History of NCAA College Hockey

The history of NCAA college hockey is rooted in some of the top colleges and universities in the United States. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the governing body over college hockey in the United States.

NCAA college hockey has three divisions for both men's and women's hockey. Division 1, 2, and 3.

In Division 2, the only conference that supports ice hockey is the Northeast Ten Conference. There is no men's Division 2 hockey. All the teams that were in Division 2 moved to Division 1 or 3 as of 1999.

Unlike other NCAA big time sports like Football and Basketball, NCAA hockey tends to be more regional. Traditionally universities from the cold weather areas (east, northwest, and midwest regions) are the ones that have hockey programs in their athletic department.

The University of Alabama at Huntsville is the sole Division 1 team that hails from south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and has been relativity successful.

College hockey teams are split into conferences, which themselves are classified within one of the NCAA's three overall athletic divisions. Due to the nature of having a limited number of Division I colleges sponsoring ice hockey, Division I teams compete in special hockey-only conferences that are unconnected with their member schools' various primary athletic conferences.

The majority of hockey-playing Division III colleges also compete in hockey-only conferences, although a few Division III athletic conferences do sponsor hockey.

One Division I non-hockey conference, the Ivy League, crowns hockey champions for both men and women.

In Men's Division 1 there are 6 conferences: CCHA CHA Atlantic Hockey WCHA ECAC Hockey Hockey East

In Men's Division 2 there is only the Northeast-10 Conference

In Men's Division 3 there are 9 conferences: ECAC West ECAC East ECAC Northeast MASCAC MCHA MIAC NESCAC NCHA SUNYAC

In Women's Division 1 there are the following conferences: Independent Colleges, CHA ECAC Hockey WCHA Hockey East

In Women's Division 3 there are the following conferences: Independent Colleges, ECAC East ECAC West MIAC NESCAC NCHA In NCAA college hockey, there is a annual Division 1 tournament to determine the national champion. Similar to NCAA Division 1 college basketball which has the Final Four, in college hockey there is the Frozen Four. There have been some great games at the Frozen Four. In 1991 Frozen Four, in the National Championship game, Northern Michigan beat Boston University 8-7 in triple overtime to win the national championship. It was one of the greatest games in history of NCAA college hockey.

Schools advance in a single-elimination tournament from four regional sites to a single site, where the national semifinals and final game are played. Beginning in the 2000-01 season, the NCAA added a Women's Frozen Four. The top individual award in men's college hockey is the Hobey Baker Award. The award is given annually since 1981 to the top NCAA men's Division 1 player. It is similar to the Hesiman Trophy in college football.

Numerous players that won the award have gone on to respectable and successful NHL careers.

The award is named for hockey player and World War I veteran Hobey Baker, who played college hockey and football at Princeton University. He is considered one of the greatest players in the history of NCAA college hockey. Click here to learn more about the Hobey Baker the person, the award, and to see a list of winners.

In women's Division 1 hockey, the top individual award is the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, which was first awarded in 1998. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is named in honor of the late Patty Kazmaier, who was a four-year varsity letter-winner and All-Ivy League defenseman for Princeton University from 1981-86. An accomplished athlete who helped lead the Tigers to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-84), Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died on Feb. 15, 1990, at the age of 28 following a long struggle with a rare blood disease.

Click here to see a list of previous winners of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and to learn more about the award.

In the history of NCAA college hockey, there have been numerous great college hockey tournaments in Division 1, but the perhaps the best college hockey tournament is the Beanpot Tournament. The tournament is held among the four major college hockey schools of the Boston, Massachusetts area, held annually since the 1952-53 season.

The tournament gives the winner bragging rights over its cross-town rivals, and the quest for this highly sought after trophy is contested in front of frantic crowds from all four schools in annual sellouts. Some of the top moments in the history of NCAA college hockey have taken place during the Beanpot tournament.

The four schools that compete in the tournament are the Boston College Eagles, Boston University Terriers, Harvard University Crimson, and Northeastern University Huskies.

There is also a women's Beanpot tournament.

Click here to learn more about the men's Beanpot tournament.

Here is a link to find out more information about the women's Beanpot tournament.

NCAA college hockey is the top level of hockey at the collegiate level in the United States. However, there are other levels as American Collegiate Hockey Association. The ACHA is the sanctioning body for non-varsity club hockey. There are over 300 teams separated into three men's and two women's divisions. The majority of the ACHA schools don't offer NCAA hockey, but there are some schools that offer both a club team in the ACHA and a varsity team in the NCAA.

There is also the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association.(NJCAA) The NJCAA sponsors men's ice hockey at the NJCAA division I level.

You can find out more about the American Collegiate Hockey Association by visiting ACHAHockey.org. If you are interested in learning more about NJCAA hockey, please visit their website at NJCAA.org

Canadian colleges also play college hockey. College hockey teams in Canada compete in leagues as part of Canadian Interuniversity Sport(CIS), the national governing body for Canadian collegiate athletics. The CIS sponsors both men's and women's hockey.

Like the US schools, teams compete in athletic conferences/leagues based on geographical locations of the schools. Unlike the NCAA the CIS 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 CIS Championship tournament in late March.

If you are interested in learning more about Canadian Interuniversity Sports, please visit CIS website.

There have been numerous great moments in the history of NCAA college hockey. Hockey at the college level is exciting and filled with great traditions. Some of the most elite universities in the United States have hockey programs that produce great teams and great players that eventually go on to great careers in the NHL.

College hockey remains second only to junior hockey as a talent pool for professional hockey players. A lot of players that are notable players now in the NHL got their start at the NCAA level. Some of them are consider on the list of the top players in the history of NCAA college hockey. NHL players such as Ryan Miller, Brian Rafalski, Paul Karyia, & Chris Drury are just a few of the countless notable NHL players that have played in the NCAA college hockey system.

Also in recent years, events have occurred that have been a first in the history of NCAA college hockey. Numerous outdoor college hockey games have taken place, a first in the history of NCAA college hockey. In 2001, Michigan and Michigan State played in the "Cold War" game at Spartan Stadium. In 2010 they will play again outdoors at "The Big House" at Michigan Stadium. The game is schedule to set the world attendance records for a hockey game. Ohio State and Wisconsin also played outdoors in 2006 at Lambeau Field. Boston University and Boston College played outdoors also in 2010 at Fenway Park.

In women's hockey, Northeastern and New Hampshire played in 2010 at Fenway Park. Also every year, the United States Military Academy (Army) Black Knights face the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins in the annual West Point Weekend hockey game. This series, conceived in 1923, is the longest running annual international sporting event in the world.

If you are interested in learning more about the history of college hockey conferences such as the CHA, CCHA, Atlantic Hockey, Hockey East, ECAC Hockey, and WCHA, please click here.

If you are interested in following college hockey at any level, please visit USCHO.com to get all your information about college hockey.

**************************************************************

History of NHL | History of AHL | History of KHL | History of IIHF | History of SM-liiga | History of Olympic Hockey | History of Czech Extraliga | History of Swedish Elite League

**************************************************************

Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Return from History of NCAA College Hockey to Hockey History

Return from History of NCAA College Hockey to Hockey Information Home Page