The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference.
From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a men-only league, adding women's competition in the 1999–2000 season. It operated men's and women's leagues through the 2020–21 season; during this period, the men's WCHA expanded to include teams far removed from its traditional Midwestern base, with members in Alabama, Alaska, and Colorado at different times.
WCHA member teams won a record 38 men's NCAA hockey championships, most recently in 2011 by the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. A WCHA team also finished as the national runner-up a total of 28 times. WCHA teams also won the first 13 NCAA women's titles, which were first awarded in 2001.
History
The league was founded in 1951 as the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (MCHL), then was known as the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (WIHL) until 1958. The WIHL disbanded in 1958 after Minnesota and the three Michigan schools withdrew in protest of Colorado College, Denver and North Dakota recruiting overage Canadians. While this didn't violate NCAA rules, the four "M" schools felt it violated the spirit of intercollegiate athletics.
The men's regular season conference champion was awarded the MacNaughton Cup, while the league's tournament champion winning the WCHA Final Five took home the Broadmoor Trophy.
2013 realignment
On March 22, 2011, Minnesota and Wisconsin announced that their men's teams planned to leave the league in order to form a hockey Big Ten Conference in 2013–14, along with Penn State, which would start a varsity hockey program in 2012–13, and Central Collegiate Hockey Association members Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State.
In response to the creation of the Big Ten men's hockey conference, Denver, Colorado College, North Dakota, Omaha, Minnesota Duluth, and St. Cloud State left the WCHA to join Miami University and Western Michigan of the CCHA to create the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Facing membership at 4 teams for the 2013–14 season, the WCHA conference added one of its former members, Northern Michigan of the CCHA, on July 15, 2011.
On August 25, 2011, the WCHA announced that it had invited the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bowling Green, Ferris State, and Lake Superior State to join beginning in the 2013–14 season. On August 26, 2011, Alaska-Fairbanks, Ferris State, and Lake Superior State accepted their invitations and joined Northern Michigan in the WCHA in 2013. After much deliberation, on October 4, 2011, Bowling Green decided to join the WCHA as well in 2013. On January 17, 2013, the WCHA admitted Alabama–Huntsville to the league, effective in the 2013–14 season.
This realignment activity only affected the men's side of the WCHA. Even after Penn State took the ice with both men's and women's teams, the Big Ten still had only four members with varsity women's hockey (Michigan and Michigan State field only men's teams). This meant that the women's side of the WCHA remained intact for the immediate future.
After realignment
The next change in the conference membership came shortly after the 2016–17 season, when North Dakota announced that it would drop women's hockey.
During the 2019 offseason, the future of the men's side of the WCHA fell into serious doubt when its seven Midwestern members—Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, and Northern Michigan—notified the WCHA that they would leave the league after the 2020–21 season, potentially forming a new men's hockey conference. In February 2020, these seven schools announced they would form a new CCHA.
At the time the seven Midwestern members announced their plans to leave, the two Alaska teams were facing a crisis following the veto by state governor Mike Dunleavy of over $100 million in funding for the University of Alaska system, a move that was seen as potentially ending intercollegiate athletics entirely at both the Anchorage and Fairbanks campuses. The cuts led the UA system to start the process of consolidating the three-campus system into a single accredited institution (though retaining the existing campuses), with the system president telling local media that a single accreditation would likely lead to the Anchorage and Fairbanks athletic programs being combined into a single program. While both campuses continued to sponsor men's ice hockey in the 2019–20 season, the future of at least one of the teams beyond that point was then seen as uncertain at best. Later developments saw many of the budget cuts pulled back, as well as a temporary halt to work on a single UA system accreditation; this led the UA system to announce that athletics at both campuses would continue as is through the 2020–21 school year.
In November 2019, Alabama–Huntsville submitted a withdrawal letter to the WCHA, stating that it also planned to leave after the 2020–21 season. At the time, UAH was discussing potential future options with the two Alaska campuses. However, UAH subsequently dropped hockey effective immediately on May 22, 2020, due to the financial impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic on its athletic department. On May 29, 2020, UAH President Darren Dawson announced that men's hockey would return for the 2020–21 season after more than $750,000 in private contributions were made in the week prior. This reprieve proved temporary, as the school and its hockey supporters agreed that the continuation of the sport beyond 2020–21 would be contingent on finding a new conference home; when no conference move materialized, the hockey program was dropped again (although UAH officially called it a "suspension").
