College Hockey America (CHA) is a
college ice hockey
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...
conference in the United States. It participates in the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
's
Division I as a
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
-only conference. The conference is made up of five women’s teams, with two in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
; two in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and one in
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. A former member in Pennsylvania will return in 2023.
History
The CHA was founded as a men's-only league in the 1999–2000 season. The conference was formed by seven teams, three of which were Division I independent teams, another three moving up from Division II, after the NCAA stopped sanctioning Division II hockey in 1998, and one new varsity program (Wayne State).
[ ]
The newly formed women's division of the CHA began play in the 2002–03 season with four teams.
[ ] Findlay, Mercyhurst and Wayne State were former Great Lakes Women's Hockey Association members, while Niagara played previously in the
ECAC.
The CHA Women's Division managed to remain at four teams between 2002–2008; although teams continued to come and go. In 2004, Findlay dropped its women's hockey program and was replaced by Quinnipiac University for one season. In 2005, the Bobcats removed its women's team and moved to another conference (ECAC). They were replaced by the Colonials women's ice hockey team of Robert Morris University. In 2008–09, Syracuse University started up its women's hockey program and joined the conference; bringing the total number of teams in the CHA Women's Division up to five.
The CHA Men's Division folded after the 2009–2010 season, leaving the CHA as a women's only conference. The fate of the four remaining CHA men's teams was as follows: Niagara and Robert Morris moved to Atlantic Hockey; Bemidji State joined the WCHA; and Alabama-Huntsville continued play as an independent, but have since moved to the WCHA.
The 2011–12 academic year and season brought many changes to the CHA.
Wayne State abruptly ended their women's hockey program, dropping conference membership to only four teams again for the 2011–12 season.
The conference announced that
Lindenwood University
Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution west of the Missis ...
would officially join the CHA for the 2012–2013 season.
Lindenwood, then in the process of transitioning its athletic programs from the
NAIA to the NCAA, had already been slated to play ten games against CHA opponents in its first season of NCAA competition as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
program for the 2011–12 season.
On March 19, 2012,
Niagara
Niagara may refer to:
Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada
*Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River
*Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border
*Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...
announced it was dropping its women's ice hockey program effective immediately; as a result, the
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in the town of Henrietta, New York, Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree ...
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
was allowed to immediately join the CHA upon its move from D-III to D-I for the 2012–13 season.
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High ...
, which had announced it would upgrade its men's and women's hockey from
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea''
Brands and enterprise ...
to
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
status for 2012, was accepted for admission to the CHA for the 2012–13 season.
In sum, the CHA continued as a women's-only conference for the 2012–13 season and beyond with a total of six teams consisting of Mercyhurst (original member from 2002); Robert Morris (joined 2005); Syracuse (joined 2008) and new members Penn State, Lindenwood and RIT.
Due to financial impacts related to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
, Robert Morris announced in May 2021 that it would drop its
men's and women's hockey teams effective immediately. A subsequent fundraising drive with the goal of reinstating hockey was successful enough that RMU announced that December that it would reinstate both teams effective in 2023–24. RMU applied for readmission to CHA (as well as its previous men's hockey home of
Atlantic Hockey
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other ...
), and was officially reinstated to CHA on March 3, 2022.
Current members
: Men's team joined in 2004
Future member
Former (Women's Division) members
*
University of Findlay
The University of Findlay (UF) is a private Christian university in Findlay, Ohio. It was established in 1882 through a joint partnership between the Churches of God General Conference and the city of Findlay. UF has nearly 80 undergraduate p ...
Oilers, 1999-2004 (dropped program
[ ])
*
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of ...
Bobcats
The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IU ...
, 2004–2005 (moved to
ECAC)
*
Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
Warriors, 2002–2011 (dropped program
)
*
Niagara University
Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. Appro ...
Purple Eagles, 2002–2012 (dropped program)
Membership timeline
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bar:1 color:barcolor from:07/01/2002 till:07/01/2004 text: Findlay (2002–2004)
bar:2 color:barcolor from:07/01/2002 till:07/01/2011 text: Wayne State (2002–2011)
bar:3 color:barcolor from:07/01/2002 till:07/01/2012 text:Niagara
Niagara may refer to:
Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada
*Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River
*Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border
*Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...
(2002–2012)
bar:4 color:barcolor from:07/01/2002 till:end text:Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst University, formerly Mercyhurst College, is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania.
History
On September 20, 1926, Mercyhurst College opened its doors just a few blocks away fro ...
(2002–present)
bar:5 color:barcolor from:07/01/2004 till:07/01/2005 text:Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac is the English name for the Eansketambawg (meaning "original people"; ''cf.'' Ojibwe: '' Anishinaabeg'' and Blackfoot: ''Niitsítapi''), a Quiripi-speaking Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the ''Wampan ...
(2004–2005)
bar:6 color:barcolor from:07/01/2005 till:07/01/2021 text: Robert Morris (2005–2021, 2023–future)
bar:6 color:barcolor from:07/01/2023 till:end
bar:7 color:barcolor from:07/01/2008 till:end text:Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
* Syracuse, New York
** East Syracuse, New York
** North Syracuse, New York
* Syracuse, Indiana
*Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, M ...
(2008–present)
bar:8 color:barcolor from:07/01/2012 till:end text: Lindenwood (2012–)
bar:9 color:barcolor from:07/01/2012 till:end text:Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High ...
