Western Collegiate Hockey Association

About

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference operating in the Midwestern United States, now competing exclusively as a women's-only league in NCAA Division I. The conference was originally founded in 1951 as the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League, becoming one of the most storied men's hockey conferences in the country before transitioning to a women's-only format. WCHA member teams won a record 38 men's NCAA hockey championships during the league's men's era, and WCHA schools also won the first 13 NCAA women's championships when that competition began in 2001. The women's WCHA currently fields eight members — Bemidji State, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State, Ohio State, St. Cloud State, St. Thomas, and Wisconsin — with the University of St. Thomas joining in 2021-22 after making an unprecedented transition from NCAA Division III to Division I. Wisconsin has been the dominant program in the women's era with nine national championships, followed by Minnesota with six, Minnesota Duluth with five, and Ohio State with two. The conference's men's division officially disbanded after the 2020-21 season when seven Midwestern members departed to reform the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The WCHA is headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota, and is led by Commissioner Michelle McAteer.