Central Collegiate Hockey Association

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the current CCHA recognizes as part of its history, existed from 1971 to 2013. Four of its nine members are located in the state of Michigan, with three in Minnesota and one each in Ohio and South Dakota. It has also had teams located in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Nebraska over the course of its existence.

Central Collegiate Hockey Association

Association	NCAA
Founded	1971
Commissioner	Don Lucia (since 2020)
Sports fielded	Ice hockey men's: yes women's: no
Division	Division I
No. of teams	9
Headquarters	Deephaven, Minnesota
Region	Midwestern United States
Official website	ccha.com

The CCHA was disbanded after the 2012–13 season as the result of a conference realignment stemming from the Big Ten Conference (of which three CCHA schools; Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State, were primary members) choosing to sponsor Division I ice hockey beginning in the 2013–14 season. The remaining CCHA members received invitations to other conferences, such as the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), Hockey East, and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), which itself had been depleted by the Big Ten and NCHC. The conference's last game before its hiatus was the final of the 2013 CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, where Notre Dame beat Michigan 3–1 to win the Mason Cup championship.

On February 18, 2020, seven schools who had applied to leave the WCHA announced they would form a new CCHA for the 2021–22 season, citing a more compact geographic footprint and a desire to improve regional alignment, among other reasons. St. Thomas, a former D-III school, joined them later that year as the CCHA's newest member as well as the conference's eighth team.

History

Foundation

The CCHA began in 1971 as an NCAA conference composed of Bowling Green, Ohio, Ohio State and Saint Louis.^[1] After adding Lake Superior State for year two, both Ohio State and Ohio withdrew from the conference, leaving the CCHA with a scant 3 members. Despite the trouble, the three teams rode out the rough patch and the league began to grow with the addition of Western Michigan and the return of Ohio State.^[2]

NCAA acceptance

Up until 1976 the NCAA had only offered bids to the tournament from teams in either ECAC Hockey or the WCHA. Because those were the only two Division I conferences for most years there was no controversy but, after the CCHA had proved to be more than just a flash in the pan, the tournament had to change. Beginning with the 1977 Championship the NCAA allowed itself the freedom to add up to four additional teams to the tournament with the understanding that the CCHA tournament champion would receive one of the additional bids. Bowling Green won the first tournament game for the conference but it was not until Northern Michigan reached the championship game in 1980 that the league began to gain acceptance.

WCHA defectors

1981 saw a major shift in college ice hockey with four teams from the WCHA defecting to the CCHA. The move was done as a way to reduce travel costs as well as provide the new team with a better chance at making the NCAA Tournament (many of the CCHA teams were still seen as lesser programs). Michigan State made the tournament in its first three season of CCHA play but it was founding member Bowling Green that won the conference's first national championship in 1984.^[3]

National prominence

Bill Beagan served as commissioner of the CCHA from 1985 to 1998.^[4] He implemented a pre-season training camp for referees, despite the officials going on strike in protest.^[5] He developed a working relationship with the NHL to develop future officials in collegiate hockey.^[6]

He sought to have CCHA games televised as a game-of-the-week,^[4] and signed the first national television contract for colleges in the United States.^[7] He brought in cable television partners which included the Pro Am Sports System and Fox Sports Net.^[6] He introduced instant replay to the CCHA in 1993, to be used at its league championships, and arranged for the CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament finals to be played at Joe Louis Arena.^[8] He was credited with coining the phrase, "Road to the Joe", in reference to end-of-year tournament culminating at the Joe Louis Arena.^[5]

Prior to Beagan's arrival, the CCHA had not been a profitable association. After 10 years as commissioner, the league had made $4 million.^[7][4] Profits were shared with the schools, which were reinvested into hockey programs and new arenas.^[4] On-ice results improved during his tenure, and CCHA teams won six NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament championships.^[7][4] In addition, Beagan convinced the University of Notre Dame to resurrect its hockey program in 1992.^[4]

Building on Bowling Green State's national title in 1984, the CCHA established itself further as the Michigan State Spartans won their second national championship and first as a member of the CCHA in 1986, and the Lake Superior State Lakers won the 1988 national championship, their first NCAA championship.^[9] The Lake Superior State Lakers would continue their NCAA success by winning both the 1992 and 1994 NCAA ice hockey championships and finishing as the national runner-up in 1993.^[9] In addition to the success of the Lakers and Spartans, the Michigan Wolverines began a streak of 22 consecutive tournament appearances in 1991 and won national titles in 1996 and 1998.^[9] While the conference and most of its teams were stable throughout the early 21st century, the CCHA suffered a mortal blow at the end of the decade.

Realignment and discontinuation

See also: 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment: Ice hockey

Pennsylvania State University announced on September 17, 2010 the transition of its men's and women's American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) programs to NCAA Division I status in 2012.^[10] Just over a month earlier, then-commissioner Tom Anastos publicly stated that the CCHA would strongly consider adding Penn State as the conference's 12th member.^[11] Instead, the league was left to deal with the imminent departures of Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State when the Big Ten Conference disclosed on March 21, 2011 its intention to establish a men's ice hockey circuit to begin play in the 2013–14 season, as the conference now had enough hockey teams to earn an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament for its champion.^[12] Joining the existing CCHA members were the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin from the WCHA, as well as Penn State.^[12]

The next school slated to leave the CCHA in 2013 was Miami University which became a charter member of the NCHC on July 15, 2011.^[13] Western Michigan accepted an invitation to join the new league just over two months later on September 22.^[14]

The demise of the CCHA was further accelerated when five members decided to move to the WCHA following the 2012–13 campaign. Northern Michigan University, returning to the WCHA after leaving in 1997, was the first to make the announcement on July 20,^[15] followed by Alaska, Ferris State and Lake Superior State on August 26^[16] and Bowling Green on October 4.^[17]

Notre Dame accepted an invitation to the Hockey East Association in a press conference on October 5, 2011.^[18]

Revival

On June 28, 2019, seven schools from the ten-member WCHA began the process of withdrawing from the conference, with the intent of forming a new conference for the 2021–22 season. These seven schools were Bemidji State, Bowling Green (who had retained the rights to the CCHA name), Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State and Northern Michigan. The seven schools cited a more compact geographic footprint as one reason for the move; the remaining three WCHA members, Alabama-Huntsville, Alaska and Alaska–Anchorage, all geographic outliers in the WCHA, were notably absent.^[19] On February 18, 2020 these seven schools announced they would begin competing in a new CCHA in 2021–22.^[20] Later that year, the University of St. Thomas, a former D-III school who had been granted a waiver by the NCAA earlier in the year to transition directly to D-I, was announced to be joining the new CCHA as a member on July 29, 2020, bringing the membership up to an even eight teams.^[21]

Don Lucia, a former head coach at Alaska, Colorado College, and Minnesota, was named as commissioner of the new CCHA on June 17, 2020.^[22] A new league logo was introduced shortly thereafter.^[23]

On May 17, 2022, Augustana University was announced as the league's ninth member. The Vikings will play a partial league schedule in the 2023–24 and 2024-25 seasons before playing a full league schedule in 2025-26.^[24]

Current members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Joined	Women's conference	Previous conference	Primary conference	Colors
Augustana University	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Vikings	1860	Private/Lutheran (ELCA)	2,080	2023	N/A	N/A	NSIC (NCAA D-II)
Bemidji State University	Bemidji, Minnesota	Beavers	1919	Public	6,354	2021	WCHA	WCHA	NSIC (NCAA D-II)
Bowling Green State University	Bowling Green, Ohio	Falcons	1910	Public	20,395	2021^[a]	N/A	WCHA	MAC
Ferris State University	Big Rapids, Michigan	Bulldogs	1884	Public	14,707	2021^[b]	N/A	WCHA	GLIAC (NCAA D-II)
Lake Superior State University	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	Lakers	1946	Public	2,637	2021^[c]	N/A	WCHA	GLIAC (NCAA D-II)
Michigan Technological University	Houghton, Michigan	Huskies	1885	Public	7,270	2021^[d]	N/A	WCHA	GLIAC (NCAA D-II)
Minnesota State University	Mankato, Minnesota	Mavericks	1868	Public	17,357	2021	WCHA	WCHA	NSIC (NCAA D-II)
Northern Michigan University	Marquette, Michigan	Wildcats	1899	Public	6,764	2021^[e]	N/A	WCHA	GLIAC (NCAA D-II)
University of St. Thomas	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Tommies	1885	Private/Catholic (diocesan)	9,878	2021	WCHA	MIAC (NCAA D-III)	Summit

1. Bowling Green was previously a member of the CCHA from 1971 to 2013.
2. Ferris State was previously a member of the CCHA from 1978 to 2013.
3. Lake Superior State was previously a member of the CCHA from 1972 to 2013.
4. Michigan Tech was previously a member of the CCHA from 1981 to 1984.
5. Northern Michigan was previously a member of the CCHA from 1977 to 1984, and again from 1997 to 2013.

