| European University Hockey League | |
| Country: |  Slovakia (5 teams)  Czech Republic (3 teams)  Austria (1 team)  Poland (1 team) |
| Region: | Central Europe |
| Leader Title: | League President |
| Leader Name: | Jaroslav Straka |
| Leader Title2: | LeagueVice-President |
| Leader Name2: | Ľubomír Sekeráš |
| Founded: | 2013 |
| First: | 2014–15 |
| Teams: | 10 |
| Champions: | UK Praha (1st title) |
| Most Successful Club: | UK Praha (3 titles) |
| Headquarters: | Trenčín, Slovakia |
| Website: | http://www.euhl.eu |
| Current Season: | 2013–14 EUHL season |
The European University Hockey League (EUHL) is the first European university league in ice hockey, founded in 2013. It is managed by the European University Hockey Association (EUHA). The idea for a university hockey league in Europe came from Jaroslav Straka, with support from Lubomir Sekeras, Frantisek Sadecky, and Peter Spankovic. The initial idea was for a pan-European expansion through the creation of four divisions to save money and time: Eastern (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Hungary), Western (Germany I, France, Belgium, The Netherlands), North (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark) and South (Germany II, Austria II, Switzerland, Slovenia). Presently the EUHL consists of 10 teams from 4 countries, but next year there will be more teams included. The new applicants come from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Hungary, accompanied by American universities and associations from the USA.
The winner of the league is awarded the Sekeráš Championship Trophy, named after former Slovak NHL player Ľubomír Sekeráš, who is the co-founder of the league.[1]
Four divisions are planned – Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western. The Northern division will contain teams from universities in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark; the Eastern division teams from Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, and Hungary; the Southern division teams from Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Austria, and the Western division teams from France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.[2]
For the first season in 2013–14, only six teams were involved, forming only one division.
At the beginning of the first season only five teams were confirmed – three from Slovakia and two from the Czech Republic – even though more universities were interested in joining the league. However, on 13 November 2013 a new participant, VŠEMvs Managers from Bratislava joined the league, thus increasing the number of participants to six.[3]
In the second season the following teams participated:
| Institution | Location | Founded | Affiliation | Team name | Joined | Arena | Capacity | Titles | Website | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1347 | Public | UK Praha | 2013 | 3,200[4] | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 1999 | Private | CityU Gladiators Trenčín | 6,150 | 0 | https://web.archive.org/web/20131111212458/http://www.vsm.sk/svk/o-skole/sport/hokej/ | |||||||||||||
| Czech Technical University | Prague | 2001 | Public | Technika Praha | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 2004 | Private | Paneuropa Kings | Zimný štadión Vladimíra Dzurillu | 3,500 | 0 | https://web.archive.org/web/20131104224420/http://www.paneuropakings.com/ | ||||||||||||
| 1937 | Public | Slávia STU | 0 | http://hokej.yweb.sk | ||||||||||||||
| University of International and Public Relations Prague in Bratislava | Private | Diplomats Pressburg | 2014 | http://www.vip-vs.sk http://www.diplomatspressburg.eu | ||||||||||||||
| 1991 | Public | Akademici Plzeň | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Public | UMB Banská Bystrica | ||||||||||||||||
| The Podhale State College of Applied Sciences in Nowy Targ[5] | Nowy Targ | PPWSZ – Podhale Nowy Targ | 2015 | |||||||||||||||
| Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu - National-Louis University[6] | Krynica-Zdrój | 1928 | Public | Academy KTH 1928 Krynica-Zdrój | 2016 | |||||||||||||
| 1585 | Public | UHT Dukes Graz | 2015 | Eisstadion Liebenau | 4,050 | https://web.archive.org/web/20150926085246/http://uht-graz.com/ | ||||||||||||
| Public | UNIPO Warriors | 2016 | 2004 | Private | VŠEMvs Managers | 0 | --> |