Western Collegiate Hockey Association

"WCHA" redirects here. For other uses, see WCHA (disambiguation).

Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA)

Established	1951
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I
Members	16
Sports fielded	Ice hockey (men's: 10 teams; women's: 8 teams)
Region	Midwestern United States, Alaska, and Alabama
Former names	Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (1951–53) Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (1953–58)
Headquarters	Edina, Minnesota
Commissioner	Bill Robertson
Website	http://www.wcha.com
Locations

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates over a wide area of the Midwestern, Western, and Southeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference.^[1]

WCHA member teams have won a record 36 men's NCAA hockey championships, most recently in 2011 by the Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs. A WCHA team has also finished as the national runner-up a total of 28 times.^[2] WCHA teams also won the first 13 NCAA women's titles, which were first awarded in 2001.^[3]

History

The league was founded in 1951 as the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (MCHL),^[1] then was known as the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (WIHL) until 1958. The 1958–59 season was one of independence for members as a result of recruiting techniques by some teams.^[1] The current Western Collegiate Hockey Association was founded for the 1959–60 season.^[1] The 2005 NCAA Frozen Four hockey tournament finals were noteworthy when all four teams came from the WCHA.

WCHA teams also won the first 13 NCAA women's titles, which were first awarded in 2001.^[3] In 2006, WCHA member Wisconsin was the first school to capture both the men's and women's Division I ice hockey championships in the same season.^[4]

The men's regular season conference champion is awarded the MacNaughton Cup,^[5] while the league's tournament champion winning the WCHA Final Five takes home the Broadmoor Trophy.^[6]

2013 realignment

Main article: 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment: Hockey

On March 22, 2011, Minnesota and Wisconsin announced that their men's teams planned to leave the league in order to form a hockey Big Ten Conference in 2013–14, along with Penn State, which would start a varsity hockey program in 2012–13, and Central Collegiate Hockey Association members Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State.^[7]

In response to the creation of the Big Ten men's hockey conference, Denver, Colorado College, North Dakota, Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota-Duluth, and St. Cloud State joined Miami University and Western Michigan of the CCHA to create the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.^[8]^[9] Facing membership at 4 teams for the 2013–14 season, the WCHA conference added one of its former members, Northern Michigan of the CCHA, on July 15, 2011.^[10]

On August 25, 2011, the WCHA announced that it had invited the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bowling Green, Ferris State, and Lake Superior State to join beginning in the 2013–14 season. On August 26, 2011, Alaska-Fairbanks, Ferris State, and Lake Superior State accepted their invitations and joined Northern Michigan in the WCHA in 2013.^[11] After much deliberation, on October 4, 2011, Bowling Green decided to join the WCHA as well in 2013.^[12] On January 17, 2013, the WCHA admitted Alabama–Huntsville to the league, effective in the 2013–14 season.^[13]

This realignment activity only affected the men's side of the WCHA. Even after Penn State took the ice with both men's and women's teams, the Big Ten still had only four members with varsity women's hockey (Michigan and Michigan State field only men's teams). This means that the women's side of the WCHA will remain intact for the foreseeable future.

Members

The WCHA has 16 member schools in all; the men's division operates with 10 members, while the women's division has 8. Only 2 schools, Bemidji State and Minnesota State, have both men's and women's teams in the conference.

Men's

Institution	City	State	Founded	Joined	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	NCAA Men's Champ.	Primary Conference
Alabama Huntsville !University of Alabama in Huntsville	Huntsville	Alabama	1969	2013	Public	7,700	Chargers	Blue & White	0	Gulf South (D-II)
Alaska Anchorage !University of Alaska Anchorage	Anchorage	Alaska	1977	1993	Public	16,242	Seawolves	Green & Gold	0	Great Northwest (D-II)
Alaska Fairbanks !University of Alaska Fairbanks	Fairbanks	Alaska	1917	2013	Public	9,380	Nanooks	Blue & Gold	0	Great Northwest (D-II)
Bemidji State University	Bemidji	Minnesota	1919	2010 (men)	Public	5,300	Beavers	Green & White	0	Northern Sun (D-II)
Bowling Green State University	Bowling Green	Ohio	1910	2013	Public	19,764	Falcons	Orange & Brown	1	MAC
Ferris State University	Big Rapids	Michigan	1884	2013	Public	14,560	Bulldogs	Crimson & Gold	0	GLIAC (D-II)
Lake Superior State University	Sault Ste. Marie	Michigan	1946	2013	Public	2,907	Lakers	Blue & Gold	3	GLIAC (D-II)
Michigan Technological University	Houghton	Michigan	1885	1951–1981 1984	Public	7,014	Huskies	Black & Gold	3	GLIAC (D-II)
Minnesota State University, Mankato	Mankato	Minnesota	1867	1999	Public	15,300	Mavericks	Purple & Gold	0	Northern Sun (D-II)
Northern Michigan University	Marquette	Michigan	1899	1984–1997 2013	Public	9,000	Wildcats	Green & Gold	1	GLIAC (D-II)

