CCHA To Present MacNaughton Cup To Regular Season Champion

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is proud to announce that the annual CCHA regular season champion will be awarded the prestigious MacNaughton Cup, known as the premiere trophy in collegiate hockey. 

"We are thrilled to award the MacNaughton Cup to the CCHA regular season champions," CCHA Commissioner Don Lucia said. "The 40-pound handcrafted pure-silver trophy has been awarded to a college hockey champion since 1951 and we look forward to keeping the tradition alive in the CCHA. The quest for the most tradition-rich trophy in college hockey begins in October." 

"Michigan Tech is proud to be the trustee of the most historic trophy in college hockey," Michigan Tech Director of Athletics Suzanne Sanregret said. "We're excited to bring the MacNaughton Cup back to the CCHA. We look forward to competing for a CCHA Championship and returning the cup to its home in the Copper Country."

Dating back 108 years to its original purchase in 1913, standing three-feet high, and weighing more than 40 pounds, the MacNaughton Cup has been a staple among hockey champions. 

The trophy is named after James MacNaughton of Calumet, Mich., who was an avid supporter of amateur ice hockey. 

In 1913, MacNaughton, then president of Calumet and Hecla, a major copper-mining company based in Michigan's upper peninsula, authorized the president of the American Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) to purchase a cup and present it to the Association's championship team at the end of the season.

The MacNaughton Cup remained with the AAHA until it ceased operations in 1920. From 1921 to 1950, the Cup was fought for by semi-pro and intermediate hockey aggregations in Michigan's Copper Country. In 1951, the cup was donated by Calumet and Hecla, through the generosity of Mr. & Mrs. Endicott R. Lovell, to the newly-founded Midwest Collegiate Hockey League, forerunner of the WCHA. Lovell, president of the company at that time and the son-in-law of James MacNaughton, was also an ardent supporter of amateur hockey.

The MCHL chose – in the original spirit – to award the trophy to its regular season champion. The MacNaughton Cup remained a part of the MCHL/WIHL until the league disbanded in March 1958. In 1959-60, the seven original teams resumed formal competition under the name Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

This is the second era that the MacNaughton Cup will be part of the CCHA. In 1981, the trophy left with Cup custodian Michigan Tech and was presented to the CCHA champion for three seasons until 1984. 

Of the current CCHA members, Michigan Tech leads the way capturing the MacNaughton Cup eight times (1962, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1976, 2016). Minnesota State has won the trophy six times, having been the regular season champion for the past four consecutive years and six of the last seven. Northern Michigan (1991), Ferris State (2014) and Bemidji State (2017) have each won one title.