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 Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

played between colleges and universities within the governance structure established by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). In Canada, the term "college hockey" refers to community college and small college ice hockey that currently consists of a varsity conference – the

Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is the governing body for collegiate sports in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1964, as the Western Inter-College Conference, the ACAC is represented by eighteen schools, including one in Saskatchewan, t ...

(ACAC) – and a club league – the

British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League The British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) is a university ice 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 juni ...

(BCIHL). "University hockey" is the term used for hockey primarily played at four-year institutions; that level of the sport is governed by

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

History

First game of intercollegiate ice hockey plaque

In fall of 1892,

Malcolm Greene Chace Malcolm Greene Chace (March 12, 1875 – July 16, 1955) was an American financier and textile industrialist who was instrumental in bringing electric power to New England. He was a pioneer of the sport of ice hockey in the United States, and was ...

, then a freshman at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, and

Robert Wrenn Robert “Bob” Duffield Wrenn (September 20, 1873 – November 12, 1925) was an American left-handed tennis player, four-time U.S. singles championship winner, and one of the first inductees in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Early ...

, of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, were participating in a

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

tournament in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the ...

. They both had dabbled a bit in a sport called ice polo; in Ontario, they met members of the Victoria Hockey Club, who introduced them to their similar game of

, and invited the two to visit

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

to learn about their version of the game. The next winter, during Christmas break 1894-1895, Chace (who had by then transferred to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

) and Wrenn returned to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with a group of college students from several universities. The cadre was one of the first

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ice hockey teams and, after a 10-game tour of Canada, the students returned to their respective schools with the intent of founding collegiate ice hockey clubs.

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, where Chace served as team captain and player-coach, was the first of the group to organize its team and in February 1896 the Bulldogs played the first two intercollegiate ice hockey games against

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. While Johns Hopkins' program would cease for 90 years after 1898, Yale has served as a bedrock of college hockey ever since, playing continually including through the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and two

world wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

. Yale's 125-year continuous streak was broken for the 2020-21 season, when all

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

winter sports were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Another game often cited as the "first game of intercollegiate ice hockey played in the United States" is a well-documented contest on January 19, 1898 at Franklin Park, Boston. Students from Brown took the train to Boston, where they commandeered a patch of a frozen pond in Franklin Park, asked pleasure skaters to give them room, and played students from Harvard. The details and outcome of the game were recorded in the following day's

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

: Brown 6, Harvard 0. Within ten years all eight schools that would eventually comprise the

had played their first game as well as several other nearby teams. A lack of available ice was the primary concern for most schools as to whether they should start a program or continue supporting an existing team but that did not detract from the enthusiasm of the students.

Early style of play

For at least the first 25 years of intercollegiate play the teams used a 7-on-7 format, a typical setup for

turn of the century The turn of the century is the transition from one century to another, or the time period before or after that change in centuries. Usage The phrase "turn of the century" is generally understood to mean the change (whether upcoming or past) clo ...

ice hockey. On a faceoff players were typically arranged as either four forwards, two

point men The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. 0–9 198 A A-Force A-Next A.I. Army The A.I. Army is a fictional organization appearing i ...

and one

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

or three forwards, one

rover Rover may refer to: People Name * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Stage name * Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...

, two

and one

. In the four forward setup the players were arranged from a faceoff as a left and right wing (or end) on the outside and a left and right center on the inside. The two point men and goaltender were typically arrayed in a line from center ice to the goal as cover point, point and goaltender. If viewed from above, the players would form a T. If a rover was used instead there would only be one center. The rover would line up either in a defensive or offensive position depending on the need. The remaining five positions would be unchanged. By the 1921–22 season college hockey adopted the increasingly more common six–a–side format with the abandonment of the second center/rover position and the two point men being renamed as 'defensemen'. The change from point men to defensemen came as a result of an alignment change where instead of lining up one in front of the other, the two defensive players would play beside one another. The ice surfaces that the players played on were not of a uniform size. Rinks like the

St. Nicholas Rink The St. Nicholas Rink, also called the St. Nicholas Arena, was an indoor ice rink, and later a boxing arena in New York City from 1896 until 1962. The rink was one of the earliest indoor ice rinks made of mechanically frozen ice in North America ( ...

