College Hockey Spotlight - ACHA Division 1

College Hockey Spotlight – ACHA Division 1
 
 
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) was established in 1991 when 15 charter members that had been playing non-varsity hockey for years met and determined that they wanted to legitimize “club” or non-varsity hockey by standardizing some of the rules, regulations and operating procedures. The first year of play was the 1991-92 season with the goal being the establishment of a national governing body to oversee and administer national tournaments, player eligibility and everyday oversight.
 
Since then, on the men’s side, the ACHA has grown to more than 300 teams spread out across three divisions. ACHA Division 1 has around 70 member programs, with Division 2 boasting almost 200 and Division 3 nearly 130. Division 3 was the last men’s division established in 1999.
 
A women’s division was created in 2000, and a second women’s division was added in 2006. For the 2019-20 season, there were 25 women’s teams competing at the ACHA Division I level and 51 D2 teams.
 
With three men’s divisions featuring different philosophies, levels of financial commitment and opportunities, the ACHA truly offers something for any player who wants to continue playing hockey beyond the youth and high school levels and into college.
 
If a player wants an NCAA-style varsity experience in terms of the level of play, commitment required and players recruited, many of the top ACHA D1 programs offer that. For players who just want to play competitive hockey without as much of a time commitment, D3 might be the answer. And at the D2 level there is a pretty good combination of both approaches.
 
While many of the top ACHA D1 programs recruit players with considerable junior experience and even have NCAA Division III transfers on their rosters, there still are plenty of D1 programs that take high-level players right out of high school and give them an opportunity to go to college right away while still having hockey be a priority in their lives.
 
“Our recruiting philosophy changes as we focus on more AAA and junior players who are rounded out by a group of very talented AA players," said George Mason head coach Steve Hyjeck, who is guiding his program from the ACHA Division 3 level to D1 this season. "We have a dedicated scouting staff looking for players along the East Coast, in the Midwest and in the Northern Tier."
 
Likewise, there are many ACHA D2 programs that bring in junior players who want to continue their careers while attending college. These players might realize that they will not get an opportunity at the NCAA level and would prefer to move on with their lives, or they may be tired of the junior hockey grind and not willing to stick it out in hopes of receiving an offer.
 
They’ve committed countless hours and made considerable personal sacrifices for hockey over the years and are ready to make a full commitment to college while continuing to play hockey at a level that will allow the game to be fun, but still competitive, for them. These players want hockey to supplement their educational experience instead of being a focal point for them.
 
The remainder of ACHA D2 players generally come from AAA, AA and high school hockey programs.   
 
Hockey is a big commitment for most players competing at the ACHA D1 level, with the majority of teams playing more than 30 games, and virtually every program playing at least 25. As a comparison, NCAA Division I teams play between 30 and 40 games, while NCAA Division 3 teams play 25-35.
 
“We've added additional practice ice time and are adding new coaches such as a new assistant coach with NCAA Division 3 experience to join an already outstanding coaching staff," Hyjek said. "The team will have a newly built team facility with a locker room and space for training and meetings, which will be exclusively for GMU. Finally, we are updating our look on the ice with new pro-line uniforms this year so the guys will have the trappings of an elite team as we elevate our game on the ice with those tools I already mentioned."
 
Many ACHA D2 programs are not funded quite as well as the top D1 clubs and may not be as aggressive in their recruiting, with part-time coaches who often pay out of their own pockets if they want to travel to recruit higher-level players or players from more traditional hockey programs and markets. Still, there are a large number of D2 teams that offer a serious program that requires a firm commitment from the players and on a given day can compete with – or even beat – Division 1 teams.
 
Many ACHA D2 coaches do choose to spend some of their own money to recruit youth, high school and junior players and work very hard to convince incoming students who are hockey players and haven’t made up their minds about college hockey to give their programs a try.
 
The level of play and commitment required of players runs the gamut at the D2 level, with most teams playing between 20 and 30 games. Some programs practice as often as varsity teams, while others might practice a couple times a week with one or two games on some weekends between September and February.
 
In general, ACHA D3 programs offer less structure and less overall commitment from their players. Some teams may play a dozen games, while others may play up to 30. It’s a great fit for players who want to make academics the top priority but still have hockey be part of their college experience. Practices tend to be more infrequent than at the D1 and D2 levels, with players often being excused from practices if conflicting academic or school-related commitments arise.
 
“D2 tends to be way more structured than D3 and a higher level of play,” University of Louisville ACHA Division 2 assistant coach Kyle Hughes said. “D1 is almost all funded, and the top-15ish teams play incredible hockey, with some Tier 1 and Tier 2 junior players included. D2 programs have mostly Tier 3 and high-school kids along with some Tier 2 players.”
 
A player trying to narrow down his or her college options will be able to choose literally any type of school if playing hockey for an ACHA team is of interest. And for players who really want the big-time, Power Five college athletic and student experience but aren’t capable of playing at the NCAA Division I level for large brand-name schools such as Ohio State, Michigan, Boston College or Notre Dame, many bigger and well-known universities across the country offer ACHA hockey at various levels.
 
