The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) began as a men's collegiate hockey league in 1991, and quickly grew to a league of over 150 teams in three men's divisions. A Women's Division was added in 2000, and currently boasts five divisions (two women's now) with over 300 teams from across the United States. ACHA teams are non-varsity club teams without NCAA sanction; they offer no scholarships and typically receive far less university funding than is sufficient to cover expenses. Despite this informal status, ACHA teams attract considerable on-campus attention and the quality of play is considered quite high, especially in the top division.
The purpose of the ACHA is to support quality, unity, and regulation of four-year intercollegiate hockey programs nationwide and to help college players move into the pro hockey ranks. In order to do this, the ACHA has developed organizational by-laws and a Policies and Procedures Manual to provide the policy foundation for the organization as it works to fulfill its purpose. These documents are reviewed yearly at the ACHA's annual meeting.
The ACHA's policies cover team and player eligibility, rules of play, ranking procedures, national tournament procedures, and other administrative issues. The league holds its annual meeting in conjunction with the annual convention of the American Hockey Coaches Association, in the month of April in Naples, Florida.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association is a chartered non-profit corporation.
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is an organization of College/University affiliate programs which provides structure, regulates operations and promotes the quality of collegiate ice hockey.
II. MISSION STATEMENT
The ACHA's primary mission is to support the growth of four-year collegiate hockey programs nationwide. The ACHA identifies standards which serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level.
The ACHA shall emphasize academic performance, institutional sanction, eligibility criteria, standards of play and opportunities for national competition.
The ACHA promotes all aspects of collegiate hockey stressing the personal development of individual athletes as well as national recognition for member organizations.
ACHA History
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is an organization of College/University affiliated programs, which provides structure, regulates operations and promotes the quality of collegiate ice hockey.
The ACHA was established on April 20, 1991. Fifteen charter members met during the Chicago Showcase in Skokie, IL at the North Shore Hilton. These member teams had been playing college hockey for many years but wished to legitimize its play by standardizing some of its procedures.
The members that created the organization were: Tom Keegan (ACHA), Al Murdoch (Iowa State), Joe Battista (Penn State), Jim Gilmore (Ohio), Ernie Ferrari (Stanford), Howard Jenks (California-Berkeley), Jeff Aikens (North Dakota State), Don Spencer (West Virginia), Jim Barry (Navy), Scott Fuller (Navy), Leo Golembiewski (Arizona), Ron Starr (Depaul), Cary Adams (PCHA), Jim Warden (PCHA), and Jack White (UCLA).
The inaugural year of the ACHA was the 1991-1992 season. The goal of the organization was to create an impartial governing body to monitor national tournaments, player eligibility, and general oversight. Over the years, this initial goal has evolved into the organization's mission statement: The ACHA's primary mission is to support the growth of two-year and four-year collegiate hockey programs nationwide; The ACHA identifies standards that serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level; The ACHA shall emphasize academic performance, institutional sanction, eligibility criteria, and standards of play and opportunities for national competition; and the ACHA promotes all aspects of collegiate hockey stressing the personal development of individual athletes as well as national recognition for member organizations.
All ACHA teams are members of USA Hockey and joined the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) in 1999.
Membership
A map of all ACHA D1 men's hockey teams.
The ACHA has both men's and women's teams. The men's side is made up of three divisions of teams: Division I, II, and III. Each of the separate divisions has its own distinguishing set of guidelines. The women's side had one division, with its inaugural season started in 2000 with 15 teams. The ACHA added a second Women's division for the 2006-2007 season.
By the 2001-2002 season, marking their 10th year anniversary, the ACHA had a total of 179 teams registered with 33 teams in Division I, 100 teams in Division II, 18 teams in Division III, and 20 teams in the Women's Division.
By the 2002-2003 season that number raised to over 250 teams, with Division III adding over 80 teams alone.
By the 2003-2004 season the number raised to 278 teams: 40 teams in D-I, 124 teams in D-II, 87 teams in D-III, and 27 teams in the Women's Division.
By the summer of 2007 ACHA membership had reached 360 teams (M1-54, M2-190, M3-139, W1-32, W2-8), that cover 48 of the 50 states. (Alaska and Hawaii have no teams)
Despite most clubs' non-scholarship, non-varsity status, the caliber of ACHA play can be quite high, especially in D-I. Many large universities that do not sponsor hockey at the NCAA varsity level have become powerhouses, such as Ohio University, the University of Illinois, and Penn State. Additionally, several universities that do sponsor NCAA varsity hockey teams also field an ACHA-affiliated club team. Of all non-varsity sports activities, the ACHA-affiliated hockey clubs generally garner the most attention at their universities, such as the Missouri State University Ice Bears and the University of Kentucky where it is the 3rd largest spectator sport. The same with the University of Arizona, where no university funding goes to the team (along with no University promotion) but still draws the third largest fan base (behind football and basketball).
Logos
The original ACHA logo was created by Dave Kammerdeiner of the West Virginia University Art Department under the direction of Don Spencer for a cost of $50.
In August 2003, the ACHA held an official contest to design a new logo, with the winning school receiving free registration for the 2003-2004 season. The University of Washington's Husky Hockey team won the contest, with former graphic-design intern Tom Eykemans designing the new version of the logo (as shown above).
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