Duquesne Gardens The Duquesne Gardens (officially Duquesne Garden until 1940 and The Gardens afterward) was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building originally served as a tr ...

were few and far between and quite often teams would only be able to play on frozen ponds. Slightly more consistent were the length of games, however, there was no set game time. Most were played as two 20-minute halves but some games had 15- or 25-minute halves and others were one 40-minute period. Occasionally games were not able to be played entirely at one time so the teams would arrange to meet at a later date to finish the match. Overtime after a tie did not always occur, as ice times at public skating rinks were constrained, but even when teams were able to play extra frames the rules were somewhat flexible; because there were no lights illuminating the ponds, games could only be played while the sun was shining and in the winter months dusk came quickly. The teams would attempt to finish the game with a winner decided but even after multiple overtimes ties did result.

Stabilizing the game

From the start college hockey teams were rarely in a place of surety. In the 10 years since

's exit in 1898 at least a dozen teams were forced to cancel seasons or suspend their program entirely, including some of the more financially sound institutions like

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and

. The two main factors in this were interest from the student body and the lack of available or good ice. While the interest conundrum required a more nuanced solution, the ice troubles had a more tangible answer. Teams near to public skating rinks would be able to hold their games at venues where ice conditions could be ensured but at the start, with so few available, some programs came up with novel solutions. One such idea came from

who, after completing construction of their football stadium in 1904, decided to erect two open-air rinks on the field for the team to use. As rinks continued to be built in areas near to the colleges, specifically the

Boston Arena Matthews Arena (formerly Boston Arena) is a historic multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts currently owned by Northeastern University. It is the world's oldest multi-purpose athletic building still in use, as well as the oldest arena in u ...

New Haven Arena New Haven Arena was an indoor arena on Grove Street in New Haven, Connecticut, that served as a venue for ice hockey, concerts, and circuses. The first arena opened in 1914 but burned down in 1924. The new arena was started but went bankrupt; it ...

and Philadelphia Ice Palace, college teams had more and more ice rinks available to them and with most using artificial ice the teams were no longer dependent on weather conditions. Owing to the popularity of the game the first on-campus, purpose-built arena was constructed by

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1923. Most schools were content with buying ice time from local rink operators while others simply didn't want to fund the building of their own version of the

Hobey Baker Memorial Rink Hobey Baker Memorial Rink is a 2,054-seat hockey arena in Princeton, New Jersey. It is home to the Princeton University Tigers men's and women's ice hockey teams as well as the venue for club and intramural hockey teams, intramural broomball, ...

. As the weather warmed in the 1930s and 40s many of these teams would be forced to decide whether they were willing to financially support their ice hockey programs or not.

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, for instance, had

Smith Rink The Smith Rink was an outdoor ice rink on the campus of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. The rink served as the home for the Army ice hockey program for 55 years and was the last outdoor venue used for Division I hock ...

built in 1930 while

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

struggled with the ice on Beebe Lake until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

World War I aftermath

The vast majority of teams ceased operating in 1917 after the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. This made sense as many of the students who would otherwise have been playing had instead joined the military. Because the war ended in November 1918 many of the teams returned to the ice for the 1918–19 season and, while the game continued to grow around

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, an interesting development happened shortly after the armistice was signed. Colleges in the

midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

began their own ice hockey programs. At the beginning these were typically restricted to upper-echelon universities like the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

or the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

but some of the smaller schools got into the game as well. From the MIAC's foundation in 1920, member schools have played ice hockey and were able to establish the first consistent lower-tier competition in college hockey.

Great Depression

While college ice hockey flourished in the 1920s the

did have an impact on the game in the '30s. Most schools that had established programs made the effort to keep their teams going but some less-acclaimed teams like

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

or Columbia decided that ice hockey wasn't worth the cost. Some of the smaller schools like Rensselaer had no choice but to suspend their programs as they did not have the resources that a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

did. After the first half of the 1930s, however, the depression lessened and schools were able to found or restart their programs. The game continued to expand west with the addition of

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

and others, however, none of the Pacific-coast teams would make it to the 1950s.

