2022-23 American Collegiate season

This is the 2022-23 American Collegiate hockey season.
==New Programs==
*Rivier University in Nashua, New Hampshire announced that they would be starting new men's and women's hockey programs. Both will play an American Collegiate Hockey Association club schedule for 2021-22 and would transition to NCAA Division III status for 2022-23.
*The Lindenwood Lions men's ice hockey team is announced to begin play with the 2022-23 season elevating the three time national club championship team to varsity status.
*Augustana (South Dakota) Vikings men's ice hockey was announced as beginning play in 2023-24. The university is presently an all sports member of the NCAA Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, which is also the all sport home of Bemidji State University, University of Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State University, and St. Cloud State University. The university has announced its intention to jump in all sports from Division II to Division I by 2030. The university is building a 3,000 seat arena on campus which broke ground on October 5, 2021.https://www.uscho.com/2021/10/05/augustana-officially-announces-mens-division-i-hockey-program-new-rink-with-groundbreaking-ceremony/?fbclid=IwAR1PPSSzDW1_Grvvl7kSrlh3gjMFY9HtBoZp6VERjJ4xYED_3up2gvo0pik On May 17, 2022, they were announced as the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's ninth member. They will play a partial league schedule in the 2023–24 and 2024-25 seasons before playing a full league schedule in 2025-26.
*On July 9, 2019 the University of Pennsylvania men's and women's hockey teams presently playing in ACHA Division II would be working on an endowment that would first elevate the programs to ACHA Division I status with a goal of establishing NCAA Division I varsity programs within ten years for both men and women.https://www.uscho.com/2019/07/11/penn-announces-hockey-endowment-ncaa-hockey-on-tap-for-men-women/
*On November 16, 2021 Hilbert College in Hamburg, New York announces the formation of the Hilbert Hawks women's ice hockey which is due to begin play with the 2022-23 season, no conference affiliation was announced with the introduction of the program.https://www.uscho.com/2021/11/16/buffalo-area-hilbert-college-to-enter-ncaa-division-iii-womens-hockey-ranks-starting-with-2022-23-season/
*The Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders women's ice hockey program was announced on November 30, 2021. Chad Davis was announced as the team's first head coach on December 17, 2021.https://www.uscho.com/2021/12/17/milwaukee-school-of-engineering-tabs-former-rit-adrian-womens-coach-davis-as-first-coach-for-raiders-new-womens-hockey-team/ The team will likely begin play either with the 2022-23 or 2023-24 playing season as a member of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.
*On April 21, 2022 the North Adams, Massachusetts based Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts announced the return of the D-III level men's team, which had been dormant since 2003, and the addition of a D-III level women's team to begin play with the 2023-24 playing season.https://www.uscho.com/2022/04/21/massachusetts-college-of-liberal-arts-bringing-back-d-iii-mens-hockey-adding-d-iii-womens-hockey-for-2023-24-season/
*On April 14, 2023 the University of Dubuque announced the addition of varsity level men's and women's ice hockey teams at the NCAA Division III level both teams begin play with the 2023-24 season. Each team will be members of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association and will be based out of the Dubuque Ice Center in Dubuque, Iowa, which is also home of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League.https://www.uscho.com/2023/04/15/university-of-dubuque-starting-mens-womens-ncaa-d-iii-hockey-programs-for-2023-24-season-anticipates-transfers-from-finlandia-for-both-teams/https://udspartans.com/news/2023/4/14/mens-hockey-university-of-dubuque-to-add-mens-and-womens-hockey.aspx The university planned on absorbing much of Finlandia's defunct hockey program.
*In July of 2022 as part of the university's quarterly report Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York announced that it would be looking into the revival of men's ice hockey in the future.https://www.uscho.com/2022/07/25/binghamton-university-looking-at-possibility-of-adding-mens-division-i-college-hockey/ In April of 2023, Binghamton AD Gene Marshall announced that the school was planning to add men's ice hockey and women's field hockey for the 2024-25 athletic season.
*On April 27, 2023 Misericordia University, which is an all sport member of the Middle Atlantic Conference announced it would add a men's ice hockey as a member of the Division III United Collegiate Hockey Conference for the 2024-25 season. The team will be based out of the Toyota SportsPlex in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania which is also the home of the Wilkes University Colonels men's and women's teams.https://athletics.misericordia.edu/news/2023/4/27/mens-ice-hockey-misericordia-ice-hockey-to-join-uchc.aspx
==Cancelled Programs==
*On March 2. 2023 Finlandia University announced that the school would not be enrolling students for the fall of 2023 and would closing its' doors at the end of the 2022-23 academic.https://www.nchahockey.org/sports/mice/2022-23/releases/20230302vkq98t Finlandia had men's and women's teams playing in the NCAA Division III Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.
