East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association

The East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association (ECCHA) was an ACHA college ice hockey conference in the Southeast region of the United States.

Established: 2001
Members: 24
Sport: College Ice Hockey
League: ACHA Division III
Region: Mid-Atlantic/Southeast
States: Maryland
Washington, DC
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Headquarters: Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Commissioner: Brian Meyers
Website: http://echahockey.pointstreaksites.com/view/echahockey/

The ECCHA was created in August of 2001 as Blue Ridge Hockey Conference or BRHC by eight collegiate hockey programs in Virginia and North Carolina. It was originally created as an ACHA Division III spin-off of the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League (ACCHL), which competed at the Division II level. The original intent of the BRHC was to house newer and/or less organized programs until they demonstrated enough success to be promoted to the ACCHL. However, after a few years, the BRHC separated from the ACCHL and became its own stand-alone league.

The BRHC has advanced four of its members to the ACHA National Tournament since 2003.

As of the summer of 2017, the BRHC was restructured to form the East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association with the intent to improve the quality of its brand of ACHA Division III hockey in the mid-Atlantic and Southern region. The league transitioned back into the ACCHL for the start of the 2019-2020 season.[1]

Teams

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Former teams

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The last year as BRHC, in 2017, conference's membership had tripled since 2007, making it the largest collegiate hockey conference in the United States.

Colonial Division

School Location Founded Affiliation Nickname Colors
Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA 1961 Public Captains    
East Carolina University Greenville, NC 1907 Public (University of North Carolina System) Pirates    
University of North Carolina-Wilmington Wilmington, NC 1947 Public (University of North Carolina System) Seahawks    
Radford University Radford, VA 1910 Public Highlanders    
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA 1838 Public Rams    
Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC 1954 Public Chanticleers    
George Mason University Fairfax, VA 1949 as branch of University of Virginia, independent university by 1972 Public Patriots    

Atlantic Division- North Region

School Location Founded Affiliation Nickname Colors
American University Washington D.C. 1893 Private/Methodist Eagles    
Catholic University Washington D.C. 1887 Private/Roman Catholic Cardinals    
Marymount University Arlington, VA 1856 Private/Roman Catholic Saints    
Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA 1964 Community College Nighthawks    
College of William and Mary Williamsburg, VA 1693 Private Tribe    

Atlantic Division- South Region

School Location Founded Affiliation Nickname Colors
Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA 1930 Public Monarchs    
University of Richmond Richmond, VA 1930 Private Spiders    
Appalachian State University Boone, NC 1899 Public (University of North Carolina System) Mountaineers    
Johnson & Wales University Charlotte, NC 2004 Private/Non-profit Wildcats    
The Citadel Charleston, SC 1839 Public Military College Bulldogs    

Conference champions

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The championship tournament is held every year on the third weekend of February. In 2015 it was held at Chilled Ponds in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Year Champion
2001-02 Charleston
2002-03 Appalachian State
2003-04 Richmond
2004-05 Richmond
2005-06 Richmond
2006-07 Richmond
2007-08 Old Dominion
2008-09 VCU
2009-10 Appalachian State
2010-11 William & Mary
2011-12 Liberty
2012-13 James Madison
2013-14 James Madison
2014-15 Catholic University
2015-16 Northern Virginia Community College
2016-17 Citadel
2017-18 Richmond

Colonial Division

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Year Champion
2008-09 George Washington
2009-10 Loyola-Maryland
2010-11 Loyola-Maryland
2011-12 Christopher Newport
2012-13 Christopher Newport
2013-14 Loyola-Maryland
2014-15 Christopher Newport
2015-16 George Mason
2016-17 Christopher Newport
2017-18 Christopher Newport

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "About the ECCHA". East Coast Collegiate Hockey Association. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
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