HISTORY OF THE NCHA
MARIAN HOCKEY
It all started back in the late 1990’s, when a group of independent NCAA hockey
programs that all formed within the same time period came together to aid in scheduling
and provide additional competitive opportunities for their
programs. Hence, the Midwest Collegiate Hockey
Association was born prior to the start of the
1998-1999 season.
Charter members of the league
were Benedictine University (Lisle, Illinois),
The University of Findlay (Findlay, Ohio),
Lawrence University (Appleton, Wisconsin),
Marian University (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin),
Milwaukee School of Engineering
(Milwaukee, Wisconsin), and Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin).
The University of Findlay (OH) hosted the first-ever MCHA Tournament and claimed
the league’s first championship. After that inaugural season, Findlay left the league to pursue
NCAA Division I membership in hockey and Benedictine dropped their hockey program
moving them out of the league.
In the spring of 1999, the University of Minnesota at Crookston joined the MCHA to
bring the total membership to five institutions. The next addition to the MCHA occurred in
2004-05 when Finlandia University (Hancock, Michigan) joined the conference. After staying
at six members for three consecutive seasons, the MCHA saw expansive growth and moved
to eight teams for the 2007-08 season, as Adrian College
(Adrian, Michigan) and Concordia University (Mequon,
Wisconsin) joined the ranks of the conference.
The expansion did not stop there, as Lake Forest
College (Lake Forest, Illinois) was accepted into the league
and began play in the 2009-10 season, with MinnesotaCrookston leaving following the 2008-09 campaign to bring
membership to eight schools for the next four years.
None of this would have been possible without the dedicated and forward thinking
leadership of former MCHA President Dan Harris. Harris, currently the Athletic Director at
Milwaukee School of Engineering, spurred creation of the association and led it into the next
century. His leadership was so valuable to the conference, that the MCHA named the league
championship trophy after him when he formally resigned as the league president following
the 2001-2002 season.
Terry Brand, who was named the first commissioner of the league in the summer of
2005, was also instrumental, staying in that role until the end of the 2009-10 campaign.
Chris Zills started as the league’s Director of Public Relations prior to the 2000-01
campaign, maintaining all statistics, producing the weekly report, and administering the
MCHA website. Jim Olson, who was named to his post in July of 2007, completed the staff as
MCHA Supervisor of Officials, overseeing the league’s referees.
Under the new NCHA, those two staff members will keep similar roles, with Olson
overseeing all officiating matters. Zills and Brian Monahan, who previously worked behind
the scenes for the MCHA and NCHA to publicize their respective leagues, will be moving into
similar, but different roles moving forward for the “new” NCHA. Monahan will serve in the role
of Director of Public Relations, taking an active role in promoting, social media, blogging and
other “faces” of the media. Zills will be the Director of Sports Information, maintaining the
behind-the-scenes aspect of the communications department.
The Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association promotes sportsmanship and exists to
enhance the academic and athletic well-being of its participants. The members of the MCHA
are competitive with any college hockey program in the nation that competes at the NCAA
Division III or II level.
SabreHockey
@MU_Mens_Hockey