The University of Delaware will add women's ice hockey as a varsity sport and join College Hockey America (CHA) starting July 1, 2025, Blue Hen Athletics announced Friday. Delaware State becomes her 45th university in the nation to sponsor a Division I women's ice hockey program.
A public press conference will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 4 at Fred Rust Arena and will be streamed live on YouTube.
The national search for a varsity women's ice hockey head coach will begin in January 2024, allowing a full year of recruiting and preparation for the inaugural season in 2025-26. UD has offered women's ice hockey as a club sport since 2003, and the club has ranked in the top 10 nationally in each of the past 10 seasons. The university will continue to offer women's ice hockey as a club sport beyond 2024-25.
“The addition of women's varsity ice hockey at UD is the latest bold step in the evolution of our athletics program and increases the profile of our outstanding Blue Hen student-athletes and the university as a whole,” said UD President Dennis Assanis. “We are deeply committed to gender equity in athletics and across UD, and we are excited to join this growing sport.”
With the announcement of Delaware State football's transition to FBS, the university committed to adding women's sports to remain Title IX compliant. The university considered a number of important criteria, including feasibility, continued commitment to gender equity, recruitment numbers, conference fit, facilities, and ability to win championships.
“We're excited to be able to contribute to the growth of women's ice hockey here, both nationally and at UD,” said Krissi Rawak, UD's Director of Athletics, Community and Campus Recreation. “We are confident that women's ice hockey will succeed both on and off the ice. Joining CHA will allow us to be surrounded by ambitious organizations and the best competition in the country.”
In due diligence, UD received funding from the Industry Growth Fund, a joint initiative of the NHL and NHLPA, aimed at assisting schools considering adding men's and/or women's DI varsity ice hockey. A feasibility study was conducted. The findings confirm UD's findings and reveal that women's ice hockey is the best way forward. In addition to being the right decision for the university, it also has the great benefit of helping grow a popular sport in this part of the country.
“The growth of women's hockey is undeniable and unstoppable,” said Kim Davis, NHL's senior vice president of social impact, growth initiatives and legislation. “The NHL is proud to support the development of the University of Delaware's women's ice hockey team. This represents our vision to open competitive access, opportunity, and ambitious pathways for young women. ”
Delaware State and the Philadelphia Flyers have entered into a partnership, details to be shared when the Flyers take on the Winnipeg Jets at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, Feb. 8, the day after National Women's Athletics Day. . The Flyers have a strong history of contributing to the growth of the game of hockey, especially in women's hockey. The organization launched a women's-only “Learn to Play” program, hosted the Women's Professional Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) “Dream Gap Tour,” and launched a women-focused front office mentorship program, “Next Shift.” Founded.
“We are very grateful to the NHL and College Hockey, Inc. for working together with the University of Delaware to determine that women's ice hockey was the right sport for us to add,” Lawak said. said.
College Hockey America was founded in 2002 as the NCAA Division I women's ice hockey conference. Currently, CHA includes six of her institutions spanning three states from the Midwest to the East Coast. Members include Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse University. Since the league's inception, CHA has represented players in the NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship 19 times. Mercyhurst earned her 14th berth in her four appearances in the Frozen Four and reached the 2009 national championship game.
Individually, CHA players have earned All-American honors 12 times. CHA has also been named a finalist for the Patti Kazmaier Award 14 times since 2005. That group includes five players in the top three and one winner, Vicki Bendas of Mercyhurst in 2010. CHA graduates are skating and representing eight countries at the Winter Olympics. He won 14 medals, including 4 gold medals. Professionally, 15 CHA alumni are in training camp with teams in the Professional Women's Hockey League, including seven league alumni selected in September's PWHL draft.
“College Hockey America is very excited to welcome the newly established Division I hockey program from the University of Delaware to the CHA and NCAA women's ice hockey,” said College Hockey America Commissioner Michelle Morgan. Ta. “Chrissi Lawak and her team have done a great job in getting us to this point. We look forward to seeing the program take shape and build for the first season of competition in 2025-26. I look forward to collaborating with her.”
With the addition of women's ice hockey in 2025-26, UD Athletics now sponsors 22 intercollegiate programs.
