NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey

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 2019–20 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. The Commonwealth Coast Conference which is the all-sport home to most of the membership of the CHC. With seven women's teams from the CCC and

A conference with seven or more affiliated programs automatically qualifies for the NCAA D-III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament. In practice, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) will be the only conference that does not qualify to receive an automatic bid for the tournament as of the 2021-22 playing season.

Independent Teams
The Anna Maria Amcats women's ice hockey program of Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts has participated in the NCAA Division III as an independent team (ie. without conference affiliation) since the 2018–19 season.

On the heels of Becker College announcing that they were closing, Worcester State University announced the addition of a women's ice hockey team to begin play with the 2021-22 season. Ironically, the team will be based out of the same arena and have the former Becker College women's head coach as their first head coach. The new program has yet to announce a conference affiliation as of mid-April 2021 with plans for applying for conference membership to begin in a timely manner.

Commonwealth Coast Conference
The Commonwealth Coast Conference (previously CHC; and prior to that ECAC North Atlantic) is a women's ice hockey-only conference which operates in New England. As of the 2019–20 season, there are five member programs and by 2021-22 there will be seven full members of the CCC which sponsor women's ice hockey and making the conference eligible for an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Tournament after the standard two year waiting period (the lack of a tournament in 2021 and the conference being a continuation of the CHC makes it uncertain if there will be any waiting period for an automatic bid):


 * Becker College (Hawks) – Worcester, Massachusetts (College ceasing operations after 2020-21 academic year)
 * Curry College (Colonels) - Milton, Massachusetts (joining for 2021-22 playing season as new program)
 * Endicott College (Gulls) – Beverly, Massachusetts
 * Nichols College (Bison) – Dudley, Massachusetts
 * Salve Regina University (Seahawks) – Newport, Rhode Island
 * Suffolk University (Rams) - Boston, Massachusetts
 * University of New England (Nor'easters) – Biddeford, Maine
 * Western New England University (Golden Bears) - Springfield, Massachusetts (joining for 2020-21 as new program)

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 College (Auggies) – Minneapolis, Minnesota
 * Bethel University (Royals) – St. Paul, Minnesota
 * College of Saint Benedict (Bennies) – St. Joseph, Minnesota
 * Concordia College (Cobbers) – Moorhead, Minnesota
 * Gustavus Adolphus College (Gusties) – St. Peter, Minnesota
 * Hamline University (Pipers) – St. Paul, Minnesota
 * St. Mary's University (Cardinals) – Winona, Minnesota
 * St. Catherine University (Wildcats) – St. Paul, Minnesota
 * St. Olaf College (Oles) – Northfield, Minnesota
 * University of St. Thomas (Tommies) – St. Paul, Minnesota

St. Thomas will leave the MIAC after the 2020–21 school year and move to the NCAA Division I, joining the Summit League for most sports and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WHCA) in women's ice hockey.

New England Hockey Conference
The New England Hockey Conference (NEHC; previously ECAC East) is an ice hockey-only conference which operates in New England. As of the 2019–20 season, there are nine member programs in the women's division:


 * Castleton University (Spartans) – Castleton, Vermont
 * Johnson and Wales University (Wildcats) – Providence, Rhode Island
 * New England College (Pilgrims) – Henniker, New Hampshire
 * Norwich University (Cadets) – Northfield, Vermont
 * Plymouth State University (Panthers) – Plymouth, New Hampshire
 * Salem State University (Vikings) – Salem, Massachusetts
 * Suffolk University (Rams) – Boston, Massachusetts
 * University of Massachusetts Boston (Beacons) – Boston, Massachusetts
 * University of Southern Maine (Huskies) – Gorham, Maine

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 College (Cardinals) – Middletown, Connecticut
 * Williams College (Ephs) – Williamstown, Massachusetts

Northeast Women's Hockey League
The Northeast Women's Hockey League (NEWHL; successor of ECAC West) is a women's ice hockey-only conference comprising seven member schools in New York. It was founded in 2017 by the women's ice hockey teams of five schools in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC); it’s membership was increased to seven programs in 2019–20. The programs competing in the NEWHL are:


 * Buffalo State College (Bengals) – Buffalo, New York
 * Morrisville University (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

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

St. Scholastica will leave the NCHA after the 2020–21 school year to join the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
 * Adrian College (Bulldogs) – Adrian, Michigan
 * Aurora University (Spartans) – Aurora, Illinois
 * College of St. Scholastica (Saints) – Duluth, Minnesota
 * Concordia University Wisconsin (Falcons) – Mequon, Wisconsin
 * Finlandia University (Lions) – Hancock, Michigan
 * Lake Forest College (Foresters) – Lake Forest, Illinois
 * Marian University (Sabres) – Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
 * St. Norbert College (Green Knights) – De Pere, Wisconsin
 * Trine University (Thunder) – Angola, Indiana

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:


 * Alvernia University (Golden Wolves) – Reading, Pennsylvania
 * Chatham University (Cougars) – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 * Elmira College (Soaring Eagles) – Elmira, New York
 * King's College (Monarchs) – Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
 * Lebanon Valley College (Flying Dutchman) – Annville, Pennsylvania
 * Manhattanville College (Valiants) – Purchase, New York
 * Nazareth College (Golden Flyers) – Rochester, New York
 * Neumann University (Knights) – Aston, Pennsylvania
 * Stevenson University (Mustangs) – Stevenson, Maryland
 * Utica College (Pioneers) – Utica, New York
 * Wilkes University (Colonels) – Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
 * William Smith College (Herons) – Geneva, 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:


 * Northland College (LumberJills) – Ashland, Wisconsin
 * University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (Bluegolds) – 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

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.