ST CHARLES, Mo. — Lindenwood University is lacing up its skates to compete at the NCAA’s highest level in men’s hockey.
The private university, with its main campus in St. Charles, said Thursday it will add a NCAA Division I men’s hockey team, becoming the only university in the St. Louis region with a Division I hockey program.
The new Division I men’s team will begin play this fall, becoming the 63rd NCAA Division I program. Lindenwood currently has a Division I women’s hockey team and said it had been one of two U.S. universities to have a Division I women’s program, but not a men’s team.
The Division I team won’t be Lindenwood’s first foray into men’s hockey. It's had a hockey program for nearly 20 years and two men’s teams that compete in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), which is unaffiliated with the NCAA. Earlier this month, its men’s team won the ACHA national championship, its fourth title since 2009.
"This marks an exciting new chapter in the legacy of Lindenwood University and our men's ice hockey program," Lindenwood President John Porter said in a statement. "Our student-athletes have worked hard on the ice and in the classrooms, and have earned this opportunity to join our complement of NCAA sports as we transition to NCAA Division I."
For Lindenwood, the decision to add NCAA Division men’s hockey comes a month after it announced its athletic program is reclassifying from the NCAA’s Division II to Division I level and becoming a member of the Brentwood, Tennessee-based Ohio Valley Conference. It will begin its Division I transition in the 2022-23 academic year and expects its first full year of membership at the NCAA's top level will be in 2026-27. The Ohio Valley Conference doesn't sponsor men's hockey and Lindenwood said Thursday it is engaging in conversations with other conferences to find a home for its men’s hockey team.
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