Spanning six decades and marking its 58th season of men's competition and 11th season of women's competition in 2009-10, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association continues to be defined by its history, its tradition and its continuing success.

From it's founding days in 1951 as the Midwest Collegiate Hockey League (MCHL), on to the Western Intercollegiate Hockey League (WIHL) in 1958, and finally to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) in 1959, this prestigious athletic conference has developed and maintained a tradition of excellence that truly is second to none.

No Division 1 collegiate conference - in any sport - can top the impressive list of national scale accomplishments of the WCHA and its member teams. Since 1951, teams representing the men's WCHA have earned a record 36 NCAA (national) championships, finished as the national runner-up another 27 times, and qualified for a berth in collegiate hockey's national championship round - the NCAA Men's Frozen Four - in 53 of 57 seasons overall. And since it's founding in 1999-2000, teams representing the women's WCHA have now captured 10 consecutive national championships beginning the first year of 2000 and on through the most recent campaign of 2008-09 when Wisconsin earned its third NCAA Frozen Four title in the past four years!

In addition to its unmatched team successes in national championship tournament play over the years, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association also owns an enviable reputation for producing outstanding coaches and student-athletes, with hundreds of its alumni tracking successes in both international and professional competition. On top of the more than 230 men's and women's league alumni who have Olympic experience playing for the likes of the USA, Canada, Italy, Norway, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Finland, and France, conference-member teams and players have also received additional international exposure on a regular basis since 1951. The men's WCHA has hosted touring teams from the USSR, Canada, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, England and France and has also sent WCHA All-Star Teams to Europe in both 1998 (Switzerland) and 2000 (Norway). The women's WCHA has also regularly put together all-star teams, including another one for the 2009-10 season which will take on the U.S. National Team at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sept. 25. Serving as head coach of the U.S. Women's National and Olympic Teams this year is Wisconsin's Mark Johnson. In 2009, the women's WCHA had more than two dozen current and former WCHA players compete in the IIHF Women's World Championship in Finland, including 12 for Team USA and others for Canada, Sweden and Finland. And in 2008, the women's WCHA had six of its players help lead Team USA and coach Jackie Barto (Ohio State) to the gold medal in Harbin, China.

Just a few of the more than 400 past and present National Hockey Leaguer's who have roots in the men's WCHA include the likes of legendary goaltenders Tony Esposito, Eddie Mio Glenn 'Chico' Resch and Mike Richter, defensemen Keith Magnuson, Lou Nanne and Curt Giles, and forwards Lou Angotti, Bill Masterton, Bill 'Red' Hay, Red Berenson, Glenn Anderson, Mark Johnson and Brett Hull. The current crop of WCHA stars playing in the NHL include the likes of Zach Parise, Dany Heatley, Mark Parrish, Jordan Leopold, Jason Blake, Tyler Arnason, Mark Stuart, Thomas Vanek, Andy Sutton, Bret Hedican, Matt Carle, Joe Pavelski, Jonathan Toews and Tom Gilbert. In the most recent season of 2008-09 alone, a total of 96 WCHA alums earned playing time in the NHL.

In terms of national attendance, both the men's and women.'s WCHA continue to set the pace among all Division 1 leagues. In the most recent 2008-09 season, Wisconsin (13,785/game), North Dakota (11,719/game) and Minnesota (10,022/game) ranked 1-2-3 in the nation in men's average home attendance, while Colorado College (5th), St. Cloud State (7th), Denver (10th), Minnesota State (15th) and Minnesota Duluth (16th) also ranked among the leaders. A year ago, the 2009 Red Baron WCHA Final Five (men's playoff championship) drew a total of 82,065 to the Xcel Energy Center, outdrawing the Big 10 Men's Basketball Tournament by nearly 14,000 fans. And on the women's side in 2008-09, WIsconsin (1,654/game) and Minnesota (1,332/game) ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in women's average home attendance while Minnesota Duluth (4th), North Dakota (7th), Ohio State (11th), St. Cloud State (14th and Minnesota State (19th) were also among the top 20.