Since they are considered non-varsity or “club” teams by most colleges, most ACHA programs are not funded by an institution’s athletic department. Instead they receive funding out of a campus student activities or student services budget. Whatever money the team gets to pay for coaches, uniforms, practice ice, travel, etc. comes out of that budget, which usually isn’t enough to cover all of the team’s expenses.
 
Since there are no athletic scholarships for non-varsity sports, usually the remainder of the money needed to cover expenses is paid by the players. There are a small number of schools, such as Stevenson University’s Division 2 ACHA program locally, that receive more funding or are “fully funded,” which can bring the cost to the individual player down considerably.
 
Where it might cost a couple hundred dollars to play for Stevenson, it can cost as much as $2,000 to play at other schools. Finding out the actual cost to play at an ACHA school should be part of the recruiting and fact-finding process for a player.
 
“Funding can be a huge difference when it comes to D1 and D2 programs,” Virginia Tech ACHA D2 coach Joey Mullen said. “The higher-end schools generally have a lot more financial backing from the university. And a lot will depend on sponsorship and team dues. The more you charge, the more you can do. We try to keep it as affordable as possible, because the kids are paying for school also.”
 
This potential additional cost – along with the average cost of college tuition, which ranges from $25,000 per year for public schools to nearly $50,000 for private institutions – is yet another reason why academics should ALWAYS be a player’s primary focus. There is a lot more academic scholarship money available for strong students than any other form of financial aid.
 
A player who performs well academically throughout high school can remove a huge financial burden from his family, which then can allow for more ACHA hockey opportunities to be considered as the cost to play becomes more palatable if the tuition bill is 40 or 50 percent lower than expected.
 
All three men’s divisions and both women’s divisions send representatives to compete in their respective ACHA National Championship tournaments. The selection process and format are different in each division and will be discussed within each division’s individual spotlight story.
 
For the rest of this piece we are going to focus on ACHA hockey at the Division 1 level.
 
 
ACHA Division 1 Hockey
The exact number of teams competing at the ACHA Division 1 level in 2019-20 was 71. That number will increase to at least 72 for the upcoming season with George Mason making the jump from D3 to D1. It remains to be seen if there will be any other additions or subtractions.  
 
“Everyone wants to compete at the top level of their sport if they are able, and we are confident we can effectively compete at the D1 level," Hyjek said. "It shows the progression of our program at GMU, and don't rule out the potential of a future D3 team in addition to our Division 1 roster. By joining the other 70 or so D1 teams, we can offer a more well-rounded hockey experience for our athletes and game experience for our fans."
 
Colleges competing at the ACHA Division 1 level range from relatively local schools such as George Mason, Towson, Navy and Delaware to big-time Power Five state schools such as Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado State, Iowa State, Rutgers, Alabama, Utah and Colorado.
 
Ironically, though, it’s not the brand-name schools that dominate. Instead, smaller colleges such as Adrian, Liberty, Lindenwood and Minot State are traditional powers and held down four of the top-five spots in this year’s final ACHA D1 rankings. Lindenwood, Adrian and Minot have combined to win six Division 1 national titles, while smaller schools such as Central Oklahoma (2), Davenport and Oakland have won championships as well.
 
Penn State, Illinois, Arizona State and Iowa State are the only big state-school national champs in ACHA D1 annals. Rounding out this year’s top 15 were programs like Ohio, Michigan-Dearborn, Stony Brook, Arizona, Indiana Tech, Central Oklahoma, Jamestown, Davenport, UNLV, Drexel and Illinois.
 
As you can tell from the list of ranked, there really is something for everyone when it comes to ACHA hockey.
 
A quick glance at this year’s top-five teams shows the following roster breakdowns:
 
  • Adrian College – all 29 players came from junior teams
    • 5 players from U.S. Tier 3 junior leagues
    • 4 players from U.S. Tier 2 junior leagues
    • 1 player from Canadian Tier 1 junior leagues
    • 19 other Canadian junior players
 
  • Liberty University – 20 players from juniors, 7 NCAA transfers (6-D3, 1-D1)
    • 7 players from U.S. Tier 3 junior leagues
    • 4 players from U.S. Tier 2 junior leagues (1 with Tier 1 experience)
    • 5 players from Canadian Tier 1 junior leagues
    • 4 other Canadian junior players
 
  • Lindenwood University – 22 players from juniors, 3 NCAA D3 transfers
    • 12 players from U.S. Tier 3 junior leagues
    • 2 players from U.S. Tier 2 junior leagues
    • 4 players from Canadian Tier 1 junior leagues
    • 4 other Canadian junior players
 
  • Ohio University – 13 players from juniors, 1 NCAA D3 transfer
    • 11 players from AAA or HS teams
    • 8 players from U.S. Tier 3 junior leagues
    • 3 players from U.S. Tier 2 junior leagues
    • 1 player from Canadian Tier 1 junior leagues
    • 1 other Canadian junior player
 
  • Minot State University – 25 players from juniors, 1 player from high school
    • 1 player from U.S. Tier 3 junior leagues
    • 1 player from U.S. Tier 2 junior leagues
    • 17 players from Canadian Tier 1 junior leagues
    • 6 other Canadian junior players
 
What does this tell us?
 
