National Collegiate Hockey Conference

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference was founded July 13, 2011.  The founding six members are Colorado College, University of Denver Miami University (Ohio), University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of Nebraska-Omaha, and University of North Dakota.  St. Cloud State and Western Michigan University accepted invitations to join the new conference.
The formation of the league was motivated by the decision of Penn State University to start a varsity hockey program in the spring of 2011.  This gave the Big Ten Conference enough members to start a Division I hockey league for the 2013-14 academic year.  The fall out also led to the demise of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association
The league is based out of Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Jim Scherr was named the league's first commisioner in January 2012.  He was replaced by Josh Fenton on July 1, 2013.
==Membership Changes==
*On July 5, 2023 the National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced the addition of the Arizona State Sun Devils Men's Ice Hockey team to the conference for the 2024-25 playing season. Arizona State previously played as an independent.https://nchchockey.com/news/2023/7/5/mens-ice-hockey-arizona-state-to-join-nchc-starting-in-2024-2025-season.aspx
==Arenas==
School 	Hockey arena 	Year built	Capacity
Arizona State 	Mullett Arena 	2022 	5,000
Colorado College	Broadmoor World Arena 	1998 	7,750
Denver 	Magness Arena 	1999 	6,026
Miami 	Goggin Ice Center 	2006 	3,200
Minnesota Duluth	AMSOIL Arena 	2010 	6,732
North Dakota 	Ralph Engelstad Arena 	2001 	11,640
Omaha 	Baxter Arena 	2015 	7,898
St. Cloud State 	Herb Brooks National Hockey Center	1989 	5,763
Western Michigan	Lawson Arena 	1974 	3,667
==First season==
The league took to the ice for the 2013-14 season with the eight teams being grouped into a single table. The first league games were held on October 18, 2013.  The regular season ended on March 8, 2014.  The regular season champions, the St. Cloud State Huskies, were awarded the Penrose Cup.
The league's inaugural post season tournament was NCHC Frozen Faceoff.  All eight members participated in the tournament  wiith the first round being a best-of-three held on campus sites (at the higher seed) involving teams paired off  as 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5. The semifinals and final were held  at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 21 and 22, 2014.  There was also a consolation game involving the semifinal losing teams.   The tournament winner, Denver Pioneers received an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey tournament.
==Second Season==
The league released a schedule involving the same eight teams as the previous season.  The conference championship will be held at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota April 20-21, 2015.
==Regular Season Champions (Penrose Cup)==
*2013-14  St. Cloud State Huskies
*2014-15 University of North Dakota
*2015-16 University of North Dakota
*2016-17 Denver Pioneers
*2017-18 St. Cloud State Huskies
*2018-19 St. Cloud State Huskies
*2019-20 University of North Dakota
*2020-21 University of North Dakota
*2021-22 Denver Pioneers/North Dakota Fighting Hawks
*2022-23 Denver Pioneers
==Frozen Faceoff Champions==
*2014 Denver Pioneers
*2015 Miami RedHawks
*2016 St. Cloud State Huskies
*2017 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
*2018 Denver Pioneers
*2019 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
*2021 University of North Dakota
*2022 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
*2023 St. Cloud State Huskies
==Seasons==
*2013-14 NCHC Season
*2014-15 NCHC Season
*2015-16 NCHC Season
*2016-17 NCHC Season
*2017-18 NCHC Season
*2018-19 NCHC Season
*2019-20 NCHC season
*2020-21 NCHC Season
*2021-22 NCHC Season
*2022-23 NCHC Season
==Sources==
*www.nchchockey.com
Category:NCAA
Category:National Collegiate Hockey Conference
Category:Established in 2011