West Coast Hockey Conference

The West Coast Hockey Conference (WCHC) is an ACHA Division 2 club hockey league which began play in the Fall of 2010. The six charter schools were Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Northern Arizona and San Diego State.
==History==
The first game in conference history was played on October 1, 2010. San Diego State hosted Long Beach State and won 4-3. At the end of the regular season Arizona State was crowned the conference's first champion.http://lmuicehockey.com/ For the conference's second season and beyond a playoff will be held to determine the conference champion.
UNLV became the seventh member of the conference on April 16, 2011.http://www.wchchockey.com/ After the 2011-12 season Arizona State, San Diego State and UNLV became independent once again leaving the conference with four teams for the next two seasons.
Cal State Northridge became the fifth member of the conference on February 25, 2014.http://wchchockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/wchchockey/news-1569/news_163679
Northern Arizona left to become independent once again after the 2014-15 season and Arizona State's Pac-8 team transferred over to keep the conference membership at five.http://wchchockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/wchchockey/news-1569/news_307716
Arizona State left to become independent after one season and San Diego State rejoined the conference for 2016-17.http://wchchockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/wchchockey/news-1569/news_461065 
Chapman became the sixth conference member for the 2017-18 season.http://wchchockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/wchchockey/news-1569/news_472577 
The WCHC announced on May 14, 2018 UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and the University of San Diego were approved as members and San Diego State left to join the Pac-8 conference bringing the conference total to eight.http://wchchockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/wchchockey/news-1569/news_503366
The conference reached a new high in members with the addition of Cal State Bakersfield and UC Irvine for the 2019-20 season.http://wchchockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/wchchockey/news-1569/news_525137 In an effort to even out the skill level two tiers were created. Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount and UC Santa Barbara were placed in the top tier with the remaining five teams placed in the second tier. All top tier teams automatically qualify for the playoffs and the top two teams in the second tier qualify as well.
Cal Lutheran became a new member for the 2020-21 season while UC San Diego left the conference. CLU replaces UCSD in tier II keeping total membership at ten.
==Members==
School 	Location 	Founded	Joined	Affiliation 	Nickname 	Colors	Website
California Lutheran University	Thousand Oaks, CA	1959 	2020 	Private (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) 	Kingsmen 	 	
Cal State Bakersfield 	Bakersfield, CA 	1965 	2019 	Public (California State University System) 	Roadrunners	 	None
Cal State Fullerton 	Fullerton, CA 	1957 	2010 	Public (California State University System) 	Titans 	 	
Cal State Northridge 	Northridge, CA 	1958 	2014 	Public (California State University System) 	Matadors 	 	
Chapman University 	Orange, CA 	1861 	2017 	Private (Protestant) 	Panthers 	 	
Long Beach State 	Long Beach, CA 	1949 	2010 	Public (California State University System) 	The Beach 	 	
Loyola Marymount University 	Los Angeles, CA 	1911 	2010 	Private (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities)	Lions 	 	
UC Irvine 	Irvine, CA 	1965 	2019 	Public (University of California System) 	Anteaters 	 	None
UC Santa Barbara 	Santa Barbara, CA	1891 	2018 	Public (University of California System) 	Gauchos 	 	None
University of San Diego 	San Diego, CA 	1949 	2018 	Private (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities)	Toreros 	 	None
==Former members==
School 	Current Division (Conference)
Arizona State 	ACHA D-1 (WCHL)
Arizona State-Maroon	ACHA D-2 (PAC-8)
Northern Arizona 	ACHA D-2 (Independent)
San Diego State 	ACHA D-2 (PAC-8)
UC San Diego 	ACHA D-2 (Independent)
UNLV 	ACHA D-1 (WCHL)
==Team Histories==
*Cal Lutheran started their program in the mid-1980s and played in the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association until disbanding in the mid-1990s. CLU re-established their program in 2013.
*CSU Bakersfield started their program in 2018.
*Cal State Fullerton also previously played in the PCHA until disbanding in 2005. The Titans re-established their program for the 2008-09 season, played that year in Division 3 and then moved up to Division 2 for the 2009-10 season.
*Cal State Northridge founded the PCHA in 1972 along with UCLA and Cal Tech. The Matadors moved up to Division 2 for the 2012-13 season after making the Division 3 National Tournament in 2010 and 2012.
*Chapman started their program in 2010. The Panthers moved up to Division 2 for the 2014-15 season.
*Long Beach State also previously played in the PCHA. In the late 1990s The Beach moved up to Division 2.
*Loyola Marymount originally had a team from 1930 to 1942.http://lmuicehockey.com/History.html The Lions re-established their program in 2006.
*San Diego started their program in 2018.
*UC Irvine also previously played in the PCHA until disbanding in 2010. The Anteaters re-established their program for the 2019-20 season.
*UC Santa Barbara started their program in 2010. The Gauchos also previously played in the PCHA.
==Champions==
Year	Champion 	Runner-Up 	Host
2021	Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic	Not played due to the COVID-19 Pandemic	CSU Bakersfield
2020	Cal State Northridge 	Loyola Marymount 	Chapman
2019	Cal State Northridge 	Long Beach State 	Cal State Fullerton
2018	Cal State Northridge 	Long Beach State 	Loyola Marymount
2017	Cal State Northridge 	San Diego State 	Cal State Northridge
2016	Arizona State-Maroon 	Cal State Northridge 	Loyola Marymount
2015	Northern Arizona 	Cal State Fullerton 	Northern Arizona
2014	Northern Arizona 	Long Beach State 	Long Beach State
2013	Northern Arizona 	Loyola Marymount 	Cal State Fullerton
2012	UNLV 	Northern Arizona 	UNLV
2011	Arizona State (Regular Season) 	- 	-
==ACHA Division 2 Nationals Teams==
The WCHC has sent five teams to the Division 2 National Tournament.
2016 Host City: West Chester, PA
*Arizona State-Maroon
Liberty (L 4-1)
William Paterson (L 5-1)
Lindenwood (L 9-1)
2015 Host City: Salt Lake City, UT
*Northern Arizona
NYU (L 3-1)
Liberty (W 5-2)
Grand Valley State (L 7-2)
2014 Host City: Marlborough, MA
*Northern Arizona (Finished 9th)
New Hampshire (L 3-1)
Liberty (L 6-2)
Grand Valley State (W 6-2)
2012 Host City: Fort Myers, FL
*Arizona State (Finished 5th)
New Hampshire (W 7-1)
Maryland-Baltimore County (W 5-4 OT)
Michigan State (T 2-2)
*Northern Arizona (Finished 16th)
Grand Valley State (L 8-2)
Penn State (L 9-0)
Siena College (L 3-1)
==References==
==See also==
*American Collegiate Hockey Association
*List of ice hockey leagues
Category:ACHA Division 2 conferences
Category:Established in 2010