Western Collegiate Hockey Association facts for kids
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a group of colleges and universities that play NCAA Division I hockey. These schools are located across the Midwestern and Western United States. Every season, they compete against each other. The teams that win the WCHA championship automatically get to play in the NCAA Division I men's and women's hockey tournaments.
What is the WCHA?
The WCHA is like a sports league just for college hockey. It brings together many schools to play exciting games. This league helps decide which teams are the best in college hockey. It's a big deal for the players and fans!
Who are the WCHA Teams?
Right now, 13 schools are part of the WCHA. Some schools have both men's and women's hockey teams in the league. Other schools only have a men's team. One school has only its women's team in the WCHA, with its men's team playing in a different league.
Here are the schools that are currently members:
- University of Alaska Anchorage (men's team only)
- Bemidji State University
- Colorado College (men's team only)
- University of Denver (men's team only)
- Michigan Technological University (men's team only)
- University of Minnesota
- University of Minnesota Duluth
- Minnesota State University, Mankato
- University of Nebraska at Omaha (men's team only)
- University of North Dakota
- Ohio State University (women's team only; their men's team plays in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association)
- St. Cloud State University
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
Big Changes for WCHA Hockey
The WCHA men's league saw some big changes in July 2013. Several teams moved to new leagues. This made college hockey even more interesting!
- The University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin are both part of the Big Ten Conference. They left the WCHA because the Big Ten started its own men's hockey league. However, the Big Ten did not start a women's hockey league. So, the women's teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin stayed in the WCHA. Ohio State's women's team also stayed in the WCHA.
- Six other schools also left to create a new league called the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. These schools were Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota–Duluth, Nebraska–Omaha, North Dakota, and St. Cloud State. Colorado College, Denver, and Nebraska–Omaha only had men's teams. The other schools' women's teams stayed in the WCHA.
- Five new schools joined the WCHA men's league. None of these schools have women's teams. They came from other hockey conferences:
- University of Alaska Fairbanks (often called "Alaska")
- Bowling Green State University (often called "Bowling Green")
- Ferris State University
- Lake Superior State University
- Northern Michigan University
Images for kids
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Locations of Western Collegiate Hockey Association member institutions.