First, the top-ranked ACHA Division 1 programs recruit very much like NCAA Division III teams, but possibly with an even greater emphasis on Canadian junior hockey. Of 134 total roster spots, 109 (81 percent) were taken by players recruited directly from junior leagues with 13 spots going to transfers from NCAA schools (10 percent) who likely played junior hockey as well.
 
Second, there are opportunities for players coming directly from high school or 18U AAA playing for even the top ACHA programs. Nearly half of fourth-ranked Ohio University’s roster is made up of players who went directly from AAA or high school to their college team.
 
“We recruit across all levels of hockey,” Duquesne University ACHA Division I head coach Conrad Waite said. “We have players straight out of high school who might have been good enough to play juniors, but were ready to go to school. We have guys who go and play a year or two of juniors and then come to us. And we have guys who age out of juniors and decide we're a better fit for them versus an NCAA D3 school. We have AAA guys who with the right path in juniors could have potentially played NCAA D1 or definitely at the D3 level, and we have U18 AA or straight-out-of-high school guys who are on a later development curve, but really grow over their time with us.”
 
Opportunities like these for players who choose not to play juniors increase as you look at teams that were not ranked among the top five. For example, 15 of 29 players on No. 15 Illinois’ roster came straight from 18U AAA or high school – one actually came from a AA team. Rhode Island, traditionally one of the top ACHA D1 programs in the Northeast and past national champion, had 19 of 29 players on its current roster come directly from 18U, prep or high school teams.
 
Drexel University in Philadelphia entered ACHA Nationals ranked 14th in Division 1 and was scheduled to play 19th-ranked Indiana (Pa.) in the first round, with the winner moving on to face No. 3 Lindenwood. For the Dragons, 16 of the 27 players on their roster came directly from high-school, AA or AAA programs. IUP had 10 similar players on its roster this season.
 
For Towson University, which plays at the ACHA D1 level, more than 20 of the 27 players on its roster were direct products of club or high school hockey.
 
So for a player who wants to pursue hockey as long as possible in hopes of reaching the highest level he can, if an NCAA option doesn’t pan out, there may be an opportunity with a nationally ranked ACHA Division I program. For other players who prefer to pursue college immediately after high school, there may be an opportunity to play for a top-ranked team, but if not there should be options with other D1 programs that will provide an opportunity to compete against those top programs and potentially advance to a national-championship tournament.
 
Speaking of Nationals, the field for 2020 ACHA Division I National Championships in Frisco, Texas, had been set and teams were preparing to travel there for the event when USA Hockey decided to cancel all of its national-championship tournaments as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. As a USA Hockey-sanctioned league, the ACHA had to fall in line and cancel its Nationals just one week before this year’s tournament was set to begin.
 
The ACHA crowns national champions in all five of its men’s and women’s divisions, with 72 teams and more than 1,500 players competing at one venue. Last year’s tournament also was held in the Dallas area, and the 2021 event is scheduled to be held at the gigantic New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Mass.
 
At the Division 1 level, six conference champions – the winners of Central Hockey Mid-America (CHMA), the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association (ECHA), Eastern States College Hockey (ESCH), the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL), the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League (NECHL) and the Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL) – receive automatic berths to the national tournament, with the remaining 14 participants determined by computer ranking.
 
The top 12 seeds get a bye into round of 16, with seeds 13 through 20 playing for the right to take on one of the top-four seeds in the second round. Once the semifinalists are determined, the teams are re-seeded and matched up so that the highest-remaining see faces the lowest-remaining seed.
 
The grind of junior hockey isn’t for everyone, but it’s the route that approximately 90 percent of all NCAA hockey players must take to realize that dream.  
 
Many young players prefer instead to take the traditional route to college straight out of high school just like the majority of their graduating class. Some families simply can’t make the continued investment of $12,000 or more per year for their kids to keep playing at the junior level. And other young players decide to give juniors a shot, but after a year decide that they are ready for the next step in their lives.
 
The decision to attend college is never a bad one. Fortunately for kids who love the game of hockey, even if they decide to go the college route right out of high school they can continue playing the game at a very high level while attending a school they love and competing for a national championship.
 
Like so many things we talk about when it comes to hockey, players shouldn’t get caught up in an NCAA vs. ACHA discussion and feel like they failed if for whatever reason they end up playing non-varsity hockey for an ACHA program. The ACHA provides an incredible opportunity for a young player to attend the exact type of college he wants go to whenever he chooses to enroll while also allowing him to represent that school playing the game he loves.
 
“I think the biggest thing for a kid to consider when thinking about college hockey is what experience are they looking for as a whole, both when it comes to college itself as well as hockey,” Waite said. “I think the ACHA has more to offer to more players simply because of how diverse the options are – whether it's the ability to go to a big state school like Alabama or Oklahoma and still play high level of hockey or to enjoy college life on a unique campus in the middle of a city like Pittsburgh at Duquesne.”
 
Seems like a pretty good deal.