In August 2020, Alaska Anchorage announced that it would drop hockey after the 2020–21 season. The University of Alaska Board of Regents offered the hockey team a chance at reinstatement in September if they could raise 2 seasons worth of expenses, approximately $3 million, by February 2021. The fundraising was divided into 2 parts: $1.5 million in cash, and the remainder in firm pledges. As of December 2020, the team had begun fundraising for the needed money.
The men's WCHA would fold after the 2020–21 season, The Summit League offered the Tommies a D-I home, and backed the school's bid to directly transition from D-III.
Members
The now women-only WCHA has 8 members following the 2021 arrival of St. Thomas. The men's side of the conference had 10 members in its final season of 2020–21, at which time only two schools, Bemidji State and Minnesota State, had both men's and women's teams in the conference.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
!scope=col| Institution
!scope=col| Location
!scope=col| Founded
!scope=col| Joined
!scope=col| Affiliation
!scope=col| Enrollment
!scope=col| Nickname
!scope=col| Colors
!scope=col| NCAA women's<br />Championship
!scope=col| Primary conference
|-
! Bemidji State University
| Bemidji, Minnesota
| 1919
| rowspan="6" | 1999
| rowspan=6 | Public
| 3,926
| Beavers
|
| 0
| Northern Sun (D-II)
|-
!
| Minneapolis & Saint Paul, Minnesota
| 1851
| 56,666
| Golden Gophers
|
| 6
| Big Ten
|-
!
| Duluth, Minnesota
| 1947
| 9,253
| Bulldogs
|
| 5
| rowspan="2" | Northern Sun (D-II)
|-
! Minnesota State University
| Mankato, Minnesota
| 1867
| 15,251
| Mavericks
|
| 0
|-
! Ohio State University
| Columbus, Ohio
| 1870
| 61,443
| Buckeyes
|
| 2
| Big Ten
|-
!
|
| 1869
| 10,164
| Huskies
|
| 0
| Northern Sun (D-II)
|-
!
| Saint Paul, Minnesota
| 1885
| 2021
| Private
| 9,445
| Tommies
|
| 0
| Summit League
|-
!
| Madison, Wisconsin
| 1848
| 1999
| Public
| 52,097
| Badgers
|
| 8
| Big Ten
|}
<!--
Future members
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"
!scope=col| Institution
!scope=col| City
!scope=col| State
!scope=col| Joining
!scope=col| Nickname
!scope=col| Teams
!scope=col| NCAA Championships
!scope=col| Current<br />Conference
|-
|}
-->
Final men's members
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
!scope=col| Institution
!scope=col| Location
!scope=col| Founded
!scope=col| Joined
!scope=col| Affiliation
!scope=col| Nickname
!scope=col| Colors
!scope=col| NCAA men's<br />Championships
!scope=col| Primary conference
!scope=col| Subsequent<br>conference
|-
|
| Huntsville, Alabama
| 1950
| 2013
| rowspan="10" | Public
| Chargers
|
| 0
| Gulf South (D-II)
|
|-
|
| Anchorage, Alaska
| 1977
| 1993
| Seawolves
|
| 0
| rowspan="2" | Great Northwest (D-II)
| rowspan="2" | Independent
|-
|
| Fairbanks, Alaska
| 1917
| 2013
| Nanooks
|
| 0
|-
|
| Bemidji, Minnesota
| 1919
| 2010 (men)
| Beavers
|
| 0
| Northern Sun (D-II)
| rowspan="7" | CCHA
|-
|
| Bowling Green, Ohio
| 1910
| rowspan="3" | 2013
| Falcons
|
| 1
| MAC
|-
|
| Big Rapids, Michigan
| 1884
| Bulldogs
|
| 0
| rowspan="3" | GLIAC (D-II)
|-
|
| Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
| 1946
| Lakers
|
| 3
|-
|
| Houghton, Michigan
| 1885
| 1951–1981<br />1984
| Huskies
|
| 3
|-
|
| Mankato, Minnesota
| 1867
| 1999
| Mavericks
|
| 0
| Northern Sun (D-II)
|-
| Northern Michigan University
| Marquette, Michigan
| 1899
| 1984–1997<br />2013
| Wildcats
|
| 1
| GLIAC (D-II)
|}
Other former men's members
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"
!scope=col| Institution
!scope=col| City
!scope=col| State
!scope=col| Joined
!scope=col| Left
! scope="col" | NCAA championships
! scope="col" | Subsequent<br />conference
! scope="col" | Current<br />conference
|-
!scope=row| Colorado College
| Colorado Springs
| rowspan="2" | Colorado
