The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association was created during
the early 1980s from a combination of college teams belonging to
the now-defunct International College Hockey Association and the
Western Intercollegiate Hockey Association. Since its inception in
1980, the league has grown into a closely-knit group of nine strong
NCAA Division-III collegiate hockey programs featuring heated
rivalries and intense competition.
The league officially formed on June 1, 1980, when formal approval
came from the administrators of the six charter members: Bemidji
State University, Mankato State University, St. Cloud State
University, UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls and UW-Superior.
League play began on an unoffical basis during the 1980-81
campaign with the six teams playing an unbalanced schedule. The
1981-82 season marked the first formal schedule of NCHA play.
The College of St. Scholastica entered the league in 1983-84 to
bring the team total to seven. St. Cloud State dropped out after
the 1986-87 season to move to the NCAA Division I level, but with
the addition of UW-Stevens Point at the same time, the number of
league teams stayed at seven. St. Scholastica dropped out of the
league following the 1990-91 season. More changes came at the end
of the 1991-92 season when Mankato State moved to the Division I
level and left the league. Lake Forest College was admitted in
1992-93. In the spring of 1994 St. Norbert College joined and St.
Scholastica was readmitted to make it an eight team league.
UW-Stout joined the NCHA in 1996-97. After the 1999 season Bemidji
State, which was the only team remaining in the league affiliated
with Division II, left the conference after moving to the Division
I ranks.
At the April 10, 2000 spring meeting the NCHA added a women's
division. Lake Forest, UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens
Point and UW-Superior were the five women's teams that joined the
league. UW-Superior had started a varsity women's program in
1998-99 and UW-River Falls moved to a varsity program for the first
time in 1999-2000. The Lake Forest, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens
Point teams were all in their first year of competition in 2000-01.
Finlandia University joined the league for the 2003-04 season and
Concordia-Wisconsin joined in 2007-08. Recent expansion includeds
Adrian College and Marian University for the 2009-10 season as well
as St. Norbert and St. Scholastica for the 2010-11 season.
"This is an exciting time for women's collegiate ice hockey and
for the NCHA in general," said then NCHA President Frank O'Brien.
"We look forward with great anticipation to beginning our first
season with women's ice hockey."
The NCHA women originally played a four team playoff championship,
held at the site of the highest seeded team. In 2007-08 the league
had six teams qualify for the playoffs, with all games being played
over three days at the high seed. For 2009-10, eight teams will
qualify for the playoffs. The quarterfinal round features a 2+mini
game format, while the semifinals and finals are single-elimination
games played at the site of the highest remaining seed.
In the men's division the NCHA currently plays an 18-game balanced
schedule. Each team will face the six other teams three times with
a yearly rotating 2-home-1away structure. A league post-season
tournament was instituted in 1985-86 and now consists of all seven
teams participating. The quarterfinals use the 2+mini game series
format, with the top seed receiving a bye. The semifinals are
single-elimination games played at the sites of the two highest
remaining seeds; the finals are also single-elimination games,
played at the site of the highest remaining seed.
Year after year, the NCHA is recognized as one of the top
small-college hockey leagues in the country. UW-Superior won its
first men's NCAA Division. III national title in 2002. Four NCHA
men's teams have won NCAA Division III titles; UW-Superior (2002),
UW-River Falls (1988, 1994), UW-Stevens Point (1989, 1990, 1991,
1993) and Bemidji State (1984, 1986). Bemidji also won four NCAA
Division. II titles (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997). In 1993 and 1994 it
was an all NCHA final. In 1993 UW-Stevens Point beat UW-River
Falls, 4-3 in overtime, and in 1994 River Falls beat UW-Superior,
6-4.
With the mission of providing quality competition for
student-athletes, the NCHA's caliber of play has risen to the point
where member institutions are producing both quality players and
teams. Joel Otto, a member of the 1989 Stanley Cup champion Calgary
Flames, played for Bemidji State from 1981-85. In addition to the
national championships, NCHA teams also play a rugged
non-conference schedule with many schools playing NCAA Division I
squads.
