Arizona State officially becomes a member of the NCHC today

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado Nearly a year after its initial announcement, Arizona State University has officially become a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The NCHC first announced that the Sun Devils would become the conference’s newest member on July 5, 2023, but ASU was granted full membership and voting rights as of today, July 1, 2024.

With the addition of Arizona State, the NCHC is now a nine-team conference, marking the first time the NCHC has expanded since play began in 2013-14. The conference is expected to grow to 10 teams when the University of St. Thomas officially joins on July 1, 2026. The NCHC membership currently consists of Arizona State University, Colorado College, the University of Denver, Miami University, the University of Minnesota Duluth, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of North Dakota, St. Cloud State University and Western Michigan University.

The NCHC is excited to officially welcome Arizona State University as a member, said NCHC Commissioner Heather Weems. “Over the past year, we have been in contact with ASU coaches and administrators and continue to be impressed with their men’s hockey program and dedication to success. As evidenced by last season’s results, they will immediately add to our established rivalry and increase the competitiveness of the NCHC.”

I also want to extend a special welcome to the ASU students and all Sun Devil fans, Weems added. Our students and fans are the heart of our NCHC programs and we know you will bring your own passion and warmth to the ice this year and in the years to come.

The Sun Devils enter the NCHC off the back of a program-record 24 wins (24-8-6) this past 2023-24 season, including a 3-2-2 mark against NCHC teams. ASU faces a challenging non-conference schedule in 2024-25, including hosting Michigan for a pair and playing a series at Providence. The Sun Devils play their first-ever conference games on Nov. 8-9 at Colorado College before welcoming Omaha to Mullett Arena on Nov. 15-16 for their first home conference series.

We have worked incredibly hard as a program to achieve this milestone. The 2024-25 season will mark Chapter Two for Sun Devil Hockey at the NCAA level as we compete in the best conference in college hockey, said Sun Devil Hockey Head Coach Greg Powers. I want to thank our former players and all of the people who have laid the foundation to get us to this point. I also want to thank the NCHC and its members for welcoming ASU. We will not take a day of competing for the Penrose Cup for granted.

The NCHC released its 2024-25 conference schedule in April, featuring a 108-game schedule for the first time, with each team continuing to play 24 conference games for the Penrose Cup. The NCHC’s new nine-team scheduling model consists of three, three-team pods based on geography, with teams guaranteed home and away games against the other two teams in their pod each season (eight games). The three-team pods are: Arizona State, Colorado College and Denver; Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and St. Cloud State; and Miami, Omaha and Western Michigan.

Arizona State also qualifies directly for the NCHC Tournament and the NCHC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Should the Sun Devils finish in the NCHC’s top four in 2024-25, they will host a quarterfinal game at Mullett Arena. As in previous years, the four quarterfinal winners will advance to the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn., for the final NCHC Frozen Faceoff on March 21-22, 2025. The NCHC will move to all-campus locations for the playoffs beginning in 2026.

“Today is a monumental day for Sun Devil Hockey, ASU fans and the hockey community in the Valley of the Sun as we officially become a member of the NCHC,” said Arizona State Athletics Director Graham Rossini. “We have worked hard to grow our program and attract conference members, accomplishing one of the key goals we set nearly 10 years ago when we announced the launch of Division 1 hockey at ASU. As part of the NCHC, we are committed to enhancing the student-athlete experience and further developing ASU’s Novus Innovation Corridor while expanding our presence to a new part of the country. We are excited to join the premier college hockey conference, competing against some of the best college hockey programs in America, and we are excited for the next chapter of Sun Devil Hockey.”

Mullett Arena serves as the home of Sun Devil Hockey on ASU’s campus. Mullett Arena seats 5,000 for hockey games (942 seats for students), with the NHL adding a $19.7 million annex featuring state-of-the-art locker rooms, a training room, a strength and conditioning room and more. ASU averaged nearly 4,800 fans per home game last season, ranking 13th nationally in capacity percentage.

Arizona State fans looking to watch the Sun Devils in their debut season in the NCHC can do so via the Conference's digital network, NCHC.tv. NCHC.tv will be home to more than 170 live games and events through the 2024-25 season, including every non-conference home and exhibition game and every conference game, home and away, except those televised nationally on CBS Sports Network. ASU fans can subscribe to NCHC.tv today to gain access to the Sun Devils’ non-conference home games and nearly every conference game this upcoming season before prices go up in September. Click here for more information about NCHC.tv, including availability on mobile and OTT apps like Roku, AppleTV and FireTV.

The NCHC has won six NCAA National Championships in its first 11 seasons (10 tournaments), with Denver (2017, 2022, 2024) winning three, including this past season, Minnesota Duluth (2018, 2019) winning two, and North Dakota (2016) earning the NCHC’s first national title. NCHC teams have made a combined 14 Frozen Four appearances in conference history, as well as 39 NCAA Tournament berths. Arizona State earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2019.

The 2024-25 season officially kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 5, with all nine NCHC teams in action, including Arizona State opening at Air Force in the first of two trips the Sun Devils will make to Colorado Springs. The chase for the Penrose Cup begins on Nov. 8 with four conference series, including ASU making its second trip to Colorado Springs to take on Colorado College for its inaugural NCHC series.

–#NCHChockey–