Women’s hockey will be a championship sport in the 1998-99 season, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has decided. A vote was taken on the issue at a meeting of the conference’s faculty athletic representatives May 22 at Macalester College.
“I am pleased and excited about the conference decision to expand opportunities for women in collegiate ice hockey,” said Carlyle Carter, MIAC Executive Director. “The MIAC has very strong, competitive programs for women in intercollegiate athletics and I anticipate that ice hockey will be a tremendous addition.”
Augsburg, Gustavus Adolphus, St. Benedict, St. Catherine, St. Mary’s and St. Thomas will have varsity programs in the 1998-1999 season, and will compete for the MIAC championship. Concordia College-Moorhead will add women’s hockey for the 1999-2000 season, and Hamline will join the league in 2000-2001.
St. Olaf and Carleton, also MIAC schools, have women’s hockey at the club level and would be candidates to add the sport at the varsity level in the future. St. Olaf recently reinstated men’s hockey, which had been discontinued.
Hockey is the 11th women’s sport awarded a championship by the MIAC.
