.png)
ALABAMA
HOCKEY
Est: 2005
A NEW ERA BEGINS
ACHA X ACCHL MEN'S SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE
BEGINNING 2025-2026
ALABAMA PRESS RELEASE
ALABAMA HOCKEY
For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Will Zeek
General Manager
256-651-8052
ALABAMA HOCKEY AMONG FOUNDING MEMBERS OF
NEW ACHA ACCHL MEN’S DIVISION 1 SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE
A new era is set to begin for Alabama Hockey. Seasoned American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 1 members, The Alabama Frozen Tide has been granted a path to join a new ACHA Division 1 conference for 2025-2026. The conference will start under the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL) and has been given preliminary approval by the ACHA to add a Division 1 conference. The ACHA and ACCHL reached a Memorandum of Understanding allowing core members: University of Alabama, NC State University, University of Louisville, and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to begin play in the ACHA once the six-team conference requirement is met. The ACCHL conference is focused on bringing together some of the biggest brands in college athletics in the south to compete at the highest level of non-NCAA college hockey in North America.
The ACCHL, along with the founding members, is charged with creating a conference whose members meet that mission and include the following parameters:
-
Member of a “Power 5 Conference” with historical and current athletic success, making them an NCAA athletic brand name.
-
The top team at their university, meaning there is no NCAA team.
-
Currently enjoys widespread fan support.
Head Coach Mike Fairbanks is thrilled about what is to come with this new conference; “The formation of this new conference will lead to great opportunities for the ACHA teams in the Southeast! This new conference will spawn growth, needed exposure, better opportunities, and elevated competition to the teams that are participating in the new conference! Alabama Hockey is proud to be a founding member of the new Southeast conference and looks forward to a bright future that lies ahead!”
The Frozen Tide has long been the center of college hockey growth in the South, having been members of the ACHA since 2005 and helping found the original Southeast College Hockey Conference (SECHC) in 2008-2009. Since 2015, Alabama has been one of only two SEC schools to compete at the ACHA D1 level. The growth of hockey in the south and specifically at Alabama, point to why now is the perfect time for a new Southeast conference.
The ACHA sees the formation of this conference as an essential part of its growth plan. According to Executive Director, Craig Barnett, “Current ACHA members University of Alabama and Liberty University are in that geographic location, so adding a new Men’s Division 1 league with ‘Power 5’ type members will enhance not only Men’s Division 1, but the ACHA as a whole. We are excited to follow the progress of this prospect!”
According to General Manager Will Zeek, “Alabama is eager participate in a conference to showcase the highest levels of collegiate hockey in the Southeast. It will in turn, inspire an entire new generation of youth hockey players in non-traditional hockey areas who aspire to eventually be rostered on these exceptional university ice hockey teams. The timing of the conference is the perfect storm. Hockey is very much alive and well in the south and growing fast. This will fuel the fire in an extremely positive direction”
According to NC State head coach and founding member, Tim Healy, meeting the six-team threshold will not be an issue as the league is already speaking to multiple teams about joining the conference. “As word of this conference has circulated amongst schools, we are speaking with a new team daily. Adding teams is not a question; it is about adding the right teams to ensure this becomes the best conference in the ACHA. We also have the right four partners to start this journey. This will be a great conference between the core four and the schools that have inquired."
For the players, this is a measure of the program's growth and is as much about the past as it is about the future. Junior Team President Austin Fink says “It is game changing not only for the current guys on the team, but also the club here as a whole. It gives us a shot at a national auto bid every single year, and it is a huge step in the right direction towards hopefully becoming a NCAA program one day!”