World War II hiatus

As was the case during

, the majority of universities suspended their ice hockey teams during

. Most of teams that were active just prior to the U.S.' entry played during the 1942–43 season but were mothballed afterwards. There were notable exceptions such as Yale and Dartmouth, who continued to play through the duration of the war, but many teams returned to the ice for an abbreviated 1945–46 season. One benefit to college hockey that resulted from the war was the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

which helped returning servicemen pay for a college education. With a much larger student body and a resulting influx in cash, colleges were more able to afford to support an ice hockey team.

NCAA tournament

By 1947, college ice hockey was still a regional sport, being localized in the northeast and northern Midwest (with a few exceptions) but despite the low number of teams playing, the NCAA finally instituted a national tournament. At the start the tournament invited two participants from the two regions: east and west. The east region was loosely defined as any college east of the

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

border with all other teams being lumped into the west region. The tournament was held at the

Broadmoor World Arena The Broadmoor World Arena was a ice skating, skating rink and ice hockey, hockey arena located at The Broadmoor Resort & Spa in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Originally an outdoor equestrian center and riding academy, the building was enclosed and ...

for the first ten years. Partially due to a lack of competition,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

was invited to participate in each of the first ten tournaments and won six

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in that time.

NCAA

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has conducted national championships for men's ice hockey since 1948, and women's ice hockey since 2001. U.S. college hockey players must be deemed eligible for NCAA competition by the NCAA Eligibility Center, a process that examines a student-athlete's academic qualifications and amateur status. Players who have played in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) historically were considered to be professionals and therefore ineligible. In 2024 the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

changed its position and decided that CHL players were no longer ineligible as of the 2025–26 season. The decision was made after a

class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

was filed on behalf of a player who was declared ineligible after having played two exhibition games in the OHL when he was 16 years old. Men's U.S. college hockey is a feeder system to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. As of the 2010–11 season, 30 percent of NHL players (a total of 294) had U.S. college hockey experience prior to turning professional, an increase of 35 percent from the previous 10 years. That percentage has been maintained the past three seasons, with a record 301 NHL players coming from college hockey in 2011–12.

Men

One hundred thirty-eight colleges and universities sponsor men's ice hockey in the NCAA's three divisions.

Division I

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division 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 athlet ...

has 64 ice hockey teams in the 2024–25 season. Of these schools, 20 are Division II or III athletic programs that "play up" to Division I in hockey, and 16 of the full Division I members are in the

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

. Seven of the FBS schools compete in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

; six are full conference members and the seventh is a single-sport member. The NCAA Division I Championship is a 16-team, single-elimination tournament, divided into four, 4-team regional tournaments. The winner of each regional advances to the Frozen Four to compete for the national championship. For many years, 5 teams earned automatic bids through winning conference tournament championships, while 11 earned at-large berths through a selection committee. With the addition of the Big Ten hockey conference for the 2013–14 season, the tournament now features 6 automatic qualifiers, and 10 at-large bids. The ranking system that is used to determine the at-large teams is known as the Pairwise Rankings, which uses a number of ranking factors to create a scoring system for all NCAA Division I teams. In 2023–24, one school played its first season of Division I hockey, while another resumed D-I play after a two-season hiatus.

Augustana University Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois, Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It deri ...

, a Division II school in South Dakota (and not to be confused with Augustana College, a Division III school in Illinois), is launching a new varsity program as the newest member of the

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previ ...

Robert Morris Robert or Bob Morris may refer to: :''Ordered chronologically within each section.'' Politics and the law * Robert Hunter Morris (1700–1764), lieutenant governor of Colonial Pennsylvania * Robert Morris (financier) (1734–1806), one of the Foun ...

, which had suspended its men's and women's hockey programs after the 2020–21 season due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

impacts, reinstated both teams for 2023–24, with the men returning to their previous home of

Atlantic Hockey 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 ...

. As of the upcoming 2024–25 season, the conferences are: *

Atlantic Hockey America Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) 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. The conference was formed in 2023 by the merger of ...

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

Hockey East Association 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 ...

National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference. The league was formed on July 9, 2011 and began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a ...

The most recent change to the lineup of Division I men's hockey conferences was the creation of Atlantic Hockey America shortly after the 2023–24 season. It was formed by the merger of the men-only

Atlantic Hockey Association 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 ...

and the women-only

College Hockey America 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 Pennsylvani ...