Central Collegiate Hockey Association

 

 

 

 

 

200km
125miles

 

Augustana

 

St. Thomas

 

Northern Michigan

 

Minnesota State

 

Michigan Tech

 

Lake Superior State

 

Ferris State

 

Bowling Green

 

Bemidji State

  

Current CCHA members:   full member

Former members

Institution	Location	Nickname	Founded	Affiliation	Joined	Left	Subsequent conference	Current conference
University of Alaska Fairbanks	Fairbanks, Alaska	Nanooks	1917	Public	1995	2013	WCHA	Independent
University of Illinois at Chicago	Chicago, Illinois	Flames	1946	Public	1982	1996	dropped program as school sponsored sport
Kent State University	Kent, Ohio	Golden Flashes	1910	Public	1992	1994	dropped program as school sponsored sport
Miami University	Oxford, Ohio	RedHawks	1809	Public	1980	2013	NCHC
University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Wolverines	1817	Public	1981	2013	Big Ten
Michigan State University	East Lansing, Michigan	Spartans	1855	Public	1981	2013	Big Ten
University of Nebraska Omaha	Omaha, Nebraska	Mavericks	1908	Public	1999	2010	WCHA	NCHC
University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, Indiana	Fighting Irish	1842	Private/Catholic	1981 1992	1983 2013	Dropped to club status Hockey East	Big Ten
Ohio University	Athens, Ohio	Bobcats	1804	Public	1971	1973	dropped program as school sponsored sport
Ohio State University	Columbus, Ohio	Buckeyes	1870	Public	1971 1975	1973 2013	Independent Big Ten	Big Ten
Saint Louis University	St. Louis, Missouri	Billikens	1818	Private/Catholic	1971	1979	dropped program as school sponsored sport
Western Michigan University	Kalamazoo, Michigan	Broncos	1903	Public	1975	2013	NCHC

Membership timeline

^[25]

Regular-season champions

For the list of CCHA Tournament champions, see List of CCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament champions.

1972 Ohio State/Saint Louis 1973 Saint Louis 1974 Lake Superior State/Saint Louis 1975 Saint Louis 1976 Bowling Green 1977 Saint Louis 1978 Bowling Green 1979 Bowling Green 1980 Northern Michigan 1981 Northern Michigan 1982 Bowling Green 1983 Bowling Green 1984 Bowling Green 1985 Michigan State 1986 Michigan State 1987 Bowling Green 1988 Lake Superior State 1989 Michigan State 1990 Michigan State 1991 Lake Superior State 1992 Lake Superior State 1993 Miami

1994 Michigan 1995 Michigan 1996 Lake Superior State/Michigan 1997 Michigan 1998 Michigan State 1999 Michigan State 2000 Michigan 2001 Michigan State 2002 Michigan 2003 Ferris State 2004 Michigan 2005 Michigan 2006 Miami 2007 Notre Dame 2008 Michigan 2009 Notre Dame 2010 Miami 2011 Michigan 2012 Ferris State 2013 Miami 2022 Minnesota State 2023 Minnesota State 2024 Bemidji State

Conference records

Team's records against current conference opponents. (As of the end of the 2020-21 season.)

School	Bemidji State			Bowling Green			Ferris State			Lake Superior State			Michigan Tech			Minnesota State			Northern Michigan			St. Thomas			Total
	W	L	T	W	L	T	W	L	T	W	L	T	W	L	T	W	L	T	W	L	T	W	L	T	W	L	T	Win%
Bemidji State				13	15	3	16	12	5	33	36	6	18	16	6	61	62	21	15	8	6	24	3	1	180	152	48	.537
Bowling Green	15	13	3				76	60	13	86	78	13	19	19	5	9	17	3	57	53	10	0	0	0	263	241	47	.520
Ferris State	12	16	5	60	76	13				57	77	15	16	24	1	8	29	2	31	69	6	2	0	0	186	291	42	.399
Lake Superior State	36	33	6	78	86	13	77	57	15				25	49	8	3	25	1	48	75	13	1	0	0	268	325	56	.456
Michigan Tech	16	18	6	19	19	5	24	16	1	49	25	8				23	43	10	76	76	13	10	3	1	217	200	44	.518
Minnesota State	62	61	21	18	10	3	29	8	2	25	3	1	43	23	10				18	6	3	16	9	2	198	131	42	.590
Northern Michigan	8	15	6	53	57	10	69	31	6	75	48	13	76	76	13	6	18	3				0	0	0	287	245	51	.536
St. Thomas	3	24	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	3	10	1	9	16	2	0	0	0				15	53	4	.236

