Membership
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.
Despite most teams non-varsity status, the caliber of ACHA play can be quite high, especially in Division 1. 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 teams. Of all non-varsity sports activities, the ACHA-affiliated hockey teams generally garner the most attention at their universities, such as Missouri State University and the University of Kentucky where it is the 3rd largest spectator sport. The same can be said for the University of Arizona, draws the third-largest fan base behind football and basketball.
All ACHA teams are members of USA Hockey and the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA).
Read more about this topic: American Collegiate Hockey Association
Famous quotes containing the word membership:
“The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don’t acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead.”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. 1922)