Five Schools That Should Add a D1 NCAA Hockey Team

The profile of women’s hockey has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years, and it’s time NCAA D1 women’s hockey did the same. Currently, there are 64 men’s hockey teams and 44 women’s hockey teams for NCAA D1, with the majority of teams in the Northeast or the Upper Midwest.

The biggest hurdle to adding more women’s hockey teams to the list is the financial burden. Schools would need to hire full-time coaches and support staff, start offering athletic scholarships, and determine whether they need to add more facilities, such as dressing rooms and offices. If the school doesn’t already have a hockey rink, building a 3,000 to 4,000 seat arena costs a whopping $75 million. It’s a tall order, especially with schools reevaluating their athletics departments post-pandemic and navigating the recent court decisions about paying players, but I believe it’s worth it. 

Michigan State

First on the list in everyone’s mind has to be Michigan State. The state of Michigan doesn’t have a D1 NCAA women’s hockey team, something that needs to change immediately. Michigan State currently has a NCAA D1 men’s hockey team and a club women’s hockey team. The women’s club team plays against D1 opponents, as they are part of the ACHA instead of the NCAA, a collegiate conference for lower-level sports. They’ve received a lot of media attention in the past few years because, unlike the men’s team, the women’s team has to pay to use the ice rink, a price tag that is around $40,000.

For the 2023-24 season, the university president ended up footing the bill, but it was a stark example of the difference in support for the men's and women’s teams. The men’s team was ranked 5th in the country last year, and it’s high time Michigan State gave their women’s team a chance to have similar success.