Western Collegiate Hockey League
 | |
| Conference | ACHA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Commissioner | Chris Perry |
| Sports fielded |
|
| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Region | Western United States |
| Official website | http://www.westernchl.com/ |
The Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) is a Division 1 collegiate ice hockey league in the ACHA, which is the highest non-varsity Club Level for college hockey. The ACHL is made up of ten teams from the Western United States.
History
[edit]In 2012, the WCHL was created and played its first season in the ACHA in 2013-14 with six founding member teams.[1] Arizona, Arizona State, Central Oklahoma, and Oklahoma joined the league after competing as ACHA D-1 Independent programs. Those four teams, joined Colorado and Colorado State, who made the transition to from ACHA D-2 to ACHA D-1.[1][2]
In the WCHL's first two years of competition, they won back-to-back ACHA D-1 National Championships, which was hosted at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
In 2013–14, Arizona State defeated Robert Morris for the 2013–14 ACHA D-1 National Championship. And in 2014–15, Central Oklahoma defeated Stony Brook for the 2014–15 ACHA D-1 National Championship.
During the 2014 season, Arizona State announced their departure from the WCHL D-1 Club Level and established a formal NCAA D-1 ice hockey program 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 hockey club 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]
Not to be confused, Arizona State's NCAA D-1 team is the only Independent men's hockey team in the country, but ASU also maintains both ACHA Club Level teams with our WCHL D-1 Sun Devils, and the PAC-8 D-2 Sun Devils, respectively.
In 2017, Central Oklahoma won their 2nd ACHA D-1 National Championship after defeating Ohio University.
Subsequently, Arkansas left the WCHL after the 2018–19 season, and (currently) no longer has a D-1 hockey club.
Expansion
[edit]In September 2019, the WCHL expanded from seven to ten teams with the addition of University of Utah, UNLV, and Grand Canyon University for the 2020–21 season.
Format
[edit]With ten member schools in the conference, beginning in the 2020–21 season, the WCHL is now divided into two geographic divisions for conference play. Each WCHL team will play a home-and-home series against every conference member within its division, as well as one home series and one road series against conference members from the opposite division, for a total of 20 WCHL conference games per season.
Potential expansion candidates
[edit]The West Division: BYU Hockey, if they're willing to part ways with the Mountain West Collegiate Hockey League and elevate to D-1 competition. And Utah State University, if Grand Canyon decides to dropped down to D-2 competition.
The East Division: The University of Northern Colorado who are the 2017, 2018, and 2019 champions of the Big Mountain Hockey Conference at the ACHA D-2 level.
Conference divisions
[edit]| The West | The East |
|---|---|
| Arizona | Colorado |
| Arizona State | Colorado State |
| Grand Canyon | Missouri State |
| UNLV | Oklahoma |
| Utah | Central Oklahoma |
Current Teams
[edit]| School | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | NCAA Conference | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | 1885 | Public | 38,057 | Wildcats | Big 12 (D-I) | |
| Arizona State University | Tempe, AZ | 1885 | Public | 69,317 | Sun Devils | Big 12 (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 | Big 12 (D-I) | |
| Colorado State University | Fort Collins, CO | 1870 | Public | 24,875 | Rams | Mountain West (D-I) | |
| Grand Canyon University | Phoenix, AZ | 1949 | Private For-Profit (Non-denominational) |
20,500 | Antelopes | WAC (D-I) | |
| Missouri State University | Springfield, MO | 1905 | Public | 22,385 | Bears | MVC (D-I) | |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NV | 1957 | Public | 30,704 | Rebels | Mountain West (D-I) | |
| University of Oklahoma | Norman, OK | 1890 | Public | 29,721 | Sooners | SEC (D-I) | |
| University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT | 1850 | Public | 33,058 | Utes | Big 12 (D-I) |
Conference Arenas
[edit]| School | Hockey Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Tucson Convention Center | 6,791 |
| Arizona State | New Multi-Purpose Arena (2022) | 5,000 |
| Central Oklahoma | Arctic Edge Ice Arena | 700 |
| Colorado | CU Student Rec Center | 700 |
| Colorado State | Edora Pool Ice Center (EPIC) | 700 |
| Grand Canyon | AZ Ice Arcadia | 200 |
| Missouri State | Jordan Valley Ice Park | 700 |
| Oklahoma | Artic Edge Ice Arena | 700 |
| UNLV | City National Arena; Henderson Event Center, (2022) | 600; 6,000 |
| Utah | Salt Lake City Sports Complex | 2,500 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Western Collegiate Hockey League To Begin Play in 2013-2014". ACHA. November 14, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
- ^ "Four New Teams Join Men's Division 1 for 2013-2014". ACHA. October 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
- ^ "WCHL ADDS MISSOURI STATE AND ARKANSAS FOR 2015-2016". WCHL. January 12, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
External links
[edit]- Official WCHL website
- Arizona Wildcats
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- Central Oklahoma Bronchos
- Colorado Buffaloes
- Colorado State Rams
- Grand Canyon Antelopes
- Missouri State Ice Bears
- Oklahoma Sooners
- UNLV Rebels
- Utah Utes