The Four Major College Hockey Organizations
How do you play college hockey? Colleges in the US and Canada play the sport and leagues outside North America. This article will explain how college hockey works and give details about these groups. Here is a summary of each of the four major college hockey organizations. Visit their sites to find out more. Also, look for information about the different divisions, such as the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), the NAIA Division, and the Middle Atlantic Conference.
The ACC is made up of college hockey teams.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association runs college ice hockey. College hockey programs from all over the country, both varsity and non-varsity, join the organization, which gives the sports structure and rules. One of the ACA’s main goals is to promote good college ice hockey. But the group also works to get the word out about the sport. Here are some of the things that members get out of it. Learn more by reading on.
Chuck Murdoch, a coach at Iowa State, started the ACHA 28 years ago. At the time, he only had 20 teams. Now, the group has 278 units and three divisions for men. He has helped the Iowa State Cyclones win 920 games throughout his career. The ACHA also has two divisions for women. Marlboro, Massachusetts, will be the site of the national tournament.
The NAIA Branch
College hockey in the NAIA Division has changed in a big way. It used to be run by the ACHA, but now the NAIA Hockey Coaches Association will be in charge. For the 2018-2019 season, three new schools will join the NAIA. The three latest schools in the division are Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Midland University, and the University of Michigan in Dearborn. The NAIA is a big part of the NAIA’s plan to get hockey back to being a championship sport.
The conference schedule for this new division will have 16 games, and each team will get a conference bye. Each team will play games at home and away against other entire NAIA teams. The top six teams will move on to the NAIA National Tournament based on how they did in their league. The NAIA Division will have Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana teams.
The Middle Atlantic Summit
The Middle Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association (MAC) is a southeastern United States ice hockey league. It is in Division II of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. It has eight-person teams in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania. This fall, Arcadia University will have sections for both men and women. The Middle Atlantic Conference, the United Collegiate Hockey Association, the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association, and the Middle Atlantic Hockey League are all part of the MAC.
The MAC is in charge of three NCAA Division III sports conferences. It is made up of 18 schools from all over the Mid-Atlantic region. The two conferences that make up the MAC are the MAC Commonwealth and the MAC Freedom. All of the teams in the MAC compete against each other for the automatic bids that come with being in the MAC. MAC schools play D-III tournaments. The regular season results between MAC schools decide who goes to the playoffs.
College hockey for women
Even though men’s college hockey is more popular, the game for women is just as exciting. College hockey for women is also known as ice hockey. These guys skate on ice with skates made for men’s hockey. Men and women play the sport differently, but many love it the same way. The best thing about women’s college hockey is that many teams of women play against each other.
Minnesota State and St. Cloud State are among the first colleges to have women’s teams that play the sport. They play against teams like MIT and UMass Lowell in the ECAC’s Adirondack Division. The University of Maine, Bates College, Holy Cross, and the University of New England are some of their other opponents. In 1998, the university of St. Thomas said it would start a varsity program for women.