. The CCHA, the revival of a league that had operated from 1971 to 2013 before folding in the aftermath of major conference realignment, initially consisted of seven schools that had previously competed in the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a me ...

. These schools had announced in late 2019 that they would leave the WCHA after the 2020–21 season, and subsequently announced that they would operate as a new CCHA. In July 2020, the new CCHA added an eighth member in St. Thomas, a

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

institution that made an unprecedented move from

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

directly to Division I. Augustana became the ninth member in 2023. As for the WCHA, it folded its men's division. Not only did the aforementioned group of seven schools leave to form the revived CCHA, but an eighth men's member, Alaska Anchorage, had announced it would drop hockey (plus two other sports) after the 2020–21 school year. Still another men's member, Alabama–Huntsville (UAH), had also filed papers to leave after the 2020–21 season, then dropped the sport entirely due to fallout from COVID-19, but soon reinstated the sport following a successful fundraising drive led by UAH hockey alumni. This reprieve proved temporary, as the school and its hockey supporters agreed that the continuation of the sport beyond 2020–21 would be contingent on finding a new conference home; when no conference move materialized, the hockey program was dropped again (although UAH officially called the move a "suspension"). The other remaining WCHA men's member was

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, representing the Fairbanks campus of the University of Alaska; it chose to continue play as a D-I independent. The

recognizes ice hockey champions for both sexes, but it does not sponsor the sport; it instead uses the results of regular-season ECAC Hockey matches involving two Ivy League schools to extrapolate an Ivy champion (all six Ivy League schools that sponsor varsity hockey do so for both men and women, and compete in the ECAC). The

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...

sponsored D-I men's hockey, but dropped the sport in 2003. The most recent additions to D-I men's ice hockey are the aforementioned Augustana and Robert Morris. The 2022–23 season saw Alaska Anchorage resume D-I play after a successful fundraising drive. In May 2021,

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

announced that it was conducting a feasibility study on the possible addition of varsity men's and women's hockey teams. Should TSU add either team, it would become the first

historically black university Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

to field a varsity hockey team. The study was partially backed by the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

, located in TSU's home city. TSU announced in June 2023 that it would start a men's hockey program at club level in 2024–25, with women's hockey to be added at an indeterminate future time. While hockey will initially play at club level, it will be overseen by the TSU athletic department. TSU plans to eventually upgrade its men's and women's teams to NCAA play. The

Hobey Baker Memorial Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

honors the top player in men's Division I hockey. The

Mike Richter Award The Mike Richter Award is an annual award given to the goaltender voted to be the most outstanding in Division I NCAA men's ice hockey during the regular season. The award is named in honor of former Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter. The inaugu ...

honors the top goaltender in Division I.

Division II

The NCAA does not currently sponsor a championship in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

, as there is only one conference that currently sponsors hockey, the

Northeast-10 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 o ...

. The NCAA conducted a Division II national championship from 1978 to 1984 and also from 1993 to 1999.

Division III

The 84 programs in Division III hockey are part of nine conferences: *

Conference of New England The Conference of New England (CNE), formerly known as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in New England in the states of ...

* Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference *

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC ) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division III, Division III. All 13 of the mem ...

New England Hockey Conference New England Hockey Conference (formerly the ECAC East) is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. __TOC__ History The New England ...

New England Small College Athletic Conference The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division III, Division III comprising sports teams from eleven highly s ...

Northern Collegiate Hockey Association The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in the midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-o ...

State University of New York Athletic Conference The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III, consisting of schools in the State University of New York ...

United Collegiate Hockey Conference The United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) is a college athletic conference which operates in Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania in the eastern United States. It participates in NCAA Division III as a hockey-only conference. History The c ...

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. In women's gymnastics, it competes alongside Division I and II members, as the NCAA sponsors a singl ...