NCHA Women's Champions
Year | Regular Season | Playoff Champion | NCAA Tournament Teams | Player of the Year |
2010-11 | UW-River Falls | Adrian |
Adrian (A bid, First Round) |
Kristin Faber, Sr, F, UW-Eau Claire |
2009-10 | Lake Forest | UW-River Falls | UW-River Falls (A bid, First Round) | Kim Herring, So, F, Lake Forest |
2008-09 | UW-River Falls | UW-River Falls | UW-River Falls (A bid, 4th place) | Nicole Grossmann, Sr, F, UW-Stevens Point |
2007-08 | UW-Superior | UW-Superior | UW-Superior (C bid, 4th place) | Gina Baranzelli, Sr, F, UW-Superior |
2006-07 | UW-Superior | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point (C bid, 3rd place) | Amber Lindner, Sr, G, UW-River Falls |
2005-06 | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point (C bid, 3rd place) | Erin Kegley, Jr, F, UW-Superior |
2004-05 | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point (C bid) | |
2003-04 | UW-Superior | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point (C bid, Runner-Up) | |
2002-03 | UW-River Falls | UW-River Falls | UW-River Falls (C bid) | |
2001-02 | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point | ||
2000-01 | UW-Superior | UW-River Falls |
NCHA Men's Champions
Year | Regular Season | Playoff Champion | NCAA Tournament Teams | Player of the Year |
2010-11 | St. Norbert |
St. Norbert* |
St. Norbert (A, Champion) |
B.J. O'Brien, Sr, G, St. Norbert |
2009-10 | St. Norbert | St. Norbert | St. Norbert (A bid, Runner-Up) | Joel Gaulrapp, Sr, F, UW-Stout |
2008-09 | UW-Superior | UW-Stout | UW-Stout (A bid, Semifinals) UW-Superior (C bid, Quarterfinals) St. Scholastica (C bid, First Round) |
Chad Beiswenger, Sr, G, UW-Superior |
2007-08 | St. Norbert | St. Norbert* | St. Norbert (A bid, Champion) UW-Stout (C bid, First Round) |
Kyle Jones, Sr, G, St. Norbert |
2006-07 | St. Norbert, UW-River Falls, UW-Stout |
St. Norbert | St. Norbert (A bid, Semifinals) UW-River Falls (C bid, First Round) |
T.J. Dahl, Jr, F, UW-River Falls |
2005-06 | St. Norbert | UW-Superior | UW-Superior (A bid, Quarterfinals) St. Norbert (C bid, Semifinals) |
Kyle Jones, So, G, St. Norbert |
2004-05 | St. Norbert | St. Norbert | ||
2003-04 | St. Norbert | St. Norbert | ||
2002-03 | St. Norbert | St. Norbert | ||
2001-02 | St. Norbert | UW-Superior* | ||
2000-01 | UW-Superior | UW-Superior | ||
1999-2000 | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Superior | ||
1998-99 | St. Norbert | St. Norbert | ||
1997-98 | St. Norbert | St. Norbert | ||
1996-97 | St. Norbert | UW-Superior | ||
1995-96 | UW-River Falls | UW-River Falls | ||
1994-95 | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | ||
1993-94 | UW-Superior | UW-Superior* | ||
1992-93 | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point* | ||
1991-92 | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point | ||
1990-91 | Mankato State, Bemidji State |
UW-Stevens Point* | ||
1989-90 | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point* | ||
1988-89 | UW-Stevens Point | UW-Stevens Point* | ||
1987-88 | UW-River Falls | UW-River Falls* | ||
1986-87 | Mankato State, St. Cloud State |
Bemidji State | ||
1985-86 | Mankato State, Bemidji State |
Bemidji State* | ||
1984-85 | Bemidji State | |||
1983-84 | Bemidji State* | |||
1982-83 | Bemidji State | |||
1981-82 | Bemidji State |
* National Champion