In the final USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Div. 1 Men's Poll for 2008-09 (March 23) there were five WCHA-member teams ranked among the top 20 in Denver (4th), North Dakota (7th), Minnesota Duluth (8th), Wisconsin (17th) and Minnesota (19th) while both Colorado College and St. Cloud State also received votes. On the women's side, WCHA-member teams Wisconsin (1st), Minnesota (3rd) and Minnesota Duluth (4th) led the way in the final (March 24) USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Women's College Hockey Poll.

In terms of individual honors, the 2008-09 season saw the women's WCHA honor its Top 10 Players from the First 10 Years in forwards Sara Bauer (UW), Natalie Darwitz (UM), Caroline Ouellette (UMD), Jenny Schmidgall Potter (UMD/UM), Maria Rooth (UMD) and Krissy Wendell (UM), defensemen Tessa Bonhomme (OSU), Ronda Curtin (UM) and Molly Engstrom (UW) and goaltender Jessie Vetter (UW), who also earned the 2009 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as college hockey's top player. Three women's players - Jessie Vetter (G, UW), Hilary Knight (F, UW) and Jocelyne Larocque (D, UMD) earned All-American First Team honors in 2008-09 while Second Team honorees included Melanie Gagnon (D, UM) and Monique Lamoureux (F, UM). In the WCHA, Hilary Knight (F, UW) was the Player of the Year, Gigi Marvin (F, UM) was the Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, Melanie Gagnon (D, UM) was the Defensive Player of the Year, Monique Lamoureux (F, UM) was the Rookie of the Year and the league scoring champion, Alyssa Grogan (G, UM) was the league goaltending champion, and Brad Frost (UM) and Mark Johnson (UW) were league co-coaches of the year. Johnson was also honored as the Women's Div. 1 National Coach of the Year. On the men's side, UW defenseman Jamie McBain was a Top 10 Finalist for the 2009 Hobey Baker Memorial Award and was an All-American. Other men's players earning All-American honors were First Teamers Alex Stalock (G, UMD) and Ryan Stoa (F, UM) while Second Team members were Chay Genoway (D, UND) and Chad Rau (F, CC). In the WCHA, Jamie McBain was tabbed the WCHA Player of the Year, J.P. Testwuide (D, DU) was the Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, Chay Genoway (D, UND) was the league's Defensive Player of the Year, Jordan Schroeder (F, UM) was the Rookie of the Year, Ryan Stoa (F, UM) was the league scoring champion, Alex Stalock (G, UMD) was the league goaltending champion, and Dave Hakstol (UND) was the men's Coach of the Year.

The men's and women's leagues had a combined 71 players named as prestigious WCHA Scholar-Athletes for 2008-09, with 35 of those being repeat honorees. The men's WCHA also had a record total of 107 student-athletes named to the 2008-09 All-WCHA Men's Academic Team while the women's league had 76 student-athletes earn recognition as WCHA All-Academic Team honorees last winter.

In terms of exposure, more than 200 WCHA mens' games were televised in 2008-09, including all five games live from the 2009 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five by Fox Sports North. All four NCAA regionals, and all three games at the 2009 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Denver were also televised live. In addition the league also webcast all three games live via wcha.com and wcha.tv from the women's 2009 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF Championship in Minneapolis. The title game of the championship was also televised on a tape delay basis by FS North. This Week in the WCHA, the league's weekly men's radio show, marked it's 13th season in 2008-09.

A quick look at the 2009-10 campaign will see both the men's and women's leagues involved in several showcase events. The women's WCHA All-Star Team will kick things off when they take on the U.S. National Team on Sept. 25 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Also along the way, the conference season will launch the weekend of Oct. 2-3, Wisconsin will host Bemidji State in a Hall of Fame game outdoor contest - The Camp Randall Hockey Classic - at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison on Feb. 6, and Minnesota's Ridder Arena will serve as the host site for both the 2010 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF (playoff championship) on March 6-7 and the 2010 NCAA Women's Frozen Four from March 19-21. Among the highlights of the men's 2009-10 season will be Denver's 60th Anniversary weekend celebration on Oct. 9-10, the opening of the MacNaughton Cup race on Oct. 16-17, Wisconsin hosting Michigan outdoors in the Camp Randall Hockey Classic on Feb. 6, the 2010 Red Baron WCHA Final Five set for March 18-20 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota hosting the 2010 NCAA West Regional at Xcel Energy Center on March 26-27 and the 2010 NCAA Men's Frozen Four at Ford Field in Detroit April 8-10.