| rowspan="5" | 1951
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| 2 (1)
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" | NCHC
|-
!scope=row|Denver
| Denver
| 10 (7)
|-
!scope=row| Michigan
| Ann Arbor
| rowspan="2" | Michigan
| rowspan="2" | 1981
| 9 (5)
| rowspan="2" | CCHA
| rowspan="2" | Big Ten
|-
!scope=row| Michigan State
| East Lansing
| 3 (1)
|-
!scope=row| Minnesota
| Minneapolis & St. Paul
| rowspan="2" | Minnesota
| rowspan="4" | 2013
| 5 (5)
|colspan=2| Big Ten
|-
!scope=row| Minnesota Duluth
| Duluth
| 1966
| 3 (1)
| colspan="2" rowspan="3" | NCHC
|-
!scope=row| Omaha
| Omaha
| Nebraska
| 2010
| 0 (0)
|-
!scope=row| North Dakota
| Grand Forks
| North Dakota
| 1951
| 8 (7)
|-
!scope=row| Notre Dame
| Notre Dame
| Indiana
| 1971
| 1981
| 0 (0)
| CCHA
| Big Ten
|-
!scope=row| St. Cloud State
|
| Minnesota
| 1990
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| 0 (0)
|colspan=2| NCHC
|-
!scope=row| Wisconsin
| Madison
| Wisconsin
| 1969
| 6 (6)
|colspan=2| Big Ten
|}
Former women's member
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"
!scope=col| Institution
!scope=col| City
!scope=col| State
!scope=col| Joined
!scope=col| Left
! scope="col" | NCAA championships
! scope="col" | Note
|-
!scope=row| North Dakota
| Grand Forks
| North Dakota
| 2004
| 2017
| 0 (0)
| North Dakota terminated its women's ice hockey program.
|}
Membership timeline
<timeline>
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:01/01/1950 till:07/01/2025
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
AlignBars = late
Colors =
id:men value:rgb(0.6,0.6,1) legend:men
id:women value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) legend:women
id:both value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.8) legend:both
id:lightgrey value:gray(0.8)
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:Wolverines color:men from:07/01/1951 till:07/01/1981 text:Michigan (1951–1981)
bar:Spartans color:men from:07/01/1951 till:07/01/1981 text:Michigan State (1951–1981)
bar:Tigers color:men from:07/01/1951 till:07/01/2013 text:Colorado College (1951–2013)
bar:Pioneers color:men from:07/01/1951 till:07/01/2013 text:Denver (1951–2013)
bar:MTUHuskies color:men from:07/01/1951 till:07/01/1981 text:Michigan Tech (1951–1981, 1984–2021)
bar:MTUHuskies color:men from:07/01/1984 till:07/01/2021
bar:Gophers color:men from:07/01/1951 till:07/01/1999 text:Minnesota (1951–present)
bar:Gophers color:both from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2013
bar:Gophers color:women from:07/01/2013 till:end
bar:Sioux color:men from:07/01/1951 till:07/01/2004 text:North Dakota (1951–2017)
bar:Sioux color:both from:07/01/2004 till:07/01/2013
bar:Sioux color:women from:07/01/2013 till:07/01/2017
bar:Bulldogs color:men from:07/01/1966 till:07/01/1999 text:Minnesota–Duluth (1966–present)
bar:Bulldogs color:both from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2013
bar:Bulldogs color:women from:07/01/2013 till:end
bar:Badgers color:men from:07/01/1969 till:07/01/1999 text:Wisconsin (1969–present)
bar:Badgers color:both from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2013
bar:Badgers color:women from:07/01/2013 till:end
bar:Irish color:men from:07/01/1971 till:07/01/1981 text:Notre Dame (1971–1981)
bar:Wildcats color:men from:07/01/1984 till:07/01/1997 text:Northern Michigan (1984–1997, 2013–2021)
bar:Wildcats color:men from:07/01/2013 till:07/01/2021
bar:StCHuskies color:men from:07/01/1990 till:07/01/1999 text:St. Cloud State (1990–present)
bar:StCHuskies color:both from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2013
bar:StCHuskies color:women from:07/01/2013 till:end
bar:Seawolves color:men from:07/01/1993 till:06/30/2021 text:Alaska–Anchorage (1993–2021)
bar:Beavers color:women from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2010 text:Bemidji State (1999–present)
