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Who's next for a move up to D1?

I was doing some casual reading and came across this article from the USCHO in November 2025. Mainly it talks about CHL eligibility, but I found an interesting snippit

'College Hockey Inc. has completed three such confidential feasibility studies for men's programs this calendar year, and is beginning a women's study this week.'

'Yet interest in adding programs still remains. Hogan said that College Hockey Inc. is working with a school for which they had done a feasibility study eight years ago.'
(Not sure who this is, Maryville said their study was recent, and Tennesee State completed theirs in 2021)
 
jwheeler001 said:
I was doing some casual reading and came across this article from the USCHO in November 2025. Mainly it talks about CHL eligibility, but I found an interesting snippit

'College Hockey Inc. has completed three such confidential feasibility studies for men's programs this calendar year, and is beginning a women's study this week.'

'Yet interest in adding programs still remains. Hogan said that College Hockey Inc. is working with a school for which they had done a feasibility study eight years ago.'
(Not sure who this is, Maryville said their study was recent, and Tennesee State completed theirs in 2021)
Click to expand...
Almost certainly is the Illinois Fighting Illini, would be my guess. They announced the completion of their feasibility study in early 2018, so it very well could have been done mostly in 2017, which was eight years ago from last year.
 
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I havent seen anyone mention the 'Hockey State of the Union Press Conference' on here. Ryan Kennedy from The Hockey News did a good write up on it.

Notable Updates:
Reports are showing that Tennessee State will likely not start its hockey program next year (Shocking, I know). Despite earlier reporting by Mike McMahon saying that Tennessee State is reaching out to teams for scheduling. The reasoning is because the institution is still working through a major financial crisis. What a major waste of time and money by the University.

Despite TCU, other programs are still interested in starting D1 hockey. Harvard's Tim Troville saying that he'd like to see at least 75 schools offer Div. I hockey in the future. Sean Hogan of College Hockey Inc. noted that he talked to the University of Arizona once he found out Tucson was getting a new rink. The answer was a hard 'no'.

One source said that college hockey teams are more likely to start at schools that don't have major football programs. (I would also include schools with major basketball programs, as well). They mentioned Gonzaga and Marquette as schools that could fit that criteria.

They also talked about the value of bringing the Frozen Four to places that do not have a Division 1 team. A good example is bringing it to Vegas this year, where UNLV has a club team. Florida is another example of a state that is an NHL powerhouse without college hockey.

Troville also noted that some NHL teams are interested in getting college hockey in their buildings. These include Seattle and Utah.

This year the NCAA hosted representatives from the CHL, WHL, and the OHL at the meeting.

They wrapped up by talking about the Spengler Cup and how it started. Apparently the process started multiple years ago. Now they have signed a contract to send NCAA players to participate through 2028.
 
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Look folks, here's the plain unvarnished truth:
  1. The "brand name" schools simply aren't going to start up hockey or any other varsity sport that will take $$$$ away from football. If that weren't so, Illinois would have been competing long before now.
  2. As has been noted by others, more than a few ACHA club programs have the look and feel (including lavish budgets) of D1 varsity programs. Notably, many of the SEC and ACC schools, UNLV, Arizona, and the list goes on. But ACHA programs are administered by Student Activities Departments, rather than Athletic Departments, and thus aren't subject to Title IX. It's a "Get-Out-of-Jail Free" card and they're more than happy to ride that horse.
 
jwheeler001 said:
I havent seen anyone mention the 'Hockey State of the Union Press Conference' on here. Ryan Kennedy from The Hockey News did a good write up on it.

Notable Updates:
Reports are showing that Tennessee State will likely not start its hockey program next year (Shocking, I know). Despite earlier reporting by Mike McMahon saying that Tennessee State is reaching out to teams for scheduling. The reasoning is because the institution is still working through a major financial crisis. What a major waste of time and money by the University.

Despite TCU, other programs are still interested in starting D1 hockey. Harvard's Tim Troville saying that he'd like to see at least 75 schools offer Div. I hockey in the future. Sean Hogan of College Hockey Inc. noted that he talked to the University of Arizona once he found out Tucson was getting a new rink. The answer was a hard 'no'.

One source said that college hockey teams are more likely to start at schools that don't have major football programs. (I would also include schools with major basketball programs, as well). They mentioned Gonzaga and Marquette as schools that could fit that criteria.

They also talked about the value of bringing the Frozen Four to places that do not have a Division 1 team. A good example is bringing it to Vegas this year, where UNLV has a club team. Florida is another example of a state that is an NHL powerhouse without college hockey.

Troville also noted that some NHL teams are interested in getting college hockey in their buildings. These include Seattle and Utah.

This year the NCAA hosted representatives from the CHL, WHL, and the OHL at the meeting.

They wrapped up by talking about the Spengler Cup and how it started. Apparently the process started multiple years ago. Now they have signed a contract to send NCAA players to participate through 2028.
Click to expand...

One small update not mentioned in the above article, but instead was in Mike McMahons podcast. The NCAA Hockey Committee has split in to Men's Division 1, Women's Division 1, and Division 3. This change is significant because previously the committee was made up of representatives from each of the levels. Now, rule changes will able to be more personalized by league depending on their needs.
 
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