Established 1970 Members 6 | Division Division I Sports fielded Ice Hockey | |
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Association American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Region Midwest and Great Lakes | ||
The Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) is Division I ACHA level hockey-college athletic conference. The CSCHL is in its 39th season of existence and is one of the top ranked ACHA leagues. It currently has 6 member teams in the Midwestern United States.
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Format
League teams play a 20-game league schedule, plus additional regular season games against non-league opponents. Following the regular season, the league holds a Championship Tournament. The CSCHL Regular Season champion team is awarded an automatic bid to the annual ACHA Men's Division I National Tournament.
History
The league began in 1970 with Iowa State University being one of the founding members. The University of Illinois joined shortly after in 1974. The league saw great expansion in the early 1990s when the University of Michigan-Dearborn joined after operating as an NAIA varsity program. Ohio University followed in 1993 and Kent State University joined in 1994 after the university dropped NCAA hockey. Following the 2003 season, UW-Whitewater departed & dropped down to play ACHA D2. In 2004, Robert Morris University-Illinois joined the league, followed by Lindenwood University in 2006. After the 2008 season, Saint Louis University departed to play at the ACHA Division II level. At the conclusion of the 2009-2010 season, Eastern Michigan University, Michigan–Dearborn, and Western Michigan University left to join the new Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League. The CSCHL added Indiana University, who joins the league for the 2010-2011 season, after transitioning from ACHA II. Kent State departed for the GLCHL at the conclusion of the 2011-12 season.