East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association Explained

Established: 2001
Members: 24
Sport: College Ice Hockey
League: ACHA Division III
Region: Mid-Atlantic/Southeast
States: Maryland
Washington, DC
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Headquarters: Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Commissioner: Brian Meyers
Website: http://echahockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/echahockey/

The East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association (ECCHA) was an ACHA college ice hockey conference in the Southeast region of the United States.

The ECCHA was created in August of 2001 as Blue Ridge Hockey Conference or BRHC by eight collegiate hockey programs in Virginia and North Carolina. It was originally created as an ACHA Division III spin-off of the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL), which competed at the Division II level. The original intent of the BRHC was to house newer and/or less organized programs until they demonstrated enough success to be promoted to the ACCHL. However, after a few years, the BRHC separated from the ACCHL and became its own stand-alone league.

The BRHC has advanced four of its members to the ACHA National Tournament since 2003.

As of the summer of 2017, the BRHC was restructured to form the East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association with the intent to improve the quality of its brand of ACHA Division III hockey in the mid-Atlantic and Southern region. The league transitioned back into the ACCHL for the start of the 2019-2020 season.[1]

Teams

Former teams

The last year as BRHC, in 2017, conference's membership had tripled since 2007, making it the largest collegiate hockey conference in the United States.

Colonial Division

SchoolLocationFoundedAffiliationNicknameColors
Christopher Newport UniversityNewport News, VA1961PublicCaptains
East Carolina UniversityGreenville, NC1907Public (University of North Carolina System)Pirates
University of North Carolina-WilmingtonWilmington, NC1947Public (University of North Carolina System)Seahawks
Radford UniversityRadford, VA1910PublicHighlanders
Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA1838PublicRams
Coastal Carolina UniversityConway, SC1954PublicChanticleers
George Mason UniversityFairfax, VA1949 as branch of University of Virginia, independent university by 1972PublicPatriots

Atlantic Division- North Region

SchoolLocationFoundedAffiliationNicknameColors
American UniversityWashington D.C.1893Private/MethodistEagles
Catholic UniversityWashington D.C.1887Private/Roman CatholicCardinals
Marymount UniversityArlington, VA1856Private/Roman Catholic Saints
Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandale, VA1964Community CollegeNighthawks
College of William and MaryWilliamsburg, VA1693PrivateTribe

Atlantic Division- South Region

SchoolLocationFoundedAffiliationNicknameColors
Old Dominion UniversityNorfolk, VA1930PublicMonarchs
University of RichmondRichmond, VA1930PrivateSpiders
Appalachian State UniversityBoone, NC1899Public (University of North Carolina System)Mountaineers
Johnson & Wales UniversityCharlotte, NC2004Private/Non-profitWildcats
The CitadelCharleston, SC1839Public Military CollegeBulldogs

Conference champions

The championship tournament is held every year on the third weekend of February. In 2015 it was held at Chilled Ponds in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Year Champion
2001-02 Charleston
2002-03 Appalachian State
2003-04 Richmond
2004-05 Richmond
2005-06 Richmond
2006-07 Richmond
2007-08 Old Dominion
2008-09 VCU
2009-10 Appalachian State
2010-11 William & Mary
2011-12 Liberty
2012-13 James Madison
2013-14 James Madison
2014-15 Catholic University
2015-16Northern Virginia Community College
2016-17Citadel
2017-18Richmond

Colonial Division

Year Champion
2008-09 George Washington
2009-10 Loyola-Maryland
2010-11 Loyola-Maryland
2011-12 Christopher Newport
2012-13 Christopher Newport
2013-14 Loyola-Maryland
2014-15Christopher Newport
2015-16George Mason
2016-17Christopher Newport
2017-18Christopher Newport

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About the ECCHA. East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association. en-us. 2018-04-28.