Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's champions

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates as a women's ice hockey conference in the NCAA's National Collegiate division, the de facto equivalent of Division I in that sport.[a] Founded in 1951 as a men's ice hockey conference, it added a women's division in 1999, and continued to operate men's and women's divisions through the 2020–21 hockey season. After that season, the WCHA disbanded its men's division after seven of its 10 men's members left the conference to reestablish the Central Collegiate Hockey Association; the WCHA remained in operation as a women-only league. Each team plays 28 league games, each team playing four games against every other, two home games and two road games.

Ridder Arena in Minneapolis has hosted the WCHA Tournament 18 times

The women's WCHA tournament seeds all 8 teams, and conducts a standard 8-team tournament at a single site over 4 days. The winner receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. WCHA teams won the first 13 NCAA Tournament championships from its inception in 2001.[1]

Championships

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By season

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Season Regular season champion[2] Tournament champion[2] NCAA national champion[1] Notes
1999–2000 Minnesota–Duluth Minnesota–Duluth [b] Bemidji State, Minnesota, Minnesota–Duluth, Minnesota State, Ohio State, St. Cloud State and Wisconsin begin conference play
2000–01 Minnesota Minnesota–Duluth Minnesota–Duluth NCAA begins awarding a national championship for women's ice hockey
2001–02 Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota–Duluth
2002–03 Minnesota–Duluth Minnesota–Duluth Minnesota–Duluth
2003–04 Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota
2004–05 Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota North Dakota begins conference play
2005–06 Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin
2006–07 Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin
2007–08 Minnesota–Duluth Minnesota–Duluth Minnesota–Duluth WCHA championships later vacated due to ineligible player
2008–09 Minnesota Wisconsin Wisconsin
2009–10 Minnesota &
Minnesota–Duluth[c]
Minnesota–Duluth Minnesota–Duluth Minnesota and Minnesota–Duluth were named regular season conference co-champions after finishing tied for first. Minnesota–Duluth got the top seed for the conference tournament.
2010–11 Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin
2011–12 Wisconsin Minnesota Minnesota
2012–13 Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota Undefeated season for Minnesota
2013–14 Minnesota Minnesota
2014–15 Minnesota Wisconsin Minnesota
2015–16 Wisconsin Wisconsin Minnesota
2016–17 Wisconsin Wisconsin Last season for North Dakota
2017–18 Wisconsin Minnesota
2018–19 Minnesota Wisconsin Wisconsin
2019–20 Wisconsin Ohio State NCAA championship tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin
2021–22 Minnesota Ohio State Ohio State St. Thomas began conference play
2022–23 Ohio State Minnesota Wisconsin
2023–24 Ohio State Wisconsin Ohio State

By school

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School Regular season
championships
Tournament
championships
NCAA national
championships
Last
regular season
championship
Last
tournament
championship
Last
NCAA national
championship
Bemidji State 0 0 0
Minnesota 11 8 6 2022 2023 2016
Minnesota–Duluth 4 5 5 2010[c] 2010 2010
Minnesota State 0 0 0
North Dakota 0 0 0
Ohio State 2 2 2 2024 2022 2024
St. Cloud State 0 0 0
St. Thomas 0 0 0
Wisconsin 9 10 7 2021 2024 2023

Notes

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  1. ^ The NCAA officially uses the "National Collegiate" term to describe championship events that are open to members of more than one NCAA division. All such NCAA championship events use the term except men's ice hockey, in which the top-level championship is styled as a Division I championship because of the previous existence of a Division II championship in that sport.
  2. ^ Prior to the NCAA establishing a women's ice hockey championship in the 2000–01 season, the American Women's College Hockey Alliance held a national championship from the 1997–98 season to the 1999–2000 season. Minnesota won the AWCHA championship in 2000.
  3. ^ a b Minnesota and Minnesota–Duluth were named regular season co-champions in 2010

Location of women's WCHA tournaments

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Footnotes

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References

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  1. ^ a b "NC Women's Ice Hockey Championship History". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "WCHA History and Championships". Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  3. ^ Marttila, Arlan. "Minnesota takes third straight WCHA tourney title with 3-1 win over North Dakota". USCHO.com. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  4. ^ "Amsoil Arena to host 2025 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Five". wcha.com. 2024-03-09. Retrieved 2024-03-09.