NCAA Division III women's ice hockey

The NCAA Division III women's ice hockey is a college ice hockey competition governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as part of the NCAA Division III (DIII or D3). Sixty-seven teams competed in NCAA Division III women's hockey across eight conferences in the 2023–24 season.

Conferences

Conference affiliations and the conferences themselves experienced numerous changes in the later part of the 2010s. The most substantial alterations occurred with the founding of the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) in 2015 and the folding of ECAC West in 2017, which precipitated the creation of the Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL) in the same year. The conferences and affiliations presented below are accurate through the 2019–20 season.

A conference with seven or more affiliated programs automatically qualifies for the NCAA DIII Women's Ice Hockey Tournament. In practice, the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) are the only conferences that do not receive automatic bids for the tournament.

Conference of New England

The Conference of New England (CNE; known before the 2024–25 season as the Commonwealth Coast Conference) is a college athletic conference which operates in New England. It added women's ice hockey by taking over the former Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC; previously ECAC North Atlantic) in 2020. As of the 2025–26 season, there are seven member programs:

Curry College (Colonels) – Milton, Massachusetts Endicott College (Gulls) – Beverly, Massachusetts Johnson & Wales University (Wildcats) – Providence, Rhode Island Nichols College (Bison) – Dudley, Massachusetts Suffolk University (Rams) – Boston, Massachusetts University of New England (Nor'easters) – Biddeford, Maine Western New England University (Golden Bears) – Springfield, Massachusetts

Little East Conference

The Little East Conference, operating in New England, launched its women's ice hockey league for the 2025–26 season. With the formation of the conference, the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC; previously ECAC East) was discontinued. The seven members of the conference include:

Keene State College (Owls) – Keene, New Hampshire New England College (Pilgrims) – Henniker, New Hampshire Norwich University (Cadets) – Northfield, Vermont Plymouth State University (Panthers) – Plymouth, New Hampshire University of Massachusetts Boston (Beacons) – Boston, Massachusetts University of Southern Maine (Huskies) – Gorham, Maine Vermont State University Castleton (Spartans) – Castleton, Vermont

Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference

The MASCAC has six members:

Anna Maria College (Amcats) – Paxton, Massachusetts Framingham State University (Rams) – Framingham, Massachusetts Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (Trailblazers) – North Adams, Massachusetts Rivier University (Raiders) – Nashua, New Hampshire Salem State University (Vikings) – Salem, Massachusetts Worcester State University (Lancers) – Worcester, Massachusetts

Middle Atlantic Conferences

The Middle Atlantic Conferences contain eight members:

Alvernia University (Golden Wolves) – Reading, Pennsylvania Arcadia University (Knights) – Glenside, Pennsylvania Hood College (Blazers) – Frederick, Maryland King's College (Monarchs) – Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Lebanon Valley College (Flying Dutchmen) – Annville, Pennsylvania Neumann University (Knights) – Aston, Pennsylvania Stevenson University (Mustangs) – Baltimore County, Maryland Wilkes University (Colonels) – Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a college athletic conference located in Minnesota. The women's ice hockey programs that compete in the MIAC include:

Augsburg University (Auggies) – Minneapolis, Minnesota Bethel University (Royals) – St. Paul, Minnesota College of Saint Benedict (Bennies) – St. Joseph, Minnesota Concordia College (Cobblers) – Moorhead, Minnesota Gustavus Adolphus College (Golden Gusties) – St. Peter, Minnesota Hamline University (Pipers) – St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Mary's University (Cardinals) – Winona, Minnesota St. Catherine University (Wildcats) – St. Paul, Minnesota St. Olaf College (Oles) – Northfield, Minnesota College of St. Scholastica (Saints) – Duluth, Minnesota

The most recent change to the MIAC membership came after the 2020–21 season, when St. Thomas was expelled from the league and moved to NCAA Division I, joining the Summit League for most sports and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WHCA) in women's ice hockey. St. Thomas was replaced by St. Scholastica.

New England Small College Athletic Conference

The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is a college athletic conference of liberal arts colleges and universities located in New England and New York. The member schools of the NESCAC are often referred to as the "Little Ivies." The women's ice hockey programs competing in the NESCAC are:

Amherst College (Mammoths) – Amherst, Massachusetts Bowdoin College (Polar Bears) – Brunswick, Maine Colby College (Mules) – Waterville, Maine Connecticut College (Camels) – New London, Connecticut Hamilton College (Continentals) – Clinton, New York Middlebury College (Panthers) – Middlebury, Vermont Trinity College (Bantams) – Hartford, Connecticut Wesleyan University (Cardinals) – Middletown, Connecticut Williams College (Ephs) – Williamstown, Massachusetts

Northern Collegiate Hockey Association

The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) is a hockey-only conference, which operates in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The women's programs competing in the NCHA are:

Adrian College (Bulldogs) – Adrian, Michigan Aurora University (Spartans) – Aurora, Illinois Concordia University Wisconsin (Falcons) – Mequon, Wisconsin University of Dubuque (Spartans) – Dubuque, Iowa Finlandia University (Lions) – Hancock, Michigan Lake Forest College (Foresters) – Lake Forest, Illinois Lawrence University (Vikings) – Appleton, Wisconsin Marian University (Sabres) – Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Milwaukee School of Engineering (Raiders) – Milwaukee, Wisconsin St. Norbert College (Green Knights) – De Pere, Wisconsin Trine University (Thunder) – Angola, Indiana

State University of New York Athletic Conference

The SUNYAC, based in New York, absorbed the Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL; successor of ECAC West). The conference has eight members:

Buffalo State University (Bengals) – Buffalo, New York Morrisville State College (Mustangs) – Morrisville, New York State University of New York at Canton (Roos) – Canton, New York State University of New York at Cortland (Red Dragons) – Cortland, New York State University of New York at Oswego (Lakers) – Oswego, New York State University of New York at Plattsburgh (Cardinals) – Plattsburgh, New York State University of New York at Potsdam (Bears) – Potsdam, New York William Smith College (Herons) – Geneva, New York

United Collegiate Hockey Conference

The United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) is a hockey-only conference which operates in the Mid-Atlantic region. The women's programs competing in the UCHC are:

Albertus Magnus College (Falcons) – New Haven, Connecticut Chatham University (Cougars) – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Elmira College (Soaring Eagles) – Elmira, New York Hilbert College (Hawks) – Hamburg, New York Manhattanville University (Valiants) – Purchase, New York Nazareth University (Golden Flyers) – Pittsford, New York St. John Fisher University (Cardinals) – Rochester, New York Utica University (Pioneers) – Utica, New York

Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) is a collegiate athletics conference in Wisconsin, primarily comprising institutions in the University of Wisconsin System. The women's ice hockey programs participating in the WIAC are:

Beloit College (Buccaneers) – Beloit, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (Blugolds) – Eau Claire, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–River Falls (Falcons) – River Falls, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (Pointers) – Stevens Point, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Superior (Yellowjackets) – Superior, Wisconsin

Independents

There is currently one independent team:

Salve Regina University (Seahawks) – Newport, Rhode Island

List of champions

YearChampionScoreRunner-up 2002 Elmira 2–1 Manhattanville 2003 Elmira 5–1 Manhattanville 2004 Middlebury 2–1 UW-Stevens Point 2005 Middlebury 4–3 Elmira 2006 Middlebury 3–1 Plattsburgh 2007 Plattsburgh 2–1 Middlebury 2008 Plattsburgh 3–2 Manhattanville 2009 Amherst 4–3 (OT) Elmira 2010 Amherst 7–2 Norwich 2011 Norwich 5–2 RIT 2012 RIT 4–1 Norwich 2013 Elmira 1–0 Middlebury 2014 Plattsburgh 9–2 Norwich 2015 Plattsburgh 3–2 Elmira 2016 Plattsburgh 5–1 UW–River Falls2017 Plattsburgh 4–3 (OT) Adrian2018 Norwich 2–1 Elmira2019 Plattsburgh 4–0 Hamline2020-2021 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic2022Middlebury3–2 (OT)Gustavus Adolphus2023Gustavus Adolphus2–1 (3OT)Amherst2024UW–River Falls4–1Elmira2025UW–River Falls3–1Amherst2026UW–River Falls4–0Nazareth

Laura Hurd Award

The Laura Hurd Award is an annual award given to the top player in NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey as awarded by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). Since 2007, it has been named after Laura Hurd, a stand-out player for Elmira College who was killed in a car accident. Previously, it was known as the Division III Women's Player of the Year Award.

Award winners Year Winner Pos. School 2000 Sylvia Ryan F Middlebury College 2001 Michelle Labbe F Middlebury College 2002 Sarah Moe F Gustavus Adolphus College 2003 Angela Kapus F/D Middlebury College 2004 Molly Wasserman F Williams College 2005 Laura Hurd F Elmira College 2006 Emily Quizon F Middlebury College 2007 Andrea Peterson D Gustavus Adolphus College 2008 Danielle BlanchardF SUNY Plattsburgh 2009 Kayla Coady F Elmira College 2010 Isabel Iwachiw G Trinity College 2011 Sarah DaggF Rochester Institute of Technology 2012 Julie Fortier F Norwich University 2013 Teal GoveF SUNY Plattsburgh 2014 Sydney Aveson G SUNY Plattsburgh 2015 Ashley Ryan F Elmira College 2016 Michelle Greeneway F Lake Forest College 2017 Dani Sibley F UW-River Falls 2018 Melissa Sheeran F SUNY Plattsburgh 2019 Bre Simon F Hamline University 2020 Amanda Conway F Norwich University2021 Not awarded 2022Callie Hoff FUW-River Falls 2023Darci MatsonFAurora University 2024Maddie McCollinsFUW-River Falls2025Bailey OlsonFUW-River Falls2026Megan GoodreauFUW-River Falls

See also

NCAA Division I Women's Hockey conferences and teams National Collegiate women's ice hockey championship Women's Hockey Coaches with 250 wins Major women's sport leagues in North America Title IX

References

External links NCAA Division III women ice hockey page