IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY TO JOIN MIDWEST COLLEGE HOCKEY IN 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (September 23, 2023) – Midwest College Hockey (“MCH”) announces that Iowa State University (Ames, IA) has been admitted as a member of the MCH beginning with the 2024-2025 season.
Iowa State University is one of the founding member institutions of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (“ACHA”) and has been a top program at the Men’s Division 1 level for decades. The Cyclones won the ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Championship in the 1991-1992 season and have played for the Murdoch Cup in the ACHA M1 National Championship Game six times since the ACHA was founded in 1991, most recently in 2019.
“We are excited and appreciative to be welcomed into one of the most competitive conferences in college hockey,” said Michael Rooney, General Manager of Iowa State University Men’s Hockey Club. “We strive to raise the overall competition level within the conference and bring more national attention to Midwest College Hockey. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible for us.”
MCH coaches unanimously approved the addition of Iowa State as a MCH member institution. Iowa State will be joining seven MCH member teams: Illinois State University (Normal, IL), Jamestown University (Jamestown, ND), University of Mary (Bismarck, ND), McKendree University (Lebanon, IL), Midland University (Fremont, NE), Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL), and Waldorf University (Forest City, IA).
With the addition of Iowa State, MCH teams will be split into two divisions for scheduling purposes. Iowa State, Illinois State, McKendree and Northern Illinois will comprise one division while Jamestown, Mary, Midland and Waldorf will be in the other division.
All MCH teams are expected to play a 20-game regular season conference schedule. Each MCH team will play a home-and-home series against the teams in its division and will also have two home series and two road series against teams from the other division. The MCH Regular Season Champion will be determined on a points basis.
The MCH Playoff Tournament is held at the conclusion of the MCH regular season in late February/early March. The MCH Playoff Tournament format will see two games on Day 1 (3 vs 6, 4 vs 5), two games on Day 2 (1 vs lowest seeded Day 1 winner, 2 vs highest seeded Day 1 winner) and a Championship game on Day 3. The winner of the MCH Playoff Tournament will be awarded the MCH’s autobid to the ACHA Men’s Division 1 National Championships presented by FloHockey.
