Tracy Dill has announced that he will step down as the commissioner of the WCHA for personal reasons, effective June 30, 2024.
Earlier this offseason, Dill had the interim tag removed as commissioner and signed a two-year contract.
“I want to express my appreciation to the WCHA membership for allowing me the opportunity to serve as the league commissioner for the past two years. The strength of the WCHA is the outstanding people including the WCHA league staff, student-athletes, coaches, athletic administrators and faculty representatives. I want to thank each of them and wish them nothing but the best for the WCHA,” Dill said in a statement
Dill joined the WCHA office in July 2022 and served as the conference’s interim commissioner over the past two seasons.
“We appreciate the steadfast dedication and effort Tracy has committed to our league in providing us with an outstanding level of leadership these past two years. The WCHA has established an operational standard others aspire to attain and Tracy was able to raise the bar even further,” said Minnesota State director of athletics Kevin Busiman, who also serves as the chair of the WCHA’s Advisory Council and Management Committee.
“He leaves our league even more well-positioned as the leader in collegiate women’s hockey. Tracy brought a wealth of experience and passion for the sport that made him extremely effective in this role and he has set the table for someone to step into that position and continue to move us forward. We are grateful for his service and we wish Tracy and his family much joy and happiness as he steps away and transitions further into this next phase of retirement.”
Under the leadership of Dill over the past two seasons, WCHA teams have won two NCAA championships in 2023 and 2024. The nation’s premier NCAA Division I women’s hockey conference, the WCHA has now won 21 national championships since league play began in 1999-2000.
In the past two seasons, WCHA players earned All-American honors 10 times along with Ohio State’s Sophie Jaques receiving the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in 2023 and Wisconsin’s Casey O’Brien and Kirsten Simms being selected as Kazmaier Award top-three finalists in 2024.
Dill has helped grow the WCHA’s corporate partnership base during his tenure, which included sponsorship of the league’s annual Final Faceoff tournament with Kwik Trip along with partnerships with Cub Foods, Two Men and A Truck, Krampade, Howies Hockey Tape, Game One, Sterling Trophy & Awards, Print Labs and JLG Ice.
The visibility of the league continued to match the excellence of its teams as 15 WCHA games were televised live on FOX9+ in the Twin Cities in 2023-24, which also included coverage in Duluth, Minn., Madison, Wis., and Columbus, Ohio. In 2024, the St. Cloud State vs. Ohio State game was included as part of Bally Sports Hockey Day Minnesota coverage and two league games were featured on the Big Ten Network.
The WCHA’s online presence has also grown as B1G+ has offered live streaming of all home WCHA games over the past two seasons along with consistent growth of followers on the league social media platforms and usage of the league’s website, WCHA.com
Dill has been involved in college athletics as a player, coach, and administrator for more than 40 years. Prior to his time with the WCHA, Dill spent nine years at Bemidji State as that school’s director of intercollegiate athletics. Prior to his tenure at Bemidji State, Dill was at St. Cloud State for 28 years in various capacities, including coaching and administration.
The WCHA will begin the process of finding a replacement for Dill immediately.