===Cancelled but Saved Programs===
*The Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey, Alabama-Huntsville Chargers men's ice hockey, Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey, and Robert Morris Lady Colonials ice hockey teams were all cancelled due to mostly financial reasons. All four programs would have a grassroots campaign started in an effort to save the programs. All four of these programs would be saved, but; due to the circumstances of each teams cancellation they would all end up being announced as returning for the 2022-23 season. On December 17, 2021 the return of the two Robert Morris programs was made official for the 2023-24 playing season.https://www.uscho.com/2021/12/17/robert-morris-announces-reinstatement-of-mens-womens-college-hockey-teams-for-2023-24-season/ The Robert Morris team was accepted back into the Atlantic Hockey Association for the 2023-24 season.https://www.uscho.com/2022/04/15/atlantic-hockey-reinstates-robert-morris-for-2023-24-college-hockey-season-schooley-remaining-colonials-coach/
==Possible Future Programs==
*Tennessee State University which is located in Nashville, Tennessee announced in May of 2021 that the university was forming an exploratory committee to examine the possibility of adding a men's varsity ice hockey program. The Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League in partnership with the NHL's diversity program were working with the university to support their efforts. If the university does add men's ice hockey it would be the first NCAA Division I men's program in the state of Tennessee and would also be the first team based out of a Historically Black College and University. On June 29, 2023 as part of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft festivities held in Nashville, Tennessee, the university would announce the addition of American Collegiate Hockey Association teams for 2024-25 for both men and women. The university would also be eyeing potential NCAA Division I programs for both men and women in the future,https://www.uscho.com/2023/06/28/tennessee-state-makes-history-announces-acha-hockey-for-2024-25-season-eyes-move-to-ncaa-d-i-for-mens-womens-teams/ possibly as soon as the 2026-27 season.https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2023/06/28_Tennessee-State-Starting-.php
*Other programs that had been mentioned include the University of Iowa and the United States Naval Academy have been mentioned as teams that could possibly be started. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers has also been mentioned in passing as another possibility; but, a gentleman's agreement (regarding adding new teams that the other campus already has with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, which would hurt recruiting for the other program of in-state talent) between them would seem to preclude this from happening. The athletic director for the Lincoln campus has since retired and this agreement could possibly be out the window.
*With the expansion of the NHL to the Pacific northwest other programs would become a possibility as the fan base for hockey in the region grows. The Pac-12 Conference has many schools which offer ACHA club hockey and with Arizona State University already having a varsity program, an expansion would make sense with the growth of ice hockey in those regions as the NHL has six teams in the regions as of the start of the 2021-22 playing season and 10 teams in the American Hockey League as of the start of the 2022-23 season. Numerous youth and junior level programs have started in the region as well with the North American 3 Hockey League, United States Premier Hockey League, and Western States Hockey League all having programs throughout the Western United States.
*At the beginning of May 2022 the Univeristy of Illinois announced they were dropping plans to add Division I hockey citing rising cost which included a 30% increase in the cost of a proposed new arena over the past two years and changes in the transfer process as well as dealing image and likeness rights.https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2022/05/02_Illinois-Drops-Plans-to-Add.php
==New Conferences==
On May 12, 2023 the State University of New York Athletic Conference announced it would be adding women's ice hockey for the 2023-24 season. The league is being formed out of the current members of the Northeast Women's Hockey League. The change over to the new conference will take place at the change over of the academic year on July 1, 2023.https://sunyacsports.com/general/2022-23/releases/20230512fqsr88
As part of a June 14, 2023 announcement of the provisional addition of the Anna Maria Amcats men's ice hockey team and the Rivier University Raiders men's ice hockey team to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference as affiliate members for the 2024-25 playing season the likely addition of women's ice hockey in the not too distant future.https://www.mascac.com/sports/mice/2022-23/releases/Affiliate_Addition_Announcement
==Conference Merger==
On June 6, 2023 Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America announced that they will fully merge operations for the 2024-25 season. Many of the leagues operations were already interlinked.https://chawomenshockey.com/news/2023/6/6/womens-ice-hockey-atlantic-hockey-and-college-hockey-america-to-merge-operations-in-2024.aspx
==NCAA Division I==
===Membership Changes===
*On January 29, 2020 the New England Women's Hockey Alliance announced it would be expanding for the 2021-22 season with the addition of the Stonehill Skyhawks women's ice hockey who are adding women's ice hockey. Stonehill College is located in Easton, Massachusetts. The team will be based out of the Bridgewater Ice Arena in nearby Bridgewater, Massachusetts.https://newhaonline.com/general/2019-20/releases/20191209do1o9v This would give the conference seven teams and make it eligible for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the 2021-22 season. The NCAA has not officially announced that the conference would be granted the automatic bid but the possibility exists that the tournament field may be expanded to fit the NEWHA automatic bid. However, due to issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic the university would announce on September 11, 2020 that it would be delaying the start of its' program until the 2022-23 season.https://www.stonehillskyhawks.com/sports/wice/2020-21/releases/20200911g35z1y
*On May 22, 2020 the University of Alabama, Huntsville announced that they were discontinuing the men's ice hockey program effective immediately citing financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chargers became the first men's Division I program to be ended since Wayne State University ended their program in 2008.https://www.uscho.com/2020/05/22/breaking-alabama-huntsville-dropping-mens-ice-hockey-effective-immediately-citing-budget/ The program would be saved less than a week later when supporters were able to raise over $750,000. A committee would be formed in an effort to provide for the long term survival of the program. As stated previously, the team will return for the 2022-23 season.