bar:Beavers color:both from:07/01/2010 till:07/01/2021
bar:Beavers color:women from:07/01/2021 till:end
bar:MMavericks color:both from:07/01/1999 till:07/01/2021 text:Minnesota State (1999–present)
bar:MMavericks color:women from:07/01/2021 till:end
bar:Buckeyes color:women from:07/01/1999 till:end text:Ohio State (1999-present)
bar:NMavericks color:men from:07/01/2010 shift:(-30) till:07/01/2013 text:Omaha (2010–2013)
bar:UAH color:men from:07/01/2013 shift:(-50) till:06/30/2021 text:Alabama–Huntsville (2013–2021)
bar:Fairbanks color:men from:07/01/2013 shift:(-41) till:06/30/2021 text:Alaska–Fairbanks (2013–2021)
bar:BGFalcons color:men from:07/01/2013 shift:(-25) till:07/01/2021 text:Bowling Green (2013–2021)
bar:FerrisSt color:men from:07/01/2013 shift:(-11) till:07/01/2021 text:Ferris State (2013–2021)
bar:LakeState color:men from:07/01/2013 shift:(-48) till:07/01/2021 text:Lake Superior State(2013–2021)
bar:StThomas color:women from:07/01/2021 shift:(-48) till:end text:St. Thomas (2021–present)
bar:Names color:lightgrey width:15 from:07/01/1951 till:07/01/1958
bar:Names color:lightgrey width:15 from:07/01/1959 till:end
at:01/01/1951 shift:(-4) text:MCHL
at:07/01/1953 mark:(line,black) shift:(10) text:WIHL
at:07/01/1959 text:WCHA
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1950
Legend = orientation:vertical left:58 top:150
</timeline>
Conference arenas
thumb|right|400px|Locations of Western Collegiate Hockey Association member institutions prior to the dissolution of the men's division.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col"| School
!scope="col"| Arena
!scope="col"| Capacity
|-
!scope="row"| Bemidji State
| Sanford Center
| 4,373
|-
!scope="row"| Minnesota
| Ridder Arena
| 3,400
|-
!scope="row"| Minnesota Duluth
| AMSOIL Arena
| 6,756
|-
!scope="row"| Minnesota State
| Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center
| 4,832
|-
!scope="row"| Ohio State
| Ohio State University Ice Rink
| 1,000
|-
!scope="row"| St. Cloud State
| Herb Brooks National Hockey Center
| 5,159
|-
!scope="row"| St. Thomas
| Lee and Penny Anderson Arena
| 4,000
|-
!scope="row"| Wisconsin
| LaBahn Arena
| 2,273
|}
Championships, Frozen Fours, and NCAA Tournament Appearances
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
! School
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
|-
| Bemidji State
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| Minnesota
| 6<br/>
| 3<br/>
| 16<br/>
| 21<br/>
| 11<br/>
| 8<br/>
|-
| Minnesota Duluth
| 5<br/>
| 2<br/>
| 9<br/>
| 16<br/>
| 3<br/>
| 6<br/>
|-
| Minnesota State
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| Ohio State
| 2<br/>
| 2<br/>
| 6<br/>
| 7<br/>
| 2<br/>
| 3<br/>
|-
| St. Cloud State
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| St. Thomas
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| Wisconsin
| 9<br/>
| 4<br/>
| 17<br/>
| 19<br/>
| 11<br/>
| 11<br/>
|}
Former Members
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
! School
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
! data-sort-type="number" scope="col" |
|-
| North Dakota
|
|
|
| 2<br/>
|
|
|}
Awards (men's)
At the conclusion of each regular season schedule the coaches of each WCHA team vote which players they choose to be on the two to four All-Conference teams: first team and second team with a rookie team added in 1990–91 and a third team added in 1995–96. Additionally they vote to award up to 5 individual trophies to an eligible player at the same time. The WCHA also awards a Most Valuable Player in Tournament, which is voted on at the conclusion of the conference tournament. Only the Coach of the Year award has been bestowed in each year of the WCHA's existence, making it the oldest continually-awarded conference award in Division I ice hockey.
