Western Collegiate Hockey League

Western Collegiate Hockey League
(WCHL)
Established 2012
Association ACHA
Division Division I
Members 7
Sports fielded Ice hockey (men's: yes; women's: no)
Region Western United States
Website http://www.westernchl.com/

The Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) is an ACHA Division I level ice hockey league. The league is made up of seven teams from the Western United States.

History

The league was announced in late 2012 and played its first season in the ACHA in 2013-14 with six member teams.[1] Arizona, Arizona State, Central Oklahoma, and Oklahoma joined the league after participating as ACHA D-1 Independents. Those four schools joined Colorado and Colorado State who made the transition to ACHA D-1 from ACHA D-2.[1][2]

The league's first membership change occurred on November 18, 2014 when Arizona State announced the addition of NCAA Division I ice hockey for the 2015-16 season. This move left the WCHL with five members until the league announced the additions of Arkansas, who created a new ACHA D-1 level team after years of success at the ACHA D-3 level, and Missouri State, who moved up from the ACHA D-2 level, on January 12, 2015.[3]

In their first two years of competition, WCHL teams have won the ACHA National Championship. Arizona State defeated Robert Morris for the 2013 title. The following season Central Oklahoma defeated Stony Brook for the league's second national title.

Format

In the league's first two seasons, each member team played 16 league games, including three games against each interstate league opponent and four games against each intrastate opponent.[1] After the membership shuffle, for at least the 2015-16 season, each team will play an unbalanced league schedule between 14 and 22 games.[3]

Current teams

School Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname NCAA Conference Colors
University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 1885 Public 38,057 Wildcats Pac-12 (D-I)          
University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 1871 Public 26,301 Razorbacks SEC (D-I)          
University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK 1890 Public 17,101 Bronchos MIAA (D-II)          
University of Colorado Boulder, CO 1876 Public 29,884 Buffaloes Pac-12 (D-I)          
Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 1870 Public 24,875 Rams Mountain West (D-I)          
Missouri State University Springfield, MO 1905 Public 22,385 Bears MVC (D-I)          
University of Oklahoma Norman, OK 1890 Public 29,721 Sooners Big 12 (D-I)          

Conference arenas

School Hockey Arena Capacity
Arizona Tucson Convention Center 7,712
Arkansas The Jones Center 500
Central Oklahoma Arctic Edge Ice Arena 500
Colorado University of Colorado Ice Arena 1,000
Colorado State NoCo Ice Center 500
Missouri State Mediacom Ice Park 1,100
Oklahoma Blazers Ice Centre 750

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Western Collegiate Hockey League To Begin Play in 2013-2014". ACHA. November 14, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Four New Teams Join Men's Division 1 for 2013-2014". ACHA. October 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "WCHL ADDS MISSOURI STATE AND ARKANSAS FOR 2015-2016". WCHL. January 12, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2014.

See also

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