Conference arenas

School	Arena	Location	Capacity
Augustana	Midco Arena	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	3,082
Bemidji State	Sanford Center	Bemidji, Minnesota	4,700
Bowling Green	Slater Family Ice Arena	Bowling Green, Ohio	5,000
Ferris State	Robert L. Ewigleben Arena	Big Rapids, Michigan	2,493
Lake Superior State	Taffy Abel Arena	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	4,000
Michigan Tech	MacInnes Student Ice Arena	Houghton, Michigan	4,466^[26]
Minnesota State	Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center	Mankato, Minnesota	4,832
Northern Michigan	Berry Events Center	Marquette, Michigan	3,902
St. Thomas	St. Thomas Ice Arena	Mendota Heights, Minnesota	1,000

Awards

At the conclusion of each regular season schedule the coaches of each CCHA team vote which players they choose to be on the three All-Conference Teams:^[27] first team, second team and rookie team. Additionally they vote to award up to 9 of the 12 individual trophies to an eligible player at the same time (depending upon the year). The CCHA also awards a Perani Cup, a Humanitarian Award, which are awarded rather than voted upon, and a Most Valuable Player in Tournament which is voted on at the conclusion of the conference tournament. None of the individual awards conferred by the CCHA have been given for the entire existence of the conference. Only the Tournament MVP was awarded in the inaugural CCHA season, but that award was discontinued thereafter until 1982.^[28][29][30] Several of the aforementioned awards were revived along with the league in 2021–22. The awards presented by the original CCHA for best offensive and defensive defenseman were merged into a single award for best defenseman, and the original CCHA's award for best defensive forward was folded into the award for best forward.^[31]

All-Conference Teams Award Inaugural Year First Team 1972–73 Second Team 1972–73 Rookie Team 1988–89 All-Tournament Team 1972

Individual awards Current Award Inaugural Year Player of the Year 1976–77 Forward of the Year 2021–22 Defenseman of the Year 2021–22 Goaltender of the Year 2000–01 Rookie of the Year 1978–79 Best Defensive Forward 1989–90 Best Defensive Defenseman 1989–90 Coach of the Year 1975–76 Most Valuable Player in Tournament 1972 Former Award Inaugural Year Best Offensive Defenseman 1989–90 Terry Flanagan Memorial Award 1992–93 Mike and Marian Ilitch Humanitarian Award 2000–01 Perani Cup 2002–03 Scholar-Athlete of the Year 2004–05

All-Decade Teams

1970s All-Decade Team

1970s All-Decade Team^[32]

First Team F Steve Bozek, 1978–81, Northern Michigan F Bill Joyce, 1976–80, Northern Michigan F John Markell, 1975–79, Bowling Green D Tom Laidlaw, 1976–80, Northern Michigan D Ken Morrow, 1975–79, Bowling Green G Mike Liut, 1973–77, Bowling Green

Second Team F Bob Dobek, 1972–75, Bowling Green F Rick Kennedy, 1971–75, Saint Louis F Mark Wells, 1975–79, Bowling Green D Roger Archer, 1971–75, Bowling Green D Tom Davies, 1970–74, D, Lake Superior State D Don Waddell, 1976–80, Northern Michigan G Steve Weeks, 1976–1980, Northern Michigan

1980s All-Decade Team

1980s All-Decade Team^[32]

First Team F Nelson Emerson, 1986–90, Bowling Green F George McPhee, 1978–82, Bowling Green F Kip Miller, 1986–90, Michigan State D Rob Blake, 1987–90, Bowling Green D Wayne Gagné, 1983–87, Western Michigan G Ron Scott, 1980–83, Michigan State

Second Team F Dan Dorion, 1982–86, Western Michigan F Brian Hills, 1979–83, Bowling Green F Paul Pooley, 1981–84, Ohio State D Garry Galley, 1981–84, Bowling Green D Don McSween, 1983–87, Michigan State G Gary Kruzich, 1983–87, Bowling Green

