower cost for membership and a high level of competition. However, many teams in the NCHA were also members of the ACHA.
In the spring of 2013, the NAIH changed its name to the CIHA and after the 2013-14 season changed its name to the NCHA.
In July 2014, the NCHA was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, a branch of Amateur Athletic Union. [1]
For the 2015–16 season, the NCHA had four conferences: North Eastern (New York), South Eastern (Pennsylvania/West Virginia), South Wwestern (California) and the Independent Conference. The champion of each conference received an automatic bid to Nationals.
The 2012–13 season was the first year the NAIH held a national tournament. The national championship trophy was dubbed the Founders Cup.
Year | National Champion | Runner-up | Result | Host/Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
2012–13 | Western Washington | Le Moyne College | 2-1 [2] | Buffalo, New York |
2013–14 | Pittsburgh-Greensburg | UC San Diego | 2-0 [3] [4] | Newark, Ohio |
2014–15 | St. John Fisher College | Pittsburgh-Greensburg | 8-5 | Newark, Ohio |
2015–16 | University at Buffalo | Penn State Altoona | 4-2 [5] | Newark, Ohio |
2016–17 | University at Buffalo | Union College | 5-2 | Amherst, New York |
Robert Morris University Illinois, formerly Robert Morris College, was a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1965 but its oldest ancestor was the Moser School founded in 1913. It changed its name to Robert Morris University Illinois in 2009. In 2020, it merged into Roosevelt University, which formed under it a new Robert Morris Experiential College as one of several colleges at Roosevelt. Robert Morris offered associate and bachelor's degrees and was regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes quality in collegiate ice hockey. The ACHA currently has three men's and two women's divisions and includes approximately 450 teams from across the United States and Canada. Most ACHA teams offer few athletic scholarships and typically receive far less university funding. The ACHA offers an opportunity for college hockey programs that struggle with large budgets and Title IX issues, as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) financial structure.
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students. Pitt fields 19 university-sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States: the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for American football.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
The Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) is a collegiate hockey conference at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I level. The league was created in 2017 and is made up of eight teams located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
College Hockey East (CHE) is a mixed American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 2 and Division 3 league for universities in the Western Pennsylvania region.
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents are the intercollegiate athletic teams for Washington & Jefferson College. The name "Presidents" refers to the two presidential namesakes of the college: George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. W&J is a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference, the Eastern College Athletic Conference, and play in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in both men's and women's varsity sports. During the 2005–2006 season, 34 percent of the student body played varsity-level athletics.
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks, commonly known as the IUP Crimson Hawks and formerly called the IUP Indians, are the varsity athletic teams that represent Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which is located in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The university and all of its intercollegiate sports teams compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) within the NCAA Division II. The university sponsors 19 different teams, including eight teams for men and eleven teams for women: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, women's field hockey, football, men's golf, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball.
College Hockey South (CHS), formerly known as the South Eastern Collegiate Hockey Conference (SECHC), is a non-varsity ice hockey conference in the Southern United States. The conference plays in Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 and Women's Division of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) College Hockey. The member clubs of College Hockey South are member universities of several different conferences in NCAA athletics.
The Central Oklahoma Bronchos, are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing University of Central Oklahoma, located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The five men's and nine women's varsity teams are called the "Bronchos". The school's identification as Bronchos dates back to 1922, when the wife of football coach Charles W. Wantland suggested it for the school's mascot. The official colors of the teams are bronze and blue, which the institution adopted in 1895. The Bronchos compete in the NCAA's Division II and in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association in all sports except women's rowing, which competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Bronchos have won 22 national championships, with the most recent coming in 2024 as the wrestling program won the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. The university's current athletic director is Stan Wagnon, who has served in the position since 2020.
The Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League (ECWHL) is an American Collegiate Hockey Association Women's Division 1 club level hockey-only college athletic conference for women's hockey teams. It is one of four ACHA Women's Division 1 conferences, along with the Central Collegiate Women's Hockey Association, the Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League, and Women's Midwest College Hockey. Primarily, the league has been concentrated in New England and Upstate and Western New York, with eleven of its thirteen members over fourteen seasons based in those areas.
The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Davenport University, located in Caledonia Township, Michigan, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for most of its sports as a provisional member since the 2017–18 academic year. The Panthers previously competed in the Wolverine–Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 2005–06 to 2016–17.
Penn State Nittany Lions men's ice hockey, formerly known as the Penn State Icers, is a college ice hockey program that represents the Pennsylvania State University. Prior to the 2012–13 season the program was designated a club sport and competed at the ACHA Division I level. PSU was previously a member of the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL, although the team competed as an independent ACHA D-I member for the 2011–12 season before moving to the NCAA D-I level. They play at the Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania.
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 University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF) men’s hockey team is the collegiate hockey team at the university. UWRF is a Division III hockey team, a part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Falcons are a part of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), which is also a part of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA). However, the WIAC announced in February 2012 that they would be leaving the NCHA due to budgetary reasons, effective for the 2014–15 season. The Falcons have won three national titles, one as a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 1983, and two NCAA national titles in 1988 and 1994. The Falcons play at Hunt Arena, which opened in 1973. Steve Freeman is the head coach of the Falcons and is the all-time wins leader for both UWRF and the WIAC with over 400 wins.
The Collegiate Ice Hockey Association or CIHA was a national organization of non-NCAA, men's college and university level ice hockey programs. The CIHA took over where the National Association of Intercollegiate Hockey left off. The CIHA is now referred to as the National Collegiate Hockey Association. All of the records starting from the NAIH will carry over to the NCHA.
The Lindenwood Lady Lions ice hockey team represents Lindenwood University located in St. Charles, Missouri. The Lady Lions participate in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) conference. The team played with no conference affiliation as an Independent program for its first season of NCAA competition. Lindenwood joined College Hockey America (CHA), a women-only conference, beginning in the 2012–13 season. After the 2023–24 season, CHA and the men-only Atlantic Hockey Association merged to create Atlantic Hockey America. Prior to 2011 the university was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), because the organization does not sponsor women's ice hockey, the program competed in the American Collegiate Hockey Association at the ACHA Division I level.
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