From Gulf Coast News
By Bailey Smith
LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida Gulf Coast University’s club hockey program has become a force in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, routinely drawing packed houses and winning titles. Now, the program is chasing a much bigger stage — NCAA Division I.
It’s a goal being championed by the team’s coaching staff and players, who believe the program’s success and support from the Southwest Florida community make the leap possible in the future.
“The end goal is to play NCAA hockey down here in Southwest Florida,” said FGCU head coach Eric Mabie.
The Eagles currently compete in ACHA Division II, where players pay about $4,000 a year to play. Mabie said transitioning to NCAA status could help shift that financial burden off student-athletes.
“The first steps for us would be to hopefully get it to a point where we wouldn’t have to charge our players to play,” he said.
Assistant coach Spence Van Tiem, who played three years at FGCU, said the team has never operated like a typical club program.
“We’re not D1, but we treat it as Division One… we want them to feel like this is a professional setting,” Van Tiem said.
Van Tiem believes the program’s growth and structure make it well-positioned to follow in the footsteps of schools like Arizona State, Penn State and Lindenwood — all of which successfully made the jump from club hockey to NCAA Division I.
“It’s only fitting that FGCU takes the next step and elevate the hockey program to Division One,” he said.
FGCU’s team has already proven it can compete with top-level ACHA programs. Earlier this season, the Eagles upset Liberty University’s ACHA Division I team on the road — in front of thousands.
“We upset them in front of 5,000 people on ESPN+,” Van Tiem said.
“Now we’re getting calls from hundreds of kids that want to come to FGCU specifically to play hockey,” Mabie said.
While the vision is strong within the club, no official steps have been taken by FGCU’s athletic department to pursue NCAA hockey. Coaches acknowledge that major funding, university support, and NCAA compliance would all be necessary.
Still, Van Tiem said conversations with potential donors have already started.
“There are donors out there, and I think it’s only a matter of time before it happens,” he said.
For Mabie, who also played for FGCU and won two titles with the Eagles, the push to elevate the team is about more than competition. It’s about honoring the foundation laid over the past two decades.
“There’s guys 20 years ago that came in here that couldn’t even get matching gear and couldn’t even get ice time at certain times,” he said. “And for them to be able to look back and say, hey, I was a part of something special that was able to build into this is something I really look forward to hopefully seeing come to fruition one day.”
And while the dream remains just that for now, the people closest to the program believe it’s within reach.
“I think it would be a dream come true. I think it’d be so cool to see,” Van Tiem said.
(Originally published at https://www.gulfcoastnewsnow.com/article/fgcu-hockey-ncaa-division-one/64848653)
