The United Collegiate Hockey Conference is men's and women's American collegiate hockey conference that started play with the 2017-18 hockey season. The conference plays at the NCAA Division III level.
The conference was announced on October 4, 2016. The conference announced the inclusion of the following ten men's and women's teams Chatham Cougars, Elmira Soaring Eagles, Hobart Statesmen, King's College Kings, Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen, Manhattanville Valiants, Neumann Knights, Stevenson Mustangs, Utica Pioneers, William Smith Herons. The conference will also include the Nazareth Golden Flyers men's team. The men's and women's Wilkes University Colonels will be also added to the conference playing an abbreviated schedule in 2017-18 and a full schedule in 2018-19.
However, the Middle Atlantic Conferences announced on October 13, 2016 that they would start to sponsor men's and women's ice hockey also starting with the 2017-18 season. The following teams were announced as being members King's College Kings, Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen, Manhattanville Valiants, Stevenson Mustangs, and the Wilkes University Colonels which would appear to eliminate five programs from the conference. However, the MAC is using the same format that the Ivy League uses to determine its' champion as they use the ECAC conference games to determine their champion.
Wilkes University announced on November 9, 2016 that they were delaying the start of play for the men's hockey team until 2018-19 due to the head coach they had hired (Michael Young) deciding to remain as the head coach of the Westfield State Owls. the school felt it would be in the best interest to delay the start to have time to hire a new head coach and give them a full recruiting cycle to develop a roster for the 2018-19 season.
In January of 2017 the Hobart Statesmen would be announced as withdrawing from the UCHC and joining the New England Hockey Conference for the 2017-18 season.
On April 13, 2017 Nazareth University announced the addition of women's ice hockey for the 2018-19 season.
On August 3, 2017 it was announced the Wilkes University Colonels were delaying the start of the women's hockey program to 2018-19 due to lower than anticipated roster size.
For the 2018-19 season, the men's conference changed the tournament format to first to three point playoff series for the semifinal and final rounds. The tournament was single elimination for 2017-18.
It was announced on August 29, 2019 that both teams representing Arcadia University located in Glenside, Pennsylvania will join the conference for the 2021-22 season.[1]
Men's Membership[]
| Team | Centre | Arena | Tenure |
| Chatham Cougars | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Alpha Ice Complex | 2017-present |
| Elmira Soaring Eagles | Elmira, New York | Murray Athletic Center Arena | 2017-present |
| King's College Monarchs | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | Revolution Ice Centre | 2017-present |
| Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen | Annville, Pennsylvania | Hersheypark Arena | 2017-present |
| Manhattanville Valiants | Purchase, New York | Playland Ice Casino (Rye, NY) | 2017-present |
| Nazareth Golden Flyers | Pittsford, New York | Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex | 2017-present |
| Neumann Knights | Aston, Pennsylvania | IceWorks Skating Complex | 2017-present |
| Stevenson Mustangs | Stevenson, Maryland & Owings Mills, Maryland |
Reisterstown Sportsplex | 2017-present |
| Utica Pioneers | Utica, New York | Utica Memorial Auditorium | 2017-present |
| Wilkes University Colonels | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | Toyota SportsPlex | 2018-present |
Former Members[]
| Team | Centre | Arena | Tenure | Fate |
| Hobart Statesmen | Geneva, New York | Geneva Recreation Complex Skating Rink | 2017 | join New England Hockey Conference before conference starts play |
Men's Champions[]
The conference emerged out of the ECAC West and it inherited it's "B pool" status as either the UCHC champion or the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion was usually given a spot in the field for the conferences first two seasons. With the 2019-20 season the conference would earn its' first automatic bid to the tournament.
| Season | Regular Season | Tournament | NCAA Tournament Teams |
| 2017-18 | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers | No bid to tournament |
| 2018-19 | Utica Pioneers | Manhattanville Valiants | Manhattanville Valiants (Quarterfinals) |
| 2019-20 | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers (Tournament Cancelled) |
| 2020-21 | Utica Pioneers | Elmira Soaring Eagles | Tournament cancelled |
| 2021-22 | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers |
| 2022-23 | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers |
| 2023-24 | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers |
Women's Membership[]
Future Member[]
| Team | Centre | Arena | Joining |
| Arcadia Knights | Glenside, Pennsylvania | Hatfield Ice (Colmar, Pennsylvania) | 2021 |
Women's Champions[]
| Season | Regular Season | Tournament | NCAA Tournament Teams |
| 2017-18 | Elmira Soaring Eagles | Elmira Soaring Eagles | Elmira Soaring Eagles (Lost Final) |
| 2018-19 | Elmira Soaring Eagles | Elmira Soaring Eagles | Elmira Soaring Eagles (Lost Quarterfinals) |
| 2019-20 | Elmira Soaring Eagles | Elmira Soaring Eagles |
Elmira Soaring Eagles (Tournament Cancelled) |
| 2020-21 | Elmira Soaring Eagles | Tournament cancelled | |
| 2021-22 | Nazareth Golden Flyers | Nazareth Golden Flyers | Nazareth Golden Flyers |
| 2022-23 | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers | Utica Pioneers |