Atlantic Hockey
The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other college athletic conferences, Atlantic Hockey has no women's division, though it shares some organizational and administrative roles (and three universities) with the women's-only College Hockey America (CHA).
| Formerly | MAAC (1997–2003) |
|---|---|
| Association | NCAA |
| Founded | 1997 (as MAAC Hockey) 2003 (as Atlantic Hockey) |
| Commissioner | Michelle Morgan (since 2023) |
| Sports fielded |
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| Division | Division I |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Region | Northeastern United States and Colorado |
| Most recent champion(s) | RIT (4th title) |
| Most titles | Air Force (7) |
| Official website | http://www.atlantichockeyonline.com/ |
| Locations | |
It was formed in 1997 and began play in the 1998–1999 season as the hockey division of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Within three years, it was granted an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. However, in 2003, Iona and Fairfield dropped hockey, leaving Canisius as the only full MAAC member that sponsored hockey. This proved somewhat problematic for MAAC Hockey, since conference bylaws only allowed full members to vote. On June 30, 2003, MAAC Hockey broke off from the MAAC and reorganized as Atlantic Hockey.
On June 6, 2023, it was announced that Atlantic Hockey would be merging all operations with CHA, effective in 2024. Details regarding this merger, including whether the new league would carry the Atlantic or College Hockey name, were to be announced at a later date.