The Bowling Green State University Department of Athletics has accepted an invitation to join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) for the 2013-2014 season.
“I’d like to thank the presidents of the institutions in the WCHA for extending this invitation,” BGSU President Dr. Mary Ellen Mazey said. “Our University and our hockey program has many similarities to the current WCHA members and we are excited to join with these schools in two years.”
The offer came on behalf of the presidents representing the WCHA teams that will comprise the Western Collegiate Hockey Association membership following the 2012-13 season. Offers were also extended to fellow Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) institutions Alaska Fairbanks, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University and Western Michigan University. Alaska Fairbanks, Ferris State and Lake Superior State announced their intentions to accept the invitation.
Along with its CCHA brethren, Bowling Green will join Alaska-Anchorage, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, and Northern Michigan in the WCHA.
“The WCHA is a great fit for BGSU,” Director of Athletics Greg Christopher said. “WCHA teams are committed to the highest level of college hockey and competing for championships, just as we are at Bowling Green.”
Bowling Green has played in the CCHA since its creation in 1971, and is the only founding institution to never leave the
conference.
The CCHA has yielded national collegiate champions, Hobey Baker award winners, and Stanley Cup champions in roughly 40 years of existence. CCHA players have combined for 174 All-American honors, including 88 First-Team selections. Bowling Green defenseman Ken Morrow was the CCHA’s first First-Team All-American in 1978.
As a member of the CCHA, Bowling Green has produced seven conference regular season championships, five conference tournament championships, nine NCAA tournament appearances, two frozen four appearances, and one national championship (1984).
The Falcons have also yielded two Hobey Baker Award winners (George McPhee and Brian Holzinger) as members of the CCHA.
“We’re building our program to compete for championships,” Head Coach Chris Bergeron said. “I’m excited about the
direction our program is headed and the league we are moving towards because of the opportunities it provides for us to continue to develop BGSU hockey.”
The shift in the hockey landscape started in March when the Big Ten announced that it would form a new conference for the 2013-14 season. Along with Minnesota, Wisconsin, and newly formed Penn State, the new conference will include current CCHA members Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State.
The creation of a second conference in July marked even more change for the CCHA, as reigning tournament champion Miami announced it would depart for the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2013. The rest of the conference will be made up of former WCHA schools including North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, Denver, Colorado College, St. Cloud State, and Nebraska-Omaha.
“We are committed to two more years in the CCHA,” Christopher said. “As one of the founding institutions of the league, Bowling Green hockey and the CCHA have been synonymous with each other. We will continue to build this program over the next two years to reach our goals when we begin play in the WCHA.”
Like the CCHA, the WCHA has been synonymous with college hockey success for decades. Since its inception in 1951, teams representing the WCHA have earned a record 37 NCAA championships, finished as the national runner-up 27 times, and qualified for at least one berth in the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four in 55 of 59 seasons overall.