Women's

Institution	City	State	Founded	Joined	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	NCAA Women's Champ.	Primary Conference
Bemidji State University	Bemidji	Minnesota	1919	1999 (women)	Public	5,300	Beavers	Green & White	0	Northern Sun (D-II)
Minnesota !University of Minnesota	Minneapolis & St. Paul	Minnesota	1851	1999 (women)	Public	51,194	Golden Gophers	Maroon & Gold	5	Big Ten
Minnesota Duluth !University of Minnesota Duluth	Duluth	Minnesota	1947	1999 (women)	Public	10,500	Bulldogs	Maroon & Gold	5	Northern Sun (D-II)
Minnesota State University, Mankato	Mankato	Minnesota	1867	1999	Public	15,300	Mavericks	Purple & Gold	0	Northern Sun (D-II)
North Dakota !University of North Dakota	Grand Forks	North Dakota	1883	2004 (women)	Public	15,250	Fighting Hawks	Green & White	0	Big Sky
Ohio State University	Columbus	Ohio	1870	1999	Public	56,867	Buckeyes	Scarlet & Gray	0	Big Ten
Saint Cloud !St. Cloud State University	St. Cloud	Minnesota	1869	1999 (women)	Public	17,073	Huskies	Spirit Red & Black	0	Northern Sun (D-II)
Wisconsin !University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison	Wisconsin	1848	1999 (women)	Public	41,169	Badgers	Red & White	4	Big Ten

Former men's members

Institution	City	State	Joined	Left	Nickname	Teams	NCAA Champ.^{[B 1]}	Subsequent Conference	Current Conference
Colorado College	Colorado Springs	Colorado	1951	2013	Tigers	Men's	2 (1)	NCHC
Denver !University of Denver	Denver	Colorado	1951	2013	Pioneers	Men's	7 (7)	NCHC
Michigan !University of Michigan	Ann Arbor	Michigan	1951	1981	Wolverines	Men's	9 (5)	CCHA	Big Ten
Michigan State University	East Lansing	Michigan	1951	1981	Spartans	Men's	3 (1)	CCHA	Big Ten
Minnesota !University of Minnesota	Minneapolis & St. Paul	Minnesota	1951	2013	Golden Gophers	Men's	5 (5)	Big Ten
Minnesota Duluth !University of Minnesota Duluth	Duluth	Minnesota	1966	2013	Bulldogs	Men's	1 (1)	NCHC
Nebraska Omaha !University of Nebraska Omaha	Omaha	Nebraska	2010	2013	Mavericks	Men's	0 (0)	NCHC
North Dakota !University of North Dakota	Grand Forks	North Dakota	1951	2013	Fighting Hawks	Men's	8 (7)	NCHC
Notre Dame !University of Notre Dame	South Bend	Indiana	1971	1981	Fighting Irish	Men's	0 (0)	CCHA	Hockey East
St. Cloud State University	St. Cloud	Minnesota	1990	2013	Huskies	Men's	0 (0)	NCHC
Wisconsin !University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison	Wisconsin	1969	2013	Badgers	Men's	6 (6)	Big Ten

↑ Total championships (Championships won while WCHA member)

Membership timeline

Conference arenas

Locations of Western Collegiate Hockey Association member institutions.

School	Men's Arena	Capacity	Women's Arena	Capacity
Alabama–Huntsville	Propst Arena	6,602	—
Alaska Anchorage	Sullivan Arena	6,399	—
Alaska	Carlson Center	4,595	—
Bemidji State	Sanford Center	4,700	Sanford Center	4,700
Bowling Green	BGSU Ice Arena	5,000	—
Ferris State	Robert L. Ewigleben Arena	2,493	—
Lake Superior	Taffy Abel Arena	4,000	—
Michigan Tech	MacInnes Student Ice Arena	4,466 ^[14]	—
Minnesota	plays in the Big Ten		Ridder Arena	3,400
Minnesota–Duluth	plays in the NCHC		AMSOIL Arena	6,764
Minnesota State	Verizon Wireless Center	5,280	All Seasons Arena	1,000
North Dakota	plays in the NCHC		Ralph Engelstad Arena	11,643
Northern Michigan	Berry Events Center	3,902	—
Ohio State	plays in the Big Ten		OSU Ice Rink	1,415
St. Cloud State	plays in the NCHC		Herb Brooks National Hockey Center	5,763
Wisconsin	plays in the Big Ten		LaBahn Arena	2,273

Awards (Men's)

At the conclusion of each regular season schedule the coaches of each WCHA team vote which players they choose to be on the two to four All-Conference Teams:^[15] first team and second team with a rookie team added in 1990–91 and a third team added in 1995–96. Additionally they vote to award up to 5 individual trophies to an eligible player at the same time. The WCHA also awards a Most Valuable Player in Tournament, which is voted on at the conclusion of the conference tournament. Only the Coach of the Year award has been bestowed in each year of the WCHA's existence, making it the oldest continually-awarded conference award in Division I ice hockey.^[16]

All-Conference Teams

Award	Inaugural Year
First Team	1959–60
Second Team	1959–60
Third Team	1995–96
Rookie Team	1990–91
All-Tournament Team	1988

Individual Awards

Award	Inaugural Year
Player of the Year	1960–61
Defensive Player of the Year	1991–92
Goaltender of the Year	1987–88
Sophomore of the Year	1959–60
Rookie of the Year	1969–70
Coach of the Year	1959–60
Student-Athlete of the Year	1986–87
Most Valuable Player in Tournament	1988

Team Awards

Award	Inaugural Year
MacNaughton Cup	1951–52*
Broadmoor Trophy	1985

References

1 2 3 4 Stutt, Kurt. "History of the WCHA". USCHO. Archived from the original on 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
↑ "All-Time Championship Tournament records and results" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
1 2 "National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Champions". National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey History. NCAA. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
↑ Schmoldt, Eric (2006-04-10). "UW's championship celebration continues at rally". The Badger Herald. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
↑ Julien, Connie (2009). "MacNaughton Cup Winners". CC Hockey History.
↑ "WCHA Unveils New Playoff Format and Broadmoor Trophy, Welcomes Bemidji State and Nebraska Omaha". Media Center. Western Collegiate Hockey Association. 2010-03-20. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
↑ "Big Ten Officially Announces Hockey Conference". College Hockey News. March 21, 2011. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
↑ Paisley, Joe (July 9, 2011). "Schools confirm new college hockey 'super league'". Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
↑ "St. Cloud St., W. Michigan join league". September 22, 2011.
↑ "WCHA set to add Northern Michigan as sixth member for 2013–14". U.S. College Hockey Online. July 15, 2011. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
↑ Sipple, George (August 26, 2011). "Ferris State becomes third CCHA team to accept WCHA invitation". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
↑ Wagner, John (October 4, 2011). "Falcons make switch to WCHA". Toledo Blade. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
↑ "WCHA accepts Alabama-Huntsville for 2013-14 season". USCHO.com. January 17, 2013. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
↑ http://michigantechhuskies.com/sports/mice/2013-14/releases/20140219hwkw7c
↑ "Head Coaches Tab Denver as MacNaughton Cup Favorite in Annual Grand Forks Herald WCHA Pre-Season Poll". WCHA.com. 2009-09-30. Retrieved 2013-08-26.
↑ "WCHA Awards". College hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved 2013-08-26.

External links

Western Collegiate Hockey Association men's ice hockey

Teams	Alabama–Huntsville Chargers Alaska Nanooks Alaska–Anchorage Seawolves Bemidji State Beavers Bowling Green Falcons Ferris State Bulldogs Lake Superior State Lakers Michigan Tech Huskies Minnesota State Mavericks Northern Michigan Wildcats

Venues	Propst Arena (Alabama–Huntsville) Carlson Center (Alaska) Sullivan Arena (Alaska–Anchorage) Sanford Center (Bemidji State) BGSU Ice Arena (Bowling Green) Ewigleben Arena (Ferris State) Taffy Abel Arena (Lake Superior State) MacInnes Student Ice Arena (Michigan Tech) Verizon Wireless Center (Minnesota State) Berry Events Center (Northern Michigan)

Championships & awards	Broadmoor Trophy MacNaughton Cup Champions Individual awards

Seasons	1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1959–60 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's ice hockey

Teams	Bemidji State Beavers Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs Minnesota State Mavericks North Dakota Fighting Hawks Ohio State Buckeyes St. Cloud State Huskies Wisconsin Badgers

Venues	Sanford Center (Bemidji State) Ridder Arena (Minnesota) AMSOIL Arena (Minnesota–Duluth) All Seasons Arena (Minnesota State) Ralph Engelstad Arena (North Dakota) OSU Ice Rink (Ohio State) Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (St. Cloud State) LaBahn Arena (Wisconsin)

Championships & awards	Awards & honors Champions

Seasons	1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments (Champions)

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Broadmoor Trophy

NCAA Division I hockey conferences

Atlantic Hockey Big Ten Conference College Hockey America ECAC Hockey Hockey East National Collegiate Hockey Conference Western Collegiate Hockey Association Independents

Championships: Men / Women

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