(2012–)
bar:10 color:barcolor from:07/01/2012 till:end text: RIT (2012–)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2002
Conference arenas
CHA Tournament (Women's) history
Prior to 2013, the CHA tournament was hosted at a predetermined site. From 2013–2015, the two first-round series were each played at the home of the higher seed, with the semifinals and final held at the home of the number one seed. In 2016, the two first round series remained as before, but the semifinals and finals were held at the
LECOM Harborcenter
LECOM Harborcenter is an American mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York developed by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The building occupies a full 1.7 acre city block formerly known as the Webster Block, directly across from and connected ...
in downtown
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
. Starting in 2017, the two first-round series were replaced by a pair of single games, allowing all five games of the six-team tournament to be played at the LECOM Harborcenter.
NCAA postseason women's hockey history
Prior to the 2014–15 season, The CHA did not have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for its conference tournament champion. At that time, with membership having remained stable at six teams (Mercyhurst, Robert Morris, Syracuse, Lindenwood, RIT, and Penn State) for two consecutive seasons, the autobid was granted.
In the table below, all NCAA appearances prior to 2015 were at-large selections.
Men's Division history
The CHA was founded in 1999 with only a men's division. Three of the seven charter members, Alabama–Huntsville, Bemidji State, and Findlay, had recently moved up from
Division II, while Air Force, Army, and Niagara were formerly independent. Wayne State was a charter member, and began sponsoring varsity hockey in 2000.
Niagara went undefeated in conference play in 1999–2000, winning the conference tournament and gaining an at-large invitation to the
NCAA Tournament. (The conference did not gain an automatic bid until the 2003 tournament.) Army spent only one season in the league before leaving for the
MAAC. Findlay dropped its hockey programs following the 2003–2004 season, to be replaced by Robert Morris, which began play in 2004–2005. After Air Force left for
Atlantic Hockey
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other ...
in 2006 and Wayne State dropped its program in 2008, the conference was left with only four teams. The CHA sought to add new programs to its men's league, hoping to draw interest from some of the top club teams in the country, including
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university located in the state of Georgia with two different campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in Kennesaw and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was fo ...
.
However, these efforts came up short, with CHA and school personnel citing
Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educa ...
as a major hurdle in the negotiations.
On January 29, 2009,
Niagara University
Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. Appro ...
announced that it and
Robert Morris University
Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the mericanrevolution." It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 ...
were moving to
Atlantic Hockey
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other ...
beginning in the 2010–11 season.
Bemidji State applied again to the
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...
for inclusion and was accepted, along with the
University of Nebraska-Omaha of the
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curr ...
.
Alabama-Huntsville applied to the CCHA following the announced departure of Nebraska-Omaha and was denied. As a result, Alabama-Huntsville began competing as an independent team beginning with the 2010–11 season. The CHA men’s division dissolved in 2010.
Member schools
There were eight member schools in total during the eleven men's seasons. The conference began in the 1999–2000 season with seven teams, and ended in 2009–2010 with four.
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bar:1 color:barcolor from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2000 text:Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
(1999–2000)
bar:2 color:barcolor from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2004 text: Findlay (1999–2004)
bar:3 color:barcolor from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2006 text:Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...
(1999–2006)
bar:4 color:barcolor from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2008 text: Wayne State (1999–2008)
bar:5 color:barcolor from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2010 text: Alabama-Huntsville (1999–2010)
bar:6 color:barcolor from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2010 text: Bemidji State (1999–2010)
bar:7 color:barcolor from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2010 text:Niagara
Niagara may refer to:
Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada
*Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River
*Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border
*Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...
(1999–2010)
bar:8 color:barcolor from:07/01/2004 till:07/01/2010 text: Robert Morris (2004–2010)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1999
CHA Tournament (Men's Division)
Tournament champions were awarded the
Bob Peters
Robert H. Peters (October 6, 1937 – December 14, 2021) was a Canadian men's ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of the Bemidji State University ice hockey team from 1967 to 2001. With 702 wins, he ranks fifth all-time in career wins by a ...
Cup.
Note: For the first time in conference history, the 2006 men's and women's tournaments were held at the same site: The
Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. The 2008 tournaments were also held jointly, at
Dwyer Arena in
Lewiston, New York
Lewiston is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 15,944 at the 2020 census. The town and its contained village are named after Morgan Lewis, a governor of New York.
The Town of Lewiston is on the western borde ...
.
NCAA postseason (Men's) hockey history
At-large invitee. College Hockey America was not awarded an automatic bid until 2003.
Awards
At the conclusion of each regular season schedule the coaches of each CHA team voted which players they choose to be on the three All-Conference Teams: first team, second team and rookie team. Additionally they voted to award 4 individual trophies to an eligible player at the same time. The CHA also awarded an 'Easton Three-Star Player of the Year', given to the player with the highest point total with respect to their being named a star of a game, and a Most Valuable Player in Tournament which was voted on at the conclusion of the conference tournament. All awards, with the exception of the Three-Star Player of the Year, were awarded every year of the conference's existence.
All-Conference Teams
Individual Awards
See also
*
National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship
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 determin ...
References
External links
*
{{NCAA Division 1 hockey conferences
Companies based in Detroit
College ice hockey conferences in the United States