*Stonehill College located in Easton, Massachusetts who were previously a member of the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 in all sports including men's ice hockey would announce on April 5, 2022 that all teams at the college including the newly formed women's ice hockey team would be elevated to Men's Division I status. The men's team will play as an independent and the women's team would play as a member of the New England Women's Hockey Alliance. The men's team will not be eligible for the NCAA tournament for five years as part of rules involving the elevation of programs from Division II to Division I.https://www.uscho.com/2022/04/05/stonehill-mens-hockey-moving-from-ncaa-d-ii-northeast-10-to-ncaa-division-i-for-2022-23-season-womens-hockey-to-join-newha-in-22-23/ The women's team would not be subject to the restriction as the women's tournament is open to Division I and II teams.
*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
===2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season===
*2022–23 Atlantic Hockey men's ice hockey season
*2022–23 Big Ten men's ice hockey season
*2022–23 CCHA men's ice hockey season
*2022–23 ECAC Hockey men's ice hockey season
*2022–23 Hockey East men's ice hockey season
*2022–23 NCHC men's ice hockey season
*2022-23 NCAA Division I Men's Independents
*2023 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
===2022–23 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season===
*2022-23 College Hockey America Season
*2022-23 ECAC Women's Season
*2022-23 Hockey East Women's Season
*2022-23 NEWHA Season
*2022-23 WCHA Women's Season
*2023 NCAA National Collegiate women's ice hockey tournament
==NCAA Division II==
===2022–23 NCAA Division II men's ice hockey season===
*2022-23 NE10 Season
*2022-23 NCAA D-II and III Men's Independents
===Women's===
Presently all of the Division II women's ice hockey playing universities are members of the New England Women's Hockey Alliance. The NCAA's top level women's ice hockey championship is open to universities at both the Division I and Division II levels.
==NCAA Division III==
===Conference Changes===
None for 2022-23.
*On March 30, 2023 the New England Hockey Conference announced the addition of the the Salve Regina Seahawks men's ice hockey team and the Salve Regina Seahawks women's ice hockey team to the conference for the 2024-25 playing season. Both teams presently compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conferencehttps://www.uscho.com/2023/03/30/salve-regina-mens-womens-hockey-teams-to-join-nehc-starting-with-2024-25-season/
*As part of the May 12, 2023 announcement of the formation of a Women's State University of New York Athletic Conference for the 2023-24 season it is also announced that the Canton Kangaroos men's ice hockey tame will join the men's conference with the 2024-25 season.https://sunyacsports.com/general/2022-23/releases/20230512fqsr88
===2022–23 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season===
*2022-23 CCC Men's Season
*2022-23 MAC Men's Season 
*2022-23 MASCAC Season
*2022-23 MIAC Men's Season 
*2022-23 NCHA Men's Season
*2022-23 NEHC Men's Season
*2022-23 NESCAC Men's Season
*2022-23 SUNYAC Season
*2022-23 UCHC Men's Season 
*2022-23 WIAC Men's Season 
*2022-23 NCAA D-II and III Men's Independents
*2023 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
===Women's===
In July of 2022 the NCAA recomended the expansion of the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament to 11 teams from the present 10 teams.https://www.uscho.com/2022/07/18/ncaa-recommends-womens-hockey-national-tournament-bracket-move-from-10-to-11-teams/
*2022-23 CCC Women's Season
*2022-23 MAC Women's Season 
*2022-23 MIAC Women's Season
*2022-23 NCHA Women's Season 
*2022-23 NEHC Women's Season
*2022-23 NESCAC Women's Season
*2022-23 NEWHL Season
*2022-23 UCHC Women's Season 
*2022-23 WIAC Women's Season 
*2022-23 NCAA Women's Independents
*2023 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament
==NAIA==
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics added a sponsored conference in the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The initial conference to sponsor men's ice hockey is the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. According to a report in January of 2019; the NAIA never approved of the formation of the league.https://www.juniorhockey.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=93550
*2022-23 WHAC Season
==See Also==
*2014-15 American Collegiate Season
*2015-16 American Collegiate Season
*2016-17 American Collegiate Season
*2017-18 American Collegiate Season
*2018-19 American Collegiate Season
*2019-20 American Collegiate season
*2020-21 American Collegiate season
*2021-22 American Collegiate season
*2022-23 Canadian Junior Season
*2022-23 American Junior Hockey Season
*2022-23 Canadian U-18 AAA season
*2022-23 North American Professional Season
*2022-23 Canadian Senior Season
*2022-23 Canadian University Season
*2022-23 North American Women's Season
*2022-23 American Senior Hockey Season
==References==
Category:2023 in hockey