Under the leadership and guidance of Commissioner Bruce M. McLeod and Associate Commissioner Sara R. Martin, prospects for another highly successful campaign for both the men's and women's WCHA in 2009-10 appear very bright. Defending WCHA regular season champions are North Dakota on the men's side and Minnesota on the women's side while defending WCHA playoff champions are Minnesota Duluth on the men's side and Wisconsin on the women's side.

2010 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five Information: The men's 2010 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five will be held March 18-20 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The schedule is as follows: Thursday, March 18 - Semi-Final, #5 vs #4, 7:07 pm CT; Friday, March 19 - Semi-Finals, 2:07 pm CT and 7:07 pm CT; and Saturday, March 20 - Third Place Game, 2:07 pm CT; Broadmoor Trophy Championship, 7:07 pm CT.

2010 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF: The women's 2010 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF will be held March 6-7 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. Two semifinal games will be played on Saturday, March 6 at 1:00 pm CT and 4:00 pm CT. The women's WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF championship game will be held Sunday, March 7 at 1:00 pm CT.

2008-09 WCHA Men's Season Highlights

The 2008-09 season was the 57th on ice for the men's league, and although the WCHA fell short of adding to its record total of 36 national team championships, conference-member clubs, student-athletes, coaches and alumni once again figured prominently in headlines throughout the course of the year.

Kicking off the season last October, former WCHA players Brett Hull of UMD and Mike Richter of UW were inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame along with Cammi Granato and Brian Leetch.

On November 1, the first WCHA Minnesota College Hockey Showcase, featuring hosts Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State along with Minnesota and St. Cloud State was held at Xcel Energy Center. The Saturday doubleheader drew 10,495 fans.

North Dakota went on to capture the regular season championship and MacNaughton Cup with a 17-7-4 record and 38 points to outdistance runner-up Denver's 36 points. Coach Dave Hakstol's Sioux went 13-2-3 over their last 18 league contests. Wisconsin and Colorado College tied for third with 31 points each while Minnesota finished fifth with 29. At the end of the 28-game regular season schedule, just five points separated a total of six teams and heading into the final weekend of the regular season there were approximately 7,000 possible scenarios for playoff seeding purposes.

The first round of WCHA playoffs saw host teams UND, Denver, Wisconsin, and Minnesota win in two straight while Minnesota Duluth won twice on the road to advance to the 2009 WCHA Final Five. At the Final Five, held again at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, coach Scott Sandelin's Bulldogs became the first team in history to win three straight games and claim the Broadmoor Trophy as playoff champions as goaltender Alex Stalock was named tourney MVP. The tournament drew an attendance of 82,065 - the fifth highest ever - and even outdrew the Big 10 Men's Basketball championship tournament by 14,000 fans. All five games were again televised live by Fox Sports North and audiocast live via wcha.com.

The Final Five also included the first ever Arby's WCHA Fan Fast, a free event which was held between games on Friday in the Kellogg Lobby in the Saint Paul RiverCentre and featured music, interactive games, food, team pep bands, cheerleaders and mascots.

Three men's teams then earned berths in the national tournament in North Dakota, Denver and Minnesota Duluth, with the Bulldogs falling in the West Regional title game at Mariucci Arena.

In the final national poll of the season, Denver was No. 7, Minnesota Duluth was No. 8 and North Dakota was No. 13.

In non-conference games in 2008-09, the WCHA had a 64% winning percentage against the other Div. 1 conferences.

In home attendance numbers, the WCHA again led the nation after topping the 1.5 million mark for a record seventh straight season. The league and it's member teams drew 1,520,588 fans to 206 games, an average of 7,381 per game. This also marked the 16th consecutive season the WCHA has drawn in excess of 1,000,000 fans.

Individually, five WCHA players earned All-American honors in 2008-09, with UMD goaltender Alex Stalock, Wisconsin defenseman Jamie McBain and Minnesota forward Ryan Stoa earning first team honors and North Dakota defenseman Chay Genoway and Colorado College forward Chad Rau named to the second team. McBain was also a top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

Four WCHA players earned national player or national rookie of the month honors in Minnesota's Jordan Schroeder, Denver's Marc Cheverie, St. Cloud State's Ryan Lasch and North Dakota's Jason Gregoire.

