NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament - History

History

In 1978, American universities became subject to the law often known as Title IX, approved by the United States Congress in 1972. It forbids discrimination against women in courses of study financed by the federal government.

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance..." —United States Code Section 20,

Title IX entitles women's ice hockey players to receive the same financing, time on ice rinks, and training as male players receive. There is resistance in the NCAA.

The NCAA Championship of Women's Ice Hockey began during the 2001/2002 season, although several university women's teams have been established since the early 1970s:

In 1965, Brown University created an ice hockey program for women students. The team's name was "Pembroke Pandas". The Pandas amassed funds for the purchase of their equipment during the matches of the male hockey team. In February 1966, the Pandas played their first match. Their opponents were the Walpole Brooms, a non-collegial team, and the Pandas lost by a score of 4-1. It was the first collegial women's ice hockey team in the United States. The women's ice hockey program of Cornell University began in 1971. The Big Red team competed for its first match in 1972. It won, 4-3, on Scarborough. In 1972, they played eight matches and lost half, including two defeats against the Pembroke Pandas. Yale University made its debut in women's hockey on December 9, 1975. The history is similar for University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of New Hampshire, and the Ivy League.

In 1976, Brown University would host the first ever Ivy League women's ice hockey tournament. Other rival universities were Cornell, Princeton, and Yale. Cornell Big Red won the tournament.

The Minnesota-Duluth University women's ice hockey team has an earlier history than all the others, having been established a few years earlier. The first women's ice hockey collegial tournament of North America was organized in 1978 at Minnesota-Duluth University. The University of Minnesota took the championship title in this first continental tournament. The tournament has grown year by year and the competition has gained several new university and college teams: (Dartmouth Big Green in 1978, Harvard Crimson in 1978-79, and Princeton Tigers in 1979.) At the beginning of the 1980s, women's ice hockey continued to grow and be accepted in university sports clubs.

In 1984, the Providence Friars took the inaugural championship of the new Women Eastern College Athletic Conference. However, in 1984 a university in Pennsylvania tried to derail Title IX. The university refused to sign a statement of conformity to Title IX and took the issue to court. In 1992, the Supreme Court of the United States status cut and when the plaintiffs can ask for compensatory damage to universities and colleges by virtue of the Title IX if the discrimination is deliberate. Consequently, in front of possible pursuits, bigger sporting variety are added for the students in universities including ice hockey. The NCAA leads from his part in 1992 a vast study on the equity between students men and women in sports. March 21, 1994, the State of Minnesota sanctions the law on women's ice hockey leagues as a school sport.

In 1997-98 season, the American Women's College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) makes its debuts. It is a program financed by United States Olympic Committee. The season 1997-1998 also sees the creation of the Patty Kazmaier Award, designed to recognize the most remarkable women collegial player thein every season. And in 1998 the first recipient is Brandy Fisher. The AWCHA organizes several competitions with collegial women's teams in ice hockey. The first championship of AWCHA ice hockey takes place in March, 1998: during finale New Hampshire Wildcats beats Brown Bears by a score 4-1, to become the first national champions recognized in the American collegial women hockey. In 1998-1999, Harvard Crimson ends its season with an form of 33 victories and 1 only undone. The team takes gains the AWCHA national championship. In 1999-2000, Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey triumph and are national champions AWCHA.

During the 1999-2000 season, Western Collegiate Hockey Association ( WCHA) joins Eastern College Athletic Conference ( ECAC) to try to create an American national collegial women ice hockey league. Twenty two teams are contacted. In August, 2000, the NCAA announces that it will set up a national division of women ice hockey with a national championship at the end of every season. The first season takes place of the autumn, 2000 to spring, 2001. March 25, 2001, the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs gain the first NCAA division I Women Championship by a victory 4-2 against St. Lawrence Skating Saints.