United Collegiate Hockey Conference

The United Collegiate Hockey Conference is men's and women's American collegiate hockey conference that started play with the 2017-18 hockey season.   The conference plays at the NCAA Division III level. 
The conference was announced on October 4, 2016.  The conference announced the inclusion of the following ten men's and women's teams  Chatham Cougars, Elmira Soaring Eagles, Hobart Statesmen, King's College Kings, Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen, Manhattanville Valiants, Neumann Knights, Stevenson Mustangs, Utica Pioneers, William Smith Herons.  The conference will also include the Nazareth Golden Flyers men's team.  The men's and women's Wilkes University Colonels will be also added to the conference playing an abbreviated schedule in 2017-18 and a full schedule in 2018-19. 
However, the Middle Atlantic Conferences announced on October 13, 2016 that they would start to sponsor men's and women's ice hockey also starting with the 2017-18 season.  The following teams were announced as being members King's College Kings, Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen, Manhattanville Valiants,  Stevenson Mustangs, and the Wilkes University Colonels which would appear to  eliminate five programs from the conference.  However, the MAC is using the same format that the Ivy League uses to determine its' champion as they use the ECAC conference games to determine their champion.
Wilkes University announced on November 9, 2016 that they were delaying the start of play for the men's hockey team until 2018-19 due to the head coach they had hired (Michael Young) deciding to remain as the head coach of the Westfield State Owls.  the school felt it would be in the best interest to delay the start to have time to hire a new head coach and give them a full recruiting cycle to develop a roster for the 2018-19 season.
In January of 2017 the Hobart Statesmen would be announced as withdrawing from the UCHC and joining the New England Hockey Conference for the 2017-18 season.
On April 13, 2017 Nazareth University announced the addition of women's ice hockey for the 2018-19 season.
On August 3, 2017 it was announced the Wilkes University Colonels were delaying the start of the women's hockey program to 2018-19 due to lower than anticipated roster size.
For the 2018-19 season, the men's conference changed the tournament format to first to three point playoff series for the semifinal and final rounds. The tournament was single elimination for 2017-18.
It was announced on August 29, 2019 that both teams representing Arcadia University located in Glenside, Pennsylvania will join the conference for the 2021-22 season.https://www.uscho.com/2019/08/30/arcadia-to-join-uchc-mens-womens-conferences-in-2021-22/
==Men's Membership==
Team 	Centre 	Arena 	Tenure
Chatham Cougars 	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 	Alpha Ice Complex 	2017-present
Elmira Soaring Eagles 	Elmira, New York 	Murray Athletic Center Arena 	2017-present
King's College Monarchs 	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 	Revolution Ice Centre 	2017-present
Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen	Annville, Pennsylvania 	Hersheypark Arena 	2017-present
Manhattanville Valiants 	Purchase, New York 	Playland Ice Casino (Rye, NY)	2017-present
Nazareth Golden Flyers 	Pittsford, New York 	Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex 	2017-present
Neumann Knights 	Aston, Pennsylvania 	IceWorks Skating Complex 	2017-present
Stevenson Mustangs 	Stevenson, Maryland &Owings Mills, Maryland	Reisterstown Sportsplex 	2017-present
Utica Pioneers 	Utica, New York 	Utica Memorial Auditorium 	2017-present
Wilkes University Colonels 	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 	Toyota SportsPlex 	2018-present
=== Former Members===
Team 	Centre 	Arena 	Tenure	Fate
Hobart Statesmen	Geneva, New York	Geneva Recreation Complex Skating Rink	2017 	join New England Hockey Conference before conference starts play
== Men's Champions==
The conference emerged out of the ECAC West and it inherited it's "B pool" status as either the UCHC champion or the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion was usually given a spot in the field for the conferences first two seasons. With the 2019-20 season the conference would earn its' first automatic bid to the tournament.
Season 	Regular Season	Tournament 	NCAA Tournament Teams
2017-18	Utica Pioneers	Utica Pioneers 	No bid to tournament
2018-19	Utica Pioneers	Manhattanville Valiants	Manhattanville Valiants (Quarterfinals)
2019-20	Utica Pioneers	Utica Pioneers 	Utica Pioneers  (Tournament Cancelled)
2020-21	Utica Pioneers	Elmira Soaring Eagles 	Tournament cancelled
2021-22	Utica Pioneers	Utica Pioneers 	Utica Pioneers
2022-23	Utica Pioneers	Utica Pioneers 	Utica Pioneers
2023-24	Utica Pioneers	Utica Pioneers 	Utica Pioneers
== Women's Membership==
Team 	Centre 	Arena 	Tenure
Alvernia Golden Wolves 	Reading, Pennsylvania 	Santander Arena & Body Zone 	2019-present
Chatham Cougars 	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 	Alpha Ice Complex 	2017-present
Elmira Soaring Eagles 	Elmira, New York 	Murray Athletic Center Arena 	2017-present
King's College Monarchs 	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 	Revolution Ice Centre 	2017-present
Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen	Annville, Pennsylvania 	Hersheypark Arena 	2017-present
Manhattanville Valiants 	Purchase, New York 	Playland Ice Casino (Rye, NY) 	2017-present
Nazareth Golden Flyers 	Pittsford, New York 	Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex 	2018-present
Neumann Knights 	Aston, Pennsylvania 	IceWorks Skating Complex 	2017-present
Stevenson Mustangs 	Stevenson, Maryland &Owings Mills, Maryland	Reisterstown Sportsplex 	2017-present
Utica Pioneers 	Utica, New York 	Nexus Center 	2017-present
Wilkes University Colonels 	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 	Toyota SportsPlex 	2019-present
William Smith Herons 	Geneva, New York 	Geneva Recreation Complex Skating Rink	2017-present
===Future Member===
Team 	Centre 	Arena 	Joining
Arcadia Knights	Glenside, Pennsylvania	Hatfield Ice (Colmar, Pennsylvania)	2021
== Women's Champions==
Season 	Regular Season 	Tournament 	NCAA Tournament Teams
2017-18	Elmira Soaring Eagles 	Elmira Soaring Eagles 	Elmira Soaring Eagles (Lost Final)
2018-19	Elmira Soaring Eagles 	Elmira Soaring Eagles 	Elmira Soaring Eagles (Lost Quarterfinals)
2019-20	Elmira Soaring Eagles 	Elmira Soaring Eagles 	
Elmira Soaring Eagles (Tournament Cancelled)
2020-21	Elmira Soaring Eagles 	 	Tournament cancelled
2021-22	Nazareth Golden Flyers	Nazareth Golden Flyers	Nazareth Golden Flyers
2022-23	Utica Pioneers 	Utica Pioneers 	Utica Pioneers
==References==
Category:Established in 2016
Category:NCAA Division III Conferences