The National Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) is a defunct national organization of men's
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
- and
university
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, t ...
-level
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
programs in the United States. The NCHA used to be known as the
Collegiate Ice Hockey Association
The Collegiate Ice Hockey Association or CIHA was a national organization of non-NCAA, men's college and university level ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with ...
(CIHA) and the
National Association of Intercollegiate Hockey
The National Association of Intercollegiate Hockey (NAIH) was a national organization of non-NCAA, men's college and university level ice hockey programs. Membership in the NAIH consisted of private and public colleges and universities throughou ...
(NAIH). The association was primarily composed of
American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...
(ACHA) Division III teams from the Northeast.
History
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
The United Hockey Union (UHU), founded in 2012, is a group of ice hockey leagues in North America. The UHU is overseen and insured by the Amateur Athletic Union. Neither body is recognized by USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, or the International Ice Hoc ...
, a branch of
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...
.
Teams
For the 2015–16 season, the NCHA had four conferences: North Eastern (New York), South Eastern (Pennsylvania/West Virginia), South Western (California) and the Independent Conference. The champion of each conference receives an automatic bid to Nationals.
North Eastern Conference
*''East Division''
:*
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (formerly Albany College of Pharmacy) is a private, independent college with campuses in Albany, New York and Colchester, Vermont. ACPHS was named the #1 Value-Added college or university in the cou ...
:*
Hamilton College
Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
:*
Le Moyne College
Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college in DeWitt, New York.http://www.ongov.net/planning/haz/documents/Section9.7-TownofDeWitt.pdf It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946 and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. At its fo ...
:*
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
*''West Division''
:*
D'Youville College
D'Youville University (D'Youville or DYU) is a private university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded as D'Youville College in 1908 and named by the Grey Nuns after the patroness saint Marie-Marguerite d'Youville. As of Fall 2020 D'Youville Co ...
:*
Medaille College
Medaille University is a private university in Buffalo, New York. The Sisters of St. Joseph founded Medaille in 1937. Medaille serves roughly 1,600 students from Western New York and Southern Ontario.
Campuses
Medaille's main campus is in Buffa ...
:*
St. John Fisher College
St. John Fisher University is a private liberal arts college in Pittsford, New York. It is named after John Fisher, an English Catholic cardinal and saint. It was named St. John Fisher College until July 1, 2022.
History
St. John Fisher Univers ...
:*
SUNY Brockport
State University of New York Brockport (also known as SUNY Brockport or Brockport State, and previously The College at Brockport) is a public university in Brockport, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY).
History
...
:*
University at Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...
South Eastern Conference
*
California University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Western University, California (commonly known as PennWest California) is a public university campus in California, Pennsylvania and one of three campuses of Pennsylvania Western University, part of the Pennsylvania State System o ...
*
Community College of Allegheny County
Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is a public community college in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. With four campuses and four centers, the college offers associate degrees, certificates, and diplomas.
History
The Pennsylvania legis ...
*
Penn State Altoona
Penn State Altoona is a Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth campuses, commonwealth campus of Pennsylvania State University, The Pennsylvania State University located in Logan Township, Blair County, Pennsylvania, Logan Township, Pennsylvan ...
*
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (Pitt-Greensburg or UPG) is a state-related liberal arts college in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It is a baccalaureate degree-granting regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh. Opened in 1963, Pitt ...
*
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
South Western Conference
*
Cal Lutheran
California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...
*
Chapman
*
UC San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
*
UC Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
*
Ventura College
Ventura College is a public community college in Ventura, California. Established in 1925, the college has a campus with an enrollment of 13,763 students. It is part of the Ventura County Community College District.
History
Ventura College ...
Independent Conference
*
Denison University
Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...
*
Otterbein University
Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...
*
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...
*
Wittenberg University
Wittenberg University is a private liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio. It has 1,326 full-time students representing 33 states and 9 foreign countries. Wittenberg University is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
...
Founders Cup Champions
The 2012–13 season was the first year the NAIH held a national tournament. The national championship trophy was dubbed the Founders Cup.
See also
*
British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League
The British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) is a university hockey league based in British Columbia. The BCIHL was created with the purpose of offering a venue for competitive, high-calibre hockey for players beyond their junior ...
(BCIHL)
References
External links
NCHA official website{Dead link, date=April 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
@NCHAicehockeyUnited Hockey Union official website
College ice hockey in the United States
Ice hockey governing bodies in the United States
College club sports associations in the United States