- National Collegiate Hockey Conference
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National Collegiate Hockey Conference Established 2011 (play will begin in 2013) Association NCAA Division Division I Members 8 Sports fielded Ice hockey Region United States Headquarters Colorado Springs, Colorado Commissioner To Be Determined Locations The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's division I hockey conference, announced on July 9, 2011, by six schools. Formed by a combination of WCHA teams and two CCHA teams, the league will begin conference play for the 2013–2014 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference will begin competition. At a July 13, 2011 press conference at the Penrose House, the name of the conference was announced. On August 23, 2011 the league announced that it would be headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[1] The league is still working on naming a commissioner and courting other teams.
Contents
History
When the Big Ten Hockey Conference was announced on March 21, 2011 – Penn State having added a hockey team to bring the total Big Ten teams to six – the college hockey landscape was shaken.[2] Some of the remaining teams of the soon to be diminished WCHA (having lost the Minnesota Gophers and Wisconsin Badgers in the future) and the CCHA (having lost the Michigan Wolverines, the Michigan State Spartans, and Ohio State Buckeyes in the future) began talks to form a league that would ensure their survival as financially strong and successful programs.
These talks were first revealed by Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald on July 1, 2011, leading to speculation over what teams would be considered and what the impact of this league was on the rest of the college hockey landscape.[3] On July 9, 2011, the athletic directors of the six founding schools, Colorado College, the University of Denver, Miami University (Ohio), the University of Minnesota Duluth, the University of Nebraska Omaha, and the University of North Dakota, confirmed these reports by announcing the conference officially and giving the date for a press conference for further information on July 13, 2011. [4]
At the July 13, 2011 press conference, Brian Faison, athletic director of the University of North Dakota, and one of the main speakers said that the motivation for this conference was to put teams together that "have displayed a high level of competitiveness on the ice, [have] an institutional commitment to compete at the highest level within Division I, provide a national platform for exposure, and have wonderful history and tradition within their institution and hockey programs."[5]
On September 22, 2011, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan accepted invitations to join the NCHC.[6][7]
Future members
The league will have eight member schools in it.
Institution Location Founded Will join Affiliation Enrollment Nickname NCAA
championshipsPrimary conference Colorado College Colorado Springs, Colorado 1874 2013 Private 1,950 Tigers 2 SCAC (D-III) University of Denver Denver, Colorado 1864 2013 Private 5,455 Pioneers 7 Sun Belt Conference (WAC in 2012) Miami University Oxford, Ohio 1809 2013 Public 15,726 Redhawks 0 MAC University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth, Minnesota 1947 2013 Public 10,500 Bulldogs 1 Northern Sun (D-II) University of Nebraska-Omaha Omaha, Nebraska 1908 2013 Public 14,903 Mavericks 0 The Summit (in 2012) University of North Dakota Grand Forks, North Dakota 1883 2013 Public 14,000 Fighting Sioux 7 Big Sky St. Cloud State University St. Cloud, Minnesota 1869 2013 Public 17,073 Huskies 0 Northern Sun (D-II) Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan 1903 2013 Public 25,045 Broncos 0 MAC Conference arenas
When the National Collegiate Hockey Conference begins play in 2013–2014, it will boast some of the largest and most modern arenas in college hockey.[citation needed]
School Hockey arena Year built Capacity Colorado College Tigers World Arena 1998 7,343 Denver Pioneers Magness Arena 1999 6,026 Miami University RedHawks Goggin Ice Center 2006 3,842 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs AMSOIL Arena 2010 6,732 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks CenturyLink Center Omaha 2003 16,500 North Dakota Fighing Sioux Ralph Engelstad Arena 2001 11,640 St Cloud State Huskies National Hockey Center 1989 5,763 Western Michigan Broncos Lawson Arena 1974 3,667 See also
References
- ^ "NCHC to be Headquartered in Colorado Springs". Northland's NewsCenter. http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/sports/NCHC-to-be-Headquarterd-in-Colorado-Springs-128268543.html.
- ^ "Big Ten Officially Announces Hockey Conference". College Hockey News. http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2011/03/21_big_ten_officially_announces.php/. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- ^ "UND weighs Hockey league options". Grand Forks Herald. http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/208516/. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- ^ "Collegiate Hockey Conference Joint Statement". North Dakota Fighting Sioux. http://www.fightingsioux.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=205180212. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- ^ "New National Collegiate Hockey Conference Announced With Six Top College Programs as Founding Members". PRnewswire. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-national-collegiate-hockey-conference-announced-with-six-top-college-programs-as-founding-members-125498138.html. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
- ^ "St. Cloud State will join NCHC". Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/130285648.html. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ "WMU To Join National Collegiate Hockey Conference". WMU. http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4600&ATCLID=205275830. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
NCAA Division I hockey conferences Current conferences Future conferences Big Ten Conference • National Collegiate Hockey Conference
Categories:- NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences
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