1990s All-Decade Team

1990s All-Decade Team^[32]

First Team F Jim Dowd, 1987–91, Lake Superior State F Brendan Morrison, 1993–97, Michigan F Mike York, 1995–99, Michigan State D Keith Aldridge, 1992–96, Lake Superior State D Mark Astley, 1988–92, Lake Superior State G Marty Turco, 1994–98, Michigan

Second Team F Denny Felsner, 1988–92, Michigan F Brian Holzinger, 1991–95, Bowling Green F Dwayne Norris, 1988–92, Michigan State D Dan Boyle, 1994–98, Miami D Mike Weaver, 1996–00, Michigan State G Darrin Madeley, 1989–92, Lake Superior State

2000-2013 All-Decade Team

2000-2013 All-Decade Team^[33]

First Team F T. J. Hensick, 2003–07, Michigan F Chris Kunitz, 1999–03, Ferris State F Kevin Porter, 2004–08, Michigan D Andy Greene, 2002–06, Miami D John-Michael Liles, 1999–03, Michigan State G Ryan Miller, 1999–02, Michigan State

Second Team F Ryan Jones, 2004–08, Miami F Andy Miele, 2007–11, Miami F Scott Parse, 2003–07, Omaha D Brad Fast, 1999–03, Michigan State D Greg Zanon, 1999–03, Omaha G Cody Reichard, 2008–12, Miami

References

1. "History of the CCHA". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
2. "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
3. "Official 2008 NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Records Book" (PDF). Official ... NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Records Book. Indianapolis: National Collegiate Athletic Association: 54, 58. ISSN 1089-0092. Retrieved 2008-05-23.^{[permanent dead link]}
4. Bacon, John U. (2001). Blue Ice: The Story of Michigan Hockey. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. pp. 284–288. ISBN 0-472-09781-4 – via Google Books.
5. Mackinder, Matt (September 22, 2011). "Checking In: Former CCHA commissioner Bill Beagan". U.S. College Hockey Online. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
6. "Bill Beagan". Bobby Orr Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
7. "Bill Beagan Was A CCHA Commissioner and NHL Referee". History-Articles.com. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
8. Wallace, William N. (December 22, 1993). "College Hockey Report". The New York Times. New York, New York. p. B14.
9. "DI Men's Ice Hockey Championship History | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
10. . Archived from the original on September 3, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
11. Gholston, Sandy (August 10, 2010). "Anastos to the Detroit News: Penn State 'very attractive' to the CCHA". Mlive.com. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
12. Staff (March 21, 2011). "Big Ten confirms plan to sponsor hockey starting in 2013–14 season". USCHO. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
13. . Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
14. . Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
15. "Northern Michigan to Rejoin WCHA Family," Western Collegiate Hockey Association press release, Wednesday, July 20, 2011.
16. . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
17. "Bowling Green State University to Join WCHA Family," Western Collegiate Hockey Association press release, Wednesday, October 4, 2011.
18. "Notre Dame joining Hockey East". Associated Press. October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
19. "Statement Regarding Hockey League Affiliation" (Press release). Bowling Green Falcons. June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
20. Johnson, Randy (February 18, 2020). "CCHA will be new name for seven teams leaving WCHA in 2021-22". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
21. "New Central Collegiate Hockey Association Welcomes the University of St. Thomas" (Press release). Central Collegiate Hockey Association. July 29, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
22. "Ex-Minnesota coach Don Lucia picked to run new CCHA hockey league". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 17, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
23. "CCHA Introduces New Logo" (Press release). Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
24. "CCHA Grants Membership to Augustana University" (Press release). Central Collegiate Hockey Association. May 17, 2022.
25. "Michigan Tech Athletics" (PDF). Michigan Tech Athletics. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
26. "Tech-Northern Rivalry Resumes on Ice This Weekend". 19 February 2014.
27. "Henderson and Odegard Recipients of CCHA Major Awards". Alaska Nanooks. 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
28. "CCHA Awards". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
29. "All-CCHA Teams". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
30. "CCHA All-Rookie Teams". College Hockey Historical Archive. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
31. "CCHA to announce annual awards this week" (Press release). Central Collegiate Hockey Association. March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
32. "CCHA Announces All-Decade Teams". March 29, 2001.
33. . January 23, 2013. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013.

External links

• Official CCHA site