Western Collegiate Hockey Association

"WCHA" redirects here. For other uses, see WCHA (disambiguation).
Western Collegiate Hockey Association
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2024–25 WCHA women's ice hockey season
FormerlyMidwest Collegiate Hockey League (1951–53)
Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (1953–58)
AssociationNCAA
Founded1951
CommissionerMichelle McAteer[1]
Sports fielded
DivisionDivision I
No. of teams8
HeadquartersBloomington, Minnesota
RegionMidwestern United States
Official websitehttp://www.wcha.com
Locations
Location of teams in

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference.

From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a men-only league, adding women's competition in the 1999–2000 season. It operated men's and women's leagues through the 2020–21 season; during this period, the men's WCHA expanded to include teams far removed from its traditional Midwestern base, with members in Alabama, Alaska, and Colorado at different times.[2] The men's side of the league officially disbanded after seven members left to form the revived Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA); the WCHA remains in operation as a women-only league.[3]

WCHA member teams won a record 38 men's NCAA hockey championships, most recently in 2011 by the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. A WCHA team also finished as the national runner-up a total of 28 times.[4] WCHA teams also won the first 13 NCAA women's titles, which were first awarded in 2001.[5]

  1. ^ "WCHA Announces Michelle McAteer as Commissioner". WCHA.com. Western Collegiate Hockey Association. August 8, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference History was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Christensen, Joe (July 2, 2021). "WCHA's men's hockey era officially ends after 70 years". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "All-Time Championship Tournament records and results" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  5. ^ "National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Champions". National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey History. NCAA. Retrieved 2010-11-25.