Wisconsin defenseman Cody Golubef won a Gold Medal with Team Canada at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship held in Ottawa.

At the WCHA Awards Banquet in Saint Paul, Wisconsin defenseman Jamie McBain was named the player of the year, Denver defenseman J.P. Testwuide was the Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, UND's Chay Genoway as the Defensive Player of the Year, Minnesota's Jordan Schroeder was the rookie of the year, Minnesota's Ryan Stoa was the scoring champion, UMD's Alex Stalock was the goaltending champion and North Dakota's Dave Hakstol was the WCHA Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the national coach of the year honor as well. Testwuide was originally a non-scholarship recruit at DU who went on to play 141 career games, serve as team captain as a senior, and carried a 3.43 cumulative GPA while graduating with a Business Degree in Finance and Real Estate.

A record total of 107 student-athletes earned All-WCHA Academic Team honors this past season, topping the previous high of 93 set in 2005-06.

And a total of 39 men's players earned WCHA Scholar-Athlete honors in 2008-09, including 17 who were repeat honorees.

For the Lowe's Senior Class Award for 2008-09, Minnesota Duluth's Andrew Carroll was among the ten finalists while among the original group of 20 candidates were Denver's Patrick Mullen and Wisconsin's Shane Connelly.

And heading into the 2009 IIHF World Championship, being held April 24-May 10 in Switzerland, nine former WCHA players are part of Team USA in David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Keith Ballard, Matt Niskanen, Ryan Suter, Jason Blake, Kyle Okposo, Drew Stafford and Colin Stuart.

Also wanted to mention that WCHA Assistant Commissioner Carol LaBelle-Ehrhardt wrote and pubished a children's book this season detailing her recent experiences fighting cancer. Titled 'My Mom Can Swing Again', is a children's picture book that is intended to raise money for cancer research. As you know, Carol is a mother of two children who knows firsthand the struggles individuals and families go through in battling the disease and she has been an inspiration to all who know her. And now, through the publishing of her first book, Carol wants to give back. 'My Mom Can Swing Again' is available via the book's website at: www.mymomcanswingagain.

Looking ahead to the 2009-10 season, one of the highlight events during the regular season will be the Camp Randall Hockey Classic, an outdoor doubleheader set for Feb. 6, 2010 in Madison. Wisconsin's men's hockey team will host Michigan while the women's team will host Bemidji State. The record attendance for an outdoor game in North America is 74,544, set in 2001 for the Cold War game betwen Michigan State and Michigan. Capacity of Camp Randall Stadium for football is 80,321.

2008-09 Women's Season Highlights:

Minnesota, under coach Brad Frost, won the WCHA regular season championship with a 23-2-3 record and 51 points. The Golden Gophers have now won five of the first 10 league titles. Wisconsin was the runner-up with a 21-2-5 record and 50 points and Minnesota Duluth finished third with 41 points and an 18-6-4 league record.

For the first time, the women's league instituted a shootout to determine a winner for all regular season league games tied after regulation and a five-minute overtime.

Wisconsin won the 2009 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF, held at UM's Ridder Arena, by defeating Minnesota in the title game before 1,730. Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State also earned trips to the FINAL FACE-OFF after winning their first round playoff series.

Minnesota, Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth all earned berths in the NCAA tournament, with the Gophers and Badgers hosting regional games and the Bulldogs playing out east. Minnesota defeated Boston College, the Badgers downed Dartmouth, and UMD won on the road at New Hampshire.

Those results set up a NCAA Women's Frozen Four in Boston that featured three WCHA teams in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth along with Mercyhurst. The Badgers rode the goaltending of senior Jessie Vetter to the national championship with a 5-1 win over UMD in their semi-final and a 5-0 win over Mercyhurst in the title game. Vetter, who was named the WCHA's third winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award during the Frozen Four, played in her fourth straight national title game. Wisconsin, which finished the season with a 34-2-5 record, marked their third NCAA crown in the past four years and a WCHA-member team has now won the national championship 10 straight seasons.

For his efforts, Mark Johnson was named the national coach of the year, his third such honor in four seasons.

