W1 RANKING AND AUTOMATIC BIDS ANNOUNCED
TROY, Mich. – (February 24, 2026) – This past weekend a majority of our teams headed to their conference tournaments. No. 1 is Liberty University (29-0-1-0). The Flames went 3-0 on the weekend. They won the Women’s Midwest College Hockey league (WMCH) autobid for the National Tournament.
No. 2 is Midland University (27-1-1-3). The Warriors went 2-1 on the weekend with their only loss coming in the Championship game against Liberty University.
No. 3 is Minot State University (11-6-1-7). The Beavers went 1-1 on the weekend. They had a win over No. 5 ranked Maryville University (14-10-1-0), and a loss over Liberty University. The Saints were also 1-1 on the weekend with their win coming over University of Minnesota.
No. 4 is McKendree University (19-8-0-1). The Bearcats went 1-1 on the weekend with a 1-0 win over University of Jamestown, and a loss to Midland University.
The Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association (CCWHA) autobid to the National Tournament was won by No. 6 University of Michigan Dearborn (29-2-1-0). The Wolverines went 3-0 on the weekend. They had wins over Penn State University, Lake Superior State University, and the Championship win over Indiana Tech.
Winning the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League (WWCHL) autobid is Grand Canyon University. The Lopes won the Championship game 2-1 in overtime over the University of Colorado. The team will take the 12th seed spot in the National Tournament.
The Women’s Midwest College Hockey League has six (of 8) member teams ranked, while the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association has six (of 12) of its member teams ranked, and the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League has zero (of 6).
The computer ranking will determine the 10 teams that qualify for the 2026 ACHA Women’s Division 1 National Championships, which will include the following three automatic bids:
- (CCWHA) Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association
- (WWCHL) Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League
- (WMCHL) Women’s Midwest College Hockey League
A total of 34 teams are competing in Women’s Division 1 this season, including one new full member team, Eastern Michigan University, and two probationary members, University of Washington, and University of New Mexico.
The ACHA uses two computer rankings, Ranking A (Wins with goal differential of 6) and Ranking B (Wins with maximum goal differential of 1) to come up with an average of the two rankings, which determines the ranking spots for teams.
There has been a total of 12 schools that have won the ACHA Women’s Division 1 National Championship:
- St. Cloud State
- Wisconsin (2 Times)
- Michigan State (2)
- Robert Morris (2)
- Lindenwood (4)
- Northeastern
- Minnesota
- Miami (3)
- Liberty (7)
- Adrian
The 2026 ACHA National Championships presented by FloHockey will be played March 12-24, 2026 at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, MO. All five divisions, with more than 1,500 players from 72 teams — Men’s Division 1, 2, and 3, and Women’s Divisions 1 and 2 — will converge upon the Maryland Heights area to compete in more than 100 games. The ACHA Women’s Division I National Championships presented by FloHockey will have twelve teams competing beginning on March 18th and conclude with the Championship game on March 22nd.