The

Middle Atlantic Conference The Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) is an umbrella organization of three intercollegiate athletic conferences that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The 16 member colleges are in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The organization is divided ...

officially sponsors men's and women's ice hockey, but does not hold a conference tournament. Instead, in a relationship similar to that between the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey, all MAC hockey schools are members of the UCHC, and the MAC uses regular-season results of games between MAC members to extrapolate a MAC champion. MAC members compete for the UCHC's automatic NCAA tournament berth. The NCAA has conducted a Division III national championship since 1984. The current championship format is a 12-team (formerly 11-team), single-elimination bracket.

Women

There are 108 colleges and universities that sponsor women's ice hockey in two divisions: National Collegiate and Division III.

National Collegiate

As of the upcoming 2024–25 season, 44 teams compete in the National Collegiate division (commonly referred to as Division I). All of them play in one of five conferences: *

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 most recent 2023–24 NCAA hockey season, the confere ...

The WCHA remains in operation as a women's league despite the demise of the conference's men's side. As noted in the Division I men's section, Atlantic Hockey America was formed by the 2024 merger of the women-only

and the men-only Atlantic Hockey Association. The National Collegiate championship is an 8-team, single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion. The

Patty Kazmaier Memorial 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 a ...

is awarded annually by USA Hockey to the top player in women's Division I hockey. The most recent school to start National Collegiate play is

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

, which begins varsity play in 2023–24 as the newest member of the NEWHA, having joined for administrative purposes a year earlier.

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

will start National Collegiate play in the 2025–26 season. When announcing the addition of women's ice hockey, Delaware stated that it would join College Hockey America, but CHA had already announced its planned merger with the Atlantic Hockey Association. Delaware's future CHA membership accordingly transferred to Atlantic Hockey America. Also, as noted previously, Tennessee State has plans to add women's hockey, although it did not set a timeline.

resumed National Collegiate play in 2023–24, returning to CHA after having dropped men's and women's hockey following the 2020–21 season. Both teams are now in the merged Atlantic Hockey America. The newest National Collegiate conference is the NEWHA, formed in 2017 as a scheduling alliance between the then-current National Collegiate independents. It formally organized as a conference in 2018 and received NCAA recognition in 2019.

Division III

There are 67 teams in

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

in eight conferences: * Colonial Hockey Conference *

ECAC West ECAC West was a college athletic conference which operated in the northeastern United States until 2017. It participated in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. The conference ceased to exist after the end of the 2016–17 season wh ...

As noted previously, the Middle Atlantic Conference sponsors women's ice hockey, but does not hold a conference tournament. All of its hockey members compete for the UCHC's automatic tournament berth, and the MAC champion is extrapolated from regular-season results of games between MAC members. The Division III championship is a 9-team, single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion.

U Sports

University hockey teams in Canada compete in leagues as part of

, the national governing body for Canadian university athletics (in Canadian English, the term "college" is reserved for schools that would be called "

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

", "

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

", or "technical" colleges in the U.S.). U Sports sponsors both men's and women's hockey. Like in the United States, teams compete in athletic conferences based on geographical locations of the schools. Unlike the

, U Sports does not award players with athletic scholarships, resulting in a lack of divisional separation such as found between NCAA divisions. Individual conferences hold postseason tournaments, followed by the round-robin U Sports championship tournament in late March.

NAIA

In 2015, a group of member schools in the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA) began working to add the sport to the organization. The NAIA originally sponsored a men's ice hockey

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

from 1968 to 1984 when it was discontinued due to many of the schools with teams leaving the NAIA for the NCAA. A few NAIA schools continued to sponsor the sport as varsity-club teams in the ACHA. A growing number of schools have added ice hockey as members of the ACHA over the past 5–10 years. In 2016, several NAIA institutions that sponsor men's ice hockey teams announced the formation of a coaches association and a new division for NAIA ice hockey program to begin play during the 2017–18 season. In 2017, The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) became the first current conference in the NAIA to offer the sport and host a conference championship.

ACHA

The

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 programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes quality in collegi ...

(ACHA) is the sanctioning body for non-NCAA or "club" ice hockey in the United States. The organization provides structure, regulations and promotes the quality of collegiate ice hockey. Teams separated into three men's and two women's divisions with over 300 teams from across the United States. The recruiting process, rules and regulations, and player eligibility standards parallel that of NCAA Division III. Sometimes, ACHA and NCAA will play games against each other to complete each of their season schedules.