In the final national poll for 2008-09, Wisconsin was No. 1, Minnesota was No. 3 and Minnesota Duluth was No. 5.

The WCHA led women's hockey in national attendance again this past season, with the league having four of the top seven schools in average home attendance. Wisconsin was No. 1 with an average of 1,654 fans per home game, Minnesota was second at 1,332, UMD was fourth and UND was seventh.

The WCHA had five players named to the 2008-09 American Hockey Coaches Association All-America team. First team honorees were Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter and forward Hilary Knight along with Minnesota Duluth defenseman Jocelyne Larocque. On the second team were Minnesota freshman forward Monique Lamoureux and Golden Gopher defenseman Melanie Gagnon.

As the Patty Kazmaier Award winner, Vetter won an NCAA record 91 games during her four-year career and posted a NCAA-record 39 career shutouts.

In the WCHA's post-season awards, Wisconsin forward Hilary Knight was the player of the year, Minnesota senior Gigi Marvin ws the Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year, Minnesota defenseman Melanie Gagnon ws the Defensive Player of the Year, Minnesota forward Monique Lamoureux was both the WCHA Rookie of the Year and the WCHA Scoring Champion, the Golden Gophers' Alyssa Grogan was the WCHA Goaltending Champion and Brad Frost and Mark Johnson were named co-coaches of the year.

A total of 76 student-athletes were honored as mmebers of the 2008-09 All-WCHA Academic Team and 32, representing all eight women's teams, were named WCHA Scholar-Athletes. To earn recognition as a WCHA Scholar-Athlete, conference-member student-athletes must have completed at least one year of residency at their present institution prior to the current academic year and must also have a grade-point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.0 scale for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or may qualify if his or her overall GPA is at least 3.50 for all terms at his or her present institution.

Minnesota senior Dagney Willey was named one of 10 finalists for the 2009 Hockey Humanitarian Award and was a nominee for the second straight season.

The WCHA was well represented at the 2009 IIHF Women's World Championship, held April 4-12 in Finland. Team USA, coached by Mark Johnson, won the Gold Medal with a team that included 12 current and former WCHA players, including four from this year's Wisconsin team and three from this season's Minnesota team. UMD had seven current players and five former players competing in the World Championship for the USA, Canada, Swedenand Finland while Ohio State had three alums represent their nations of Finland, Canada and the USA.

And during the 2008-09 season, the WCHA honored its Top 10 Players from the First Decade, with nominations coming from a list of All-Americans, Olympians and post-season awards winners over the first 10 years that were reviewed by league coaches and officials and then submitted to a selection committee that was appointed by the Commissioner's office. The group of 10 were Wisconsin forward Sara Bauer, Ohio State defenseman Tessa Bonhomme, Minnesota defenseman Ronda Curtin, Minnesota forward Natalie Darwitz, Wisconsin defenseman Molly Engstrom, Minnesota Duluth forward Caroline Ouellette, UMD and UM forward Jenny Potter, UMD forward Maria Rooth, Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter and Minnesota forward Krissy Wendell.

Looking ahead to the 2009-10 season, there are already two noteworthy items as Minnesota will host the women's Frozen Four at Ridder Arena and Wisconsin will host Bemidji State in an outdoor game at Camp Randall Stadium next February.

WCHA Staff Directory

Commissioner: Bruce M. McLeod. Associate Commissioner: Sara R. Martin. Assistant Commissioner of Operations: Carol LaBelle-Ehrhardt (clabelle@wcha.com). Supervisor of Officials: Greg Shepherd. Associate Commissioner for Public Relations: Doug Spencer (dspencer@mailbag.com). Special Assistant to the Commissioner: Jeff Sauer. Women's Public Relations: Bill Brophy (bbrophy@wcha.com). Administrative Office: Western Collegiate Hockey Association, MSC 8302, 2211 S. Josephine Street, Denver, CO 80208-8302. Phone: 303 871-4223. Fax: 303 871-4770. Women's Administrative & Public Relations Office: Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 559 D'Onofrio Drive, Suite 103, Madison, WI 53719-2096. Women's Administrative Phone: 608 829-0104. Public Relations Phone: 608 829-0100. Public Relations Fax: 608 829-0200.

visit us on the web at: wcha.cstv.com