The NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Committee has selected Mariucci Arena, home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, as the site for the 2001 Women’s Frozen Four. The inaugural event will be held March 23 and 25.
This is the first season the NCAA has administered a championship for women’s ice hockey. Teams in all three NCAA divisions are eligible for the championship.
“We are thrilled to be selected to host the NCAA’s first women’s ice hockey championship,” said Chris Voelz, Minnesota women’s athletics director. “Our fabled history of hosting five standard-bearing national championships over the last 12 years has given the NCAA great confidence in our department and community to host this inaugural national championship in the right way.”
Mariucci Arena, which has a capacity of 9,700, has been the site of several U.S. national women’s ice hockey events, including the 1997 game between the U.S. National Team and the Canadian National Team. Minnesota’s women’s team, which plays at Mariucci, recorded total attendance of 23,272 in 18 games last season.
“The University of Minnesota has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to women’s ice hockey in its short history, and the sport also has tremendous support from the Minneapolis community,” said Carolyn Campbell-McGovern, chair of the women’s ice hockey committee and senior associate commissioner for the Ivy League.
The women’s ice hockey committee is currently accepting bids for the 2002 championship. The deadline to submit bids is Nov. 17, 2001. The committee will begin accepting bids for the 2003 and 2004 championships in January 2001.