Outdoor games in the 21st century

Men's

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

– October 6, 2001, Michigan vs. Michigan State ( Spartan Stadium) * Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic – February 11, 2006, Ohio State vs. Wisconsin (

Lambeau Field Lambeau Field () is an outdoor athletic stadium in the East North Central states, north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 Green ...

) * Frozen Fenway 2010 – Boston University vs. Boston College, and Northeastern University vs. New Hampshire (

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

) * Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic – February 6, 2010, Michigan vs. Wisconsin (

Camp Randall Stadium Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895 ...

) *

The Big Chill at the Big House The Big Chill at the Big House (a.k.a. Cold War II) was an outdoor college ice hockey game played on December 11, 2010, at Michigan Stadium at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Michigan Wolverines men's team defeated its rival, the Mi ...

– December 11, 2010 held at

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "the Big House," is the American football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third-largest stadium in the wo ...

set the hockey attendance record when 104,173 fans watched

defeat

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

, 5–0. * Frozen Diamond Classic – January 15, 2012,

defeated Ohio State University, 4–1, at

Progressive Field Progressive Field is a baseball stadium in the downtown area of Cleveland, Ohio. It is the ballpark of the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball and, together with Rocket Arena, is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex. ...

in Cleveland, OH. * Frozen Fenway 2012 – Northeastern University vs. Boston College,

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

vs. Harvard University, and

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

vs. New Hampshire (Fenway Park) *

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

and

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

played in an outdoor game at

TD Ameritrade Park TD, Td, or td may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games and toys *Tails Doll * Toon Disney * Tech Deck, a type of fingerboard *'' Ten Desires'', the thirteenth official game in the ''Touhou'' series * ''Test Drive'' (1987 video gam ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

on February 9, 2013, with North Dakota winning, 5–2. * Hockey City Classic – February 17, 2013, Notre Dame vs. Miami University, and Minnesota vs. Wisconsin (

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...

) * Frozen Frontier – December 14, 2013,

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

vs.

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

* 2013 Great Lakes Invitational – December 27–28, 2013 – The annual Detroit-based holiday tournament was moved outdoors from its traditional location at Joe Louis Arena to

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium (Detroit), Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, t ...

. The field consisted of Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech and Western Michigan. * Hockey City Classic – January 17, 2014, Minnesota vs. Ohio State (

TCF Bank Stadium Huntington Bank Stadium (formerly known as TCF Bank Stadium) is an outdoor stadium located on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The stadium opened in 2009 after three years of construction. It is ...

) *

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

hosted

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the American Revolution". It enr ...

in an outdoor game at Fifth Third Park in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, on January 3, 2015. The game ended in a 2–2 draw. * Hockey City Classic – February 7, 2015, Miami University vs. Western Michigan, and Michigan vs. Michigan State (

) * The Battle on Blake – February 20, 2016, University of Denver Pioneers vs.

Colorado College Tigers The Colorado College Tigers are composed of 16 teams representing Colorado College in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track and field. Men's sports i ...

as part of the

Battle for the Gold Pan The Battle for the Gold Pan (also called The DU/CC Rivalry, or known locally as The Gold Pan) is a series played between the Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey, Colorado College Tigers and the Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey, University o ...

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995 Major League Baseball season, 1995, the park is located in Denver's LoDo, Lower Downtown neighborhood, ...

. *

hosted Niagara in an outdoor game at

Heinz Field Acrisure Stadium, formerly (and still colloquially) known as Heinz Field, is a football stadium located in the North Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Foot ...

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 26, 2017. The Colonials won the game 5–1. Admission was free of charge. *

Hockey Day Minnesota Hockey Day Minnesota is an annual event in Minnesota run in cooperation with the Minnesota Wild and Bally Sports North that celebrates the sport of hockey throughout the state. Now a multi-day showcase, the event is held in mid-to-late January or e ...

2022 – As part of this annual event that features multiple college and high school games, Minnesota State defeated St. Thomas 7–1 on January 22, 2022 at

Blakeslee Stadium Blakeslee Stadium is an American football stadium located on the southern edge of the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus. Primarily used for American football, it is the home field of the Minnesota State Mavericks football —an NCAA Div ...

