ACHA History
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 the ACHA quickly grew to over 150 teams in three men's divisions.
A Women's Division was added in 2000 with a second Women's division being added 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.
During the summer of 2009 the University of Alaska Fairbanks established a Women's Division Two team becoming the 49th state in the ACHA. Hawaii is currently the only state without an ACHA team.
Every year since 2003, the Men's Division 1 Showcase has been an event that features some of the top teams in the ACHA. The 2012 Men's Division 1 Showcase will be held at the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois from October 5th-7th.
ACHA partners with Fasthockey.com to broadcast many of the leagues games.
Read more about this topic: American Collegiate Hockey Association
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