Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association

Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association
(ECHA)
Established 1991
Association ACHA
Division Division I
Members 7
Sports fielded Ice hockey (men's: yes; women's: no)
Region Mid Atlantic/East Coast
Headquarters Parkton, Maryland
Website ECHA.com

Established in 1991, the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association is a hockey-only college athletic conference whose members are East Coast schools. The ECHA is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 1.

League Format

ECHA members play each conference opponent twice, once at home and once away. In addition teams play non-league games against other ACHA member schools. At the conclusion of the regular season in February the league holds a championship tournament. At the conclusion of the ECHA championship tournament, the ECHA regular season champions receive an automatic bid to the ACHA Men's Division I National Tournament.

League History

The ECHA is currently composed of seven member institutions: Drexel, Villanova, Temple, Penn State Berks, The United States Naval Academy, Towson, and Lehigh. The 2012/2013, 2013/2014, and 2015/2016 regular season titles were won by Navy; they also won the postseason tournament in 2013.

Previous members include Lebanon Valley College who ended ECHA competition with the 2012 season. In the 2014/2015 season the University of Scranton folded their hockey program bringing the current number of members to 6. Also in 2014/2015 Drexel won its fifth ECHA tournament championship 10-3 against Towson, while Villanova won the regular season title. Drexel goalie Zach Kanter was named ECHA tournament MVP in 2015. In effort to maintain the conferences automatic bid to the National Championship Tournament, the ECHA welcomed Temple University beginning in 2015/2016. That same year the Naval Academy took home the regular season championship.

The ECHA tournament champion is awarded the A.J. Ruth Memorial Cup. .

ECHA Championship History

Year Regular Season Champion Tournament Champion
2000-2001 Drexel
2001-2002 Rhode Island
2004-2005 Drexel
2011-12 Drexel Drexel
2012-13 Navy Towson
2013-14 Navy Navy
2014-15 Villanova Drexel
2015-16 Navy Navy
2016-17 Drexel Drexel

Member Institutions

School Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Primary conference
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA 1891 Private/Non-sectarian 17,000 Dragons Colonial Athletic Association (D-I)
Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA 1865 Private/Non-sectarian 6,956 Mountain Hawks Patriot League (D-I)
Penn State-Berks Reading, PA 1958 Public 3,216 Nittany Lions North Eastern Athletic Conference (D-III)
Towson University Towson, MD 1866 Public 19,758 Tigers Colonial Athletic Association (D-I)
Villanova University Villanova, PA 1842 Private/Catholic 9,535 Wildcats Big East Conference (D-I)
United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD 1845 Public/Federal 4,000 Midshipmen Patriot League (D-I)
Temple University Philadelphia, PA 1884 Public 37,788 Owls American Athletic Conference (D-I)

Conference arenas

School Hockey Arena Location Capacity
Drexel Class of 1923 Arena Philadelphia, PA 2,900
Lehigh Steel Ice Center Bethlehem, PA 1,000
Navy McMullen Hockey Arena Annapolis, MD 1,000 (expandable to 3,000)
Penn State-Berks Bodyzone Sports & Wellness Complex Wyomissing, PA 1,000
Towson Ice World Abington, MD 1,000
Villanova Hatfield Ice World Hatfield, PA N/A
Temple North East Skate Zone Philadelphia, PA N/A

Former members

School Location Founded Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Last year competed in ECHA Current Conference
University of Scranton Scranton, PA 1888 Private 6,034 Royals 2013 CSCHC (ACHA D2)
Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA 1866 Private 1,600 Flying Dutchmen 2012 ESCHL
West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA 1880 Public 12,834 Golden Rams 2008 ESCHL
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI 1892 Public 15,800 Rams ESCHL
Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 1766 Public 65,000 Scarlet Kinghts ESCHL
West Virginia University Morgantown, WV 1867 Public 29,466 Mountaineers 2006 CHMA
Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA 1878 Public 10,364 Dukes 2006 CHMA

See also


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