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

, normally home to Minnesota State football. * Faceoff on the Lake – February 18, 2023, Michigan vs. Ohio State (

FirstEnergy Stadium Huntington Bank Field is a stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the home field of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and serves as a venue for other events such as college and high school football, soccer, hockey, and con ...

) * Frozen Finley - March 1, 2023,

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

vs.

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

at Carter Finley Stadium. The NC State Wolfpack won with a score of 7 to 3.

Women's

*January 8, 2010 Northeastern vs New Hampshire

*Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic February 6, 2010 Bemidji State vs Wisconsin

*Greater Rochester Frozen Frontier, December 14, 2013 Clarkson vs RIT

Frontier Field Innovative Field (originally known as Frontier Field) is a baseball stadium at One Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester, New York. It has been the home of the Rochester Red Wings of the International League since 1997. The park opened in 1996 ...

*Hockey City Classic January 17, 2014, Minnesota vs Minnesota State (

) *

2018 –

St. Cloud State St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. In the fall of 2023, it ...

defeated Minnesota Duluth 2–1 after a shootout at a temporary outdoor venue next to Lake George in St. Cloud on January 20, 2018. * Hockey Day Minnesota 2020 –

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

defeated

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

at Parade Stadium in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

on January 18, 2020. * Hockey Day Minnesota 2022 – On January 23, 2022, the day after the two schools' men's teams played at

, Minnesota State defeated St. Thomas 3–1 at the same venue.

Longest-running annual international rivalry

A rivalry between the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

(Army) Black Knights and the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

(RMC)

Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, wh ...

resulted in an annual West Point Weekend hockey game. The series was first played in 1923, and was claimed to be the longest-running annual international sporting event in the world. Army and RMC played continuously from 1949 until 2007, when scheduling conflicts forced the academies to abandon the scheduled game. The game was not played from 2007 to 2010, nor in 2012, but has been held annually since. The most recent edition in 2020 saw RMC defeat West Point 3-2 in overtime, RMC's first win in the series since 2002.

European collegiate league

In Europe, the first college hockey league called

EUHL The European University Hockey League (EUHL) is the first European university league in ice hockey, founded in 2013. It is managed by the European University Hockey Association (EUHA). The idea for a university hockey league in Europe came from ...

was founded in 2013. In the United Kingdom, college hockey league is operated by

BUIHA The British Universities Ice Hockey Association was founded during the spring term 2003 by a group of hockey players from the universities of Oxford University Ice Hockey Club, Oxford, London, Nottingham and Newcastle Wildcats, Newcastle. Hi ...

(British Universities Ice Hockey Association). It was founded in 2003 and currently includes 23 clubs across the UK.

Professional hockey

For much of its history, college teams produced very few, if any, athletes that would play professionally. While there were several reasons for this, two primary causes established that trend. College teams were made up mostly by American player and professional teams preferred to use Canadians. Additionally, and because of that reason, the level of competition for college hockey was not viewed favorably. The perception of college hockey was so bad at one point that

Red Berenson Gordon Arthur "Red" Berenson (born December 8, 1939) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, world champion, Stanley Cup champion and head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team from 1984 to 2017. Berenson was indu ...

was told:

"If you go to an American college, you'll never become a pro."

While Berenson managed to defy those predictions, most players of his era did not. It wasn't until the

began expanding in 1967 that many alumni would even be looked at as potential professionals. Over time, as many college players demonstrated that they could compete on the same level as their contemporaries from the Canadian junior leagues, The number of players able to continue their careers after graduating increased. Throughout the 80's and 90's colleges became a more acceptable pathway for potential NHLers and the effects having high-caliber talents on college rosters caused a change in the style of play. By the 21st Century, was mirroring the NHL in its defensive schemes and had become one of the producers of professional players.

References

{{National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Indoor sports

History

Early style of play

Stabilizing the game

World War I aftermath

Great Depression

World War II hiatus

NCAA tournament

NCAA

Men

Division I

Division II

Division III

Women

National Collegiate

Division III

U Sports

NAIA

ACHA

Outdoor games in the 21st century

Men's

Women's

Longest-running annual international rivalry

European collegiate league

Professional hockey

See also

References