MANKATO — College hockey’s newest conference may not be “super,” as some had been calling it over the last week, but it does consider itself a “national” player.

The league, which will divorce five teams from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and one from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in 2013-14, unveiled its new name at a press event in Colorado Springs, Colo., Wednesday.

It will be called the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Officials from the schools — North Dakota, Denver, Colorado College, Minnesota Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha and Miami — said the conference was not formed “in haste,” and revealed that discussions began as far back as last fall, not long after the Big Ten announced its plans to make hockey an official sport.

“We were facing some uncertainty going forward,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said, “especially in scheduling and recruiting.”

While there has been much speculation about the reasons for NCHC’s teams breaking away from their current leagues, little was said at the press conference about any dissatisfaction they may have with the WCHA and the CCHA, including the leadership or current direction of those associations.

“The common thread among all institutions is a commitment to maintain a high quality level of college hockey,” Gwozdecky said. “The conference will provide a known structure and framework in the foreseeable future, which each institution can use as stability moving forward in these challenging times with our sport.”

The league is not limited to six teams, and North Dakota athletic director Brian Faison said officials will continue to “research and vet” additional members. The CCHA’s Notre Dame remains a strong possibility, he said.

“They’re certainly a program that meets our core values of our conference and we have an interest in them, but we’ll continue to explore other options,” Faison said.

The WCHA will be left with Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, Alaska-Anchorage and Michigan Tech.

In a press release issued Wednesday afternoon WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod expressed sadness about the league’s breakup.

“Obviously, it’s a tough day for the WCHA and a sad one for me personally, and it’s one that is not easy to put into perspective,” McLeod said. “We wish everyone well, but make no mistake, the (WCHA) is not going away.”

Likely, more members will be added. Northern Michigan reportedly is all but in, while Alaska (Fairbanks) has also been mentioned. Both are members of the CCHA.

Other remaining CCHA schools include Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Lake Superior State, Ferris State.

Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman said earlier this week that representatives of the remaining WCHA schools are scheduled to meet on Friday in the Twin Cities.

In its release, the WCHA said it’s moving forward:

“As regards to our future, the WCHA has a short-term plan that we will implement immediately. In the long term, we will continue to formulate a strategic approach that will ensure the well-being of the association and its member teams for the long run.”

The new league is essentially a collection of the west’s remaining power schools after Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State leave for the Big Ten.

All six teams in the new conference competed in the NCAA tournament this year.

“This type of conference, where you have the best playing each other every weekend starting in October is a daunting task,” Gwozdecky said. “We want to play the best. We understand it’s going to be difficult.”

The competitiveness of the teams was a big draw for Nebraska-Omaha.

“We’ve made a huge commitment to hockey,” athletic director Trev Alberts said. “This is exactly what we envisioned two and a half years ago, aligning with programs that have really competed at the highest level of hockey.”



This story contains information from The Associated Press.