Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association

Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association was a college athletic conference which operated in the midwestern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. The conference included only men's teams. History The league was founded in 1998 with six teams: Benedictine University, the University of Findlay, Lawrence University, Marian University, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and Northland College. After one year in the conference, Benedictine dropped hockey, and Findlay moved to the Division I College Hockey America conference. The University of Minnesota Crookston joined in 1999. As a Division II school, Minnesota Crookston operated the hockey team with no scholarships like the other Division III members of the league. While they competed in the conference championship, they were ineligible for the NCAA Division III Tournament, but they were eligible for the Harris Cup. In 2007, in order to meet NCAA guidelines and receive an automatic bid for the Division III tournament, the NCHA mandated that all member programs be Division III by the end of the 2008–09 season. Minnesota–Crookston continued to play in the conference for the next two years but after the '09 season the university dropped varsity hockey and were replaced by Lake Forest. Finlandia University joined the conference for the 2004–05 season. Before the 2007–08 season, the MCHA added Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, and Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan.