The annual NCAA women's ice hockey tournament—officially known as the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship—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 ...

tournament held in the United States by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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 an ...

to determine the top women's team in the NCAA. The 2020 championship was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Unlike most NCAA sports, women's ice hockey uses a modified version of the

National Collegiate 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 an ...

championship format, which means Division I and Division II teams compete against each other in the same tournament.

Origins

The NCAA championship of women's ice hockey began in 2001, although several universities had had women's teams established since the early 1970s. In 1965, the first collegiate women's ice hockey team in the United States was created at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. In February 1966, the team, named the "Pembroke Pandas", played its first match. Their opponents were the Walpole Brooms, a non-collegiate team. The women's ice hockey program of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

began in 1971. The Big Red team competed in its first match in 1972, which it won 4–3, against Scarborough. In 1972, they played eight matches and lost half, including two defeats against the Pembroke Pandas.

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

made its debut in women's hockey on December 9, 1975. The

University of Minnesota-Duluth A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

, and the rest

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

have similar histories.Michael McKinley, Hockey A People's History, McClelland & Stewart ltd 2006, pp 237–238. In 1976, Brown University would host the first ever Ivy League women's ice hockey tournament. Competitors in the tournament included Princeton, Yale, and Cornell, which won the tournament. Women's ice hockey continued growth and acceptance continued through the early 1980s. In 1984, the

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compet ...

won the inaugural ECAC women's ice hockey championship. In the 1997–98 season, the American Women's College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) made its debut. It was financed by the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

. This allowed for the first national women's ice hockey championship to occur, which was won by New Hampshire. The 1997–98 season also saw the creation of the

Patty Kazmaier Award The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is given to the top female college ice hockey player in the United States. The award is presented during the women's annual ice hockey championship, the Frozen Four. The award was first presented in 1998. The awa ...

, designed to recognize the most remarkable women's collegiate ice hockey player every season. The AWCHA also conducted championships in 1999 and 2000, which were won by Harvard and Minnesota respectively. During the 1999–2000 season,

WCHA 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 ...

joined the ECAC in an attempt to make women's ice hockey an NCAA sanctioned sport. In August 2000, 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 an ...

announced that it would set up a national division of women's ice hockey with a national championship at the end of every season, starting with the 2000–01 season. The

Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Minnesota Duluth. They were first named Bulldogs in 1933. Their colors are maroon and gold. The school competes in the NCAA's Division II in all sports except ic ...

won the inaugural tournament and, by extension, championship 4–2 against the St. Lawrence Skating Saints.

NCAA Division I women's ice hockey

In all, 41 schools in the United States, ranging from the Midwest to the East Coast, sponsor varsity women's hockey at the National Collegiate (Divisions I and II) level. Five National Collegiate conferences are currently recognized by the NCAA—

College Hockey America 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 five women’s teams, with two in Pennsylvania; two in New Y ...

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relati ...

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

New England Women's Hockey Alliance 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 2022–23 season, the conference is made up o ...

, and 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 ...

. With a 30+ game schedule, competing for conference and national championships, NCAA Division I women's hockey has a demanding and challenging season.

Format

Under NCAA rules, Division II schools are allowed to compete as Division I members in sports in which a D-II championship is not contested. As there is no Division II championship for women's ice hockey, this rule applies to the tournament. The official name of the "Division I" tournament is the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship, which reflects the NCAA's formal terminology for championship events that are open to schools from multiple divisions. This tournament is a

single elimination A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

competition of eleven teams. The semi-finals and finals are called the "Women's Frozen Four." This moniker is similar to the name used by the

NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship ''NCAA men's ice hockey championship'' refers to either of the two tournaments in men's ice hockey – one in Division I and one in Division III – contested by the National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athlet ...

. The term is derived from the term " Final four." The

ceremony takes place annually during Women's Frozen Four weekend.

History

Although many schools from many conferences have been competitive, the first 13 championships were won by only three different schools all originating from the WCHA: Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In 2014, the WCHA's hold on the championship was finally broken when Clarkson defeated Minnesota. In 2022, Ohio State won the national championship, making them the 4th WCHA team to win. The ECAC, from which Clarkson originated, has easily been the second most competitive conference, with eleven appearances in ten national title games, including the first five games.

has had four title game appearances, twice by Boston University and once each by Boston College and Northeastern, and CHA has had one title appearance, by Mercyhurst in 2009. The 2020 championship was cancelled due to the

Team titles

Result by school and year

* NCAA Division I Women's Hockey Tournament appearances by school 25 teams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in at least one year starting with 2001 (the initial year that the post-season tournament was under the auspices of the NCAA). The results for all years are shown in this table below. The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament: * First Round (''did not exist until 2022'') * Quarterfinals (''did not exist until 2005'') * Frozen Four * National Runner-up * National Champion * Announced as a participant in the 2020 tournament before it was canceled

Broadcasting

In February 2017, the NCAA announced that it had reached a four-year deal with

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs, ...

to televise the Women's national championship game beginning in 2017, and the Frozen Four semi-finals beginning in 2018. In 2021, ESPN announced that it had acquired the rights under a multi-year deal, with

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...

to air one semi-final and the national championship annually. The other semi-final will be carried via streaming.

Records and statistics

NCAA Division I Women's Hockey Tournament all-time individual records The tournament Most Outstanding Player is an annual award given out at the conclusion of the NCAA women's ice hockey tournament to the player to be judged the most outstanding. The award has been in effect since the adoption of a national champion ...

NCAA Division I Women's Hockey Tournament all-time team records The following is a list of team records and statistics from those that have made appearances in the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship. The championship has existed since the 2000–2001 season and groups include the university team ...

References

{{Template group , title = Articles related to the NCAA women's ice hockey tournament , list = {{NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament {{NCAA Division III hockey conferences {{National Collegiate Athletic Association {{NCAA Emerging Sports for Women {{Major women's sport leagues in North America College women's ice hockey in the United States 3