Saint Thomas University in St. Paul announced Wednesday that it will be joining the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) in 2026.
The Tommies made the jump from Division III to Division I in 2021 and they’ve been playing in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) Conference.
The CCHA includes Augustana, Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State and Northern Michigan. The conference has gone through a significant makeover in the past decade, and St. Thomas was one of eight schools to join in 2021.
Now in the NCHC, St. Thomas will join Colorado College, Denver, Miami (OH), Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Could State, Western Michigan and Arizona State.
UST’s women’s hockey program is expected to remain in the WCHA.
“I would like to thank Commissioner Weems, University of Nebraska Omaha Chancellor Joanne Li, and the entire NCHC Board of Directors for the invitation and support as St. Thomas joins one of the most competitive conferences in college hockey,” UST Athletic Director Dr. Phil Esten said in a release.
The NCHC hosts more premier college hockey brands in its conference, so this is seen as a move up in competition.
The Tommies went 3-32-1 in their first season of Division I competition, 11-23-2 in Year 2 and 15-20-2 last season. It’s a program with the resources to compete at the highest level of college hockey and they will now do it in the NCHC.
