The real-life Division 1 NCAA setup has been revised from a 6 conference, 59 team setup to an 8 conference, 72 team setup. The expanded universe includes the re-introduction of recently disbanded programs, the inclusion of some schools slated to join the real NCAA in the near future and a few straight-up fantasy inclusions. League formatting and scheduling has been streamlined as well. Division II and III hockey has been disbanded in the NHLX database to allow for a concentration of focus on DI.

 

Here’s a look at how the new conferences shake-out. Each conference consists of 9 teams now with historical and geographical proximity taking precedent in the arrangement.

 

National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC)

• The real 8 team NCHC is probably  the deepest and most competitive league in college hockey and there was little reason to change the core members. So the only change is the addition of Minnesota State from the CCHA. The Mavericks are fresh off a Frozen Four appearance and make the NCHC even stronger.

  • Additions: Minnesota State (CCHA)

  • Subtractions: None

 

Hockey East (HE)

• Hockey East has always been a historical powerhouse of a conference. It’s real team count is 11 so in NHLX, 2 teams have simply been relocated to other conferences to get down to 9 members. The core Boston-area schools and state flagship schools remain so Providence and Merrimack find themselves new homes in this database.

  • Additions: None

  • Subtractions: Merrimack (AHA), Providence (ECAC)

 

Big Ten (B1G)

• The Big Ten consists of 7 large, premier universities in real life, 6 being full-time B1G member and one associate member in Notre Dame. In NHLX, we see the introduction of the University of Illinois – a much talked-about potential real addition as well as an associate addition in Iowa State, who sport a successful and well-supported ACHA club.

  • Additions: Illinois (expansion), Iowa State (expansion)

  • Subtractions: None

 

Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC)

• The real ECAC is the nation’s largest conference at 12 real members so some pruning was in order here. In NHLX, four ECAC members are spun off to help reinforce new conferences while Providence is added to the mix to create a smaller but arguably more powerful conference. The Ivy League institutions all stay together here as they would not be broken up in real life.

  • Additions: Providence (HE)

  • Subtractions: Colgate (CUSA), RPI (AHA), St. Lawrence (CUSA), Union (AHA)

 

Central Collegiate Hockey Conference (CCHA)

• The CCHA is back in real life after a long absence and is slightly modified in NHLX. Minnesota State was “promoted” to the NCHC so two new programs were added, both of whom are actually becoming D1 programs in real life as well: Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD and Lindenwood University in St. Louis. Both are well-funded private universities who fit the “Central” in CCHA.

  • Additions: Augustana (expansion), Lindenwood (expansion)

  • Subtractions: Minnesota State (NCHC)

 

Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA)

• The eastern schools in the real AHA form the core of the revised version of the conference in NHLX. Joining them are a few relocated schools along the Atlantic seaboard – Merrimack from Hockey East and next door neighbors Union and RPI from the ECAC as well as Long Island making the jump from the independent ranks to a geographically sensible location.

  • Additions: Long Island (independent), Merrimack (HE), RPI (ECAC), Union (ECAC)

  • Subtractions: Air Force (PCC), Canisius (CUSA), Mercyhurst (CUSA), Niagara (CUSA) , RIT (CUSA)

 

Conference USA (CUSA)

• Conference USA is a new hockey conference which has at its core existing programs in the western parts of New York and Pennsylvania out of the ECAC and Atlantic Hockey while also reinstating Robert Morris and Alabama-Huntsville and giving Alabama-Huntsville a regional neighbor in the Nashville Predator-supported expansion program at Tennessee State.

  • Additions: Alabama-Huntsville (expansion), Canisius (AHA), Colgate (ECAC), Mercyhurst (AHA), Niagara (AHA), RIT (AHA), Robert Morris (expansion), St. Lawrence (ECAC), Tennessee State (expansion)

  • Subtractions: None – new conference

 

Pacific Coast Conference (PCC)

• The PCC is a new conference that will finally give the West Coast its own regional DI hockey conference. Existing schools in the new PCC include independents Arizona Stata and Alaska and Air Force moving to a more geographically sensible conference from the AHA. The rest of the schools are new, including the return of Alaska-Anchorage, the elevation of UNLV from an ACHA club team to DI, new hockey programs at Pac-12 universities Oregon, USC and Washington and Simon Fraser joining from British Columbia (SFU has previously studied having an NCAA hockey program).

  • Additions: Air Force (AHA), Alaska (independent), Alaska-Anchorage (expansion), Arizona State (independent), Oregon (expansion), Simon Fraser (BCIHL), UNLV (expansion), USC (expansion), Washington (expansion)

  • Subtractions: None – new conference

​

SCHEDULING & PLAYOFFS

The new conference alignment allows for an overhauled 46-game schedule (23 home, 23 away) for every team which will include:

• 32 conference games (4 x 8 conference opponent teams)

• 14 non-conference games (games against 2 random teams in each of the 7 other conferences, one home and one away…so 14 varied opponents in other conferences)

 

Non-con games start the schedule in October and also happen over the winter holidays. The rest of the schedule is filled in by conference games, which always occur in sets of two, either at home or away to reduce travel needs.

 

Each conference has a 4-team playoff tournament with the top 4 finishers in the conference over the course of the 46-game regular season. The eight conference tournament winners then square off in the NCAA Championships. The first round is best of 3 – then the remaining 4 teams play in the single-elimination Frozen Four to crown the NCAA Champion. You can think of it as a 32-team tournament with the first rounds played within your conference.

​