About Alabama Hockey
The Alabama Hockey Club was founded in 2005 by University of Alabama students. Alabama began play at the ACHA D3 level and was a founding member of the Southeast College Hockey Conference (SECHC) with Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. After many successful seasons at D3, Alabama was promoted to the Division 1 level of ACHA hockey in 2015 and played its first D1 game against West Virginia on September 11, 2015. The team won 6-3 and has competed at the D1 level ever since. The program is now in its nineteenth season and plays its home games at the Pelham Civic Complex in Pelham, AL. For more information, visit alabamahockeyclub.com
FOUNDING MEMBERS
ACHA PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Media Contacts:
Christopher Perry Craig Barnett
Communications Manager Executive Director
405-488-4048 814-449-9868
cperry@achahockey.org cbarnett@achahockey.org
AMERICAN COLLEGIATE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES SUPPORT OF EXPLORATION BY ACCHL TO FORM
NEW MEN’S DIVISION 1 CONFERENCE
TROY, MI (May 23, 2024) – The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), the governing body for non-NCAA men’s and women’s hockey in the United States, today announced its support of the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL) to explore the formation of a conference within ACHA Men’s 1 Division Conference with an intention to start play in 2025-2026.
Current ACHA member teams from University of Alabama (Men’s Division 1), University of Louisville (Men’s Division 2), North Carolina State University (Men’s Division 2) and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Men’s Division 2) are expected to participate in the newly proposed ACCHL M1 conference.
The proposed ACCHL M1 conference will be unique in its purpose as its mission will be to grow college hockey at universities in the Southeast United States that are members of Power Five Conferences, and currently do not have an NCAA team. The ACCHL has been charged with creating a conference whose members meet that mission and include the following parameters:
-
Member of a “Power 5 Conference” with historical and current athletic success, making them an NCAA athletic brand name.
-
The top team at their university, meaning there is no NCAA team.
-
A well-organized and fully developed ACHA program.
-
Currently enjoys widespread fan support.
“As the ACHA continues to look for ways to grow and provide prospective student-athletes with opportunities to continue their hockey careers in college, we have identified a few prospects,” said ACHA Executive Director Craig Barnett. “One of those prospects is to support the ACCHL conference as they explore and pursue an ACHA Men’s Division 1 conference. The ACHA has identified certain conditions that would need to be met to be compliant with a Men’s Division 1 league and we are hopeful that the ACCHL leadership group will be successful in meeting those conditions to provide growth in the Southeast region!”
Barnett continued, “Current ACHA members University of Alabama and Liberty University are in that geographic location, so adding a new Men’s Division 1 league with ‘Power 5’ type members will enhance not only Men’s Division 1, but the ACHA as a whole. We are excited to follow the progress of this prospect!”
“Liberty University is so excited to see and support the growth of ACHA D1 hockey in the Southeast,” said Kirk Handy, Head Coach at ACHA M1 Liberty University. “I believe that this effort is just start of seeing many more teams join ACHA D1 in the Southeast!”
“The inevitable evolution of ACC Hockey to the most competitive level of ACHA collegiate hockey is absolute proof of the growth of our game in the Southeast,” said ACCHL Commissioner Mike Walley. “With the creation of an M1 Conference in the Southeast, there will now be top tier ACHA hockey in all geographic regions of the country. Specifically, the ACC will provide a conference home to showcase the highest levels of collegiate hockey in the Southeast, and in turn, will inspire an entire new generation of youth hockey players in non-traditional hockey areas who aspire to eventually be rostered on these exceptional university ice hockey teams.”
For more information, please contact ACHA Executive Director Craig Barnett at cbarnett@achahockey.org.
# # #
About American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) was founded in 1991 and is the national association for Non-NCAA Collegiate Hockey throughout the United States. Our organization of more than 460 colleges and university-affiliated teams representing 48 states provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes the sport of Hockey nationwide. With approximately 13,000 players and coaches as well as countless volunteers and game officials, the ACHA has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade and continues to be a viable option for college bound student-athletes to continue playing competitive hockey nationwide. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, the ACHA's primary mission is to support the growth of Collegiate Hockey while emphasizing academic performance, personal development, and opportunities for regional, national, and international competition. The ACHA identifies standards which serve to unite and regulate teams at the collegiate level and completed its 33rd season in March 2024. For more information, visit achahockey.org.