All-Conference teams
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Award
!Inaugural year
|-
|First Team
|1959–60
|-
|Second Team
|1959–60
|-
|Third Team
|1995–96
|-
|Rookie Team
|1990–91
|-
|All-Tournament Team
|1988
|}
Individual awards
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Award
!Inaugural year
|-
|Player of the Year
|1960–61
|-
|Defensive Player of the Year
|1991–92
|-
|Goaltender of the Year
|1987–88
|-
|Sophomore of the Year
|1959–60
|-
|Rookie of the Year
|1969–70
|-
|Coach of the Year
|1959–60
|-
|Student-Athlete of the Year
|1986–87
|-
|Most Valuable Player in Tournament
|1988
|}
Team awards
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Award
!Inaugural year
|-
|MacNaughton Cup
|1951–52*
|-
|Broadmoor Trophy
|1985
|}
National Championships
WCHA schools have won 37 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey National Championships.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! School
|-
| 1951* || Michigan
|-
| 1952* || Michigan
|-
| 1953* || Michigan
|-
| 1955* || Michigan
|-
| 1956* || Michigan
|-
| 1957* || Colorado College
|-
| 1958* || Denver
|-
| 1960 || Denver
|-
| 1961 || Denver
|-
| 1962 || Michigan Tech
|-
| 1963 || North Dakota
|-
| 1964 || Michigan
|-
| 1965 || Michigan Tech
|-
| 1966 || Michigan State
|-
| 1968 || Denver
|-
| 1969 || Denver
|-
| 1973 || Wisconsin
|-
| 1974 || Minnesota
|-
| 1975 || Michigan Tech
|-
| 1976 || Minnesota
|-
| 1977 || Wisconsin
|-
| 1979 || Minnesota
|-
| 1980 || North Dakota
|-
| 1981 || Wisconsin
|-
| 1982 || North Dakota
|-
| 1983 || Wisconsin
|-
| 1987 || North Dakota
|-
| 1990 || Wisconsin
|-
| 1991 || Northern Michigan
|-
| 1997 || North Dakota
|-
| 2000 || North Dakota
|-
| 2002 || Minnesota
|-
| 2003 || Minnesota
|-
| 2004 || Denver
|-
| 2005 || Denver
|-
| 2006 || Wisconsin
|-
| 2011 || Minnesota Duluth
|}
<small>* Prior to 1959 the teams that formed the WCHA played in the MCHL or the WIHL.</small>
WCHA schools have won 19 NCAA Women's Ice Hockey National Championships.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! School
|-
| 2001 || Minnesota Duluth
|-
| 2002 || Minnesota Duluth
|-
| 2003 || Minnesota Duluth
|-
| 2004 || Minnesota
|-
| 2005 || Minnesota
|-
| 2006 || Wisconsin
|-
| 2007 || Wisconsin
|-
| 2008 || Minnesota Duluth
|-
| 2009 || Wisconsin
|-
| 2010 || Minnesota Duluth
|-
| 2011 || Wisconsin
|-
| 2012 || Minnesota
|-
| 2013 || Minnesota
|-
| 2015 || Minnesota
|-
| 2016 || Minnesota
|-
| 2019 || Wisconsin
|-
| 2021 || Wisconsin
|-
| 2022 || Ohio State
|-
| 2023 || Wisconsin
|-
| 2024 || Ohio State
|-
| 2025 || Wisconsin
|}