WCHA and College Hockey To Delay Start Of The 2020-21 Season

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Sept. 10, 2020 – The Men's League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association will delay the start of its 2020-21 season, WCHA Men's League Commissioner Bill Robertson announced today. Start date options for the upcoming season are currently under discussion.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the 11 NCAA Division I men's and women's ice hockey conferences represented by the Hockey Commissioner's Association.

"We continue to engage in thorough evaluation and discussion of various options for safely opening the 2020-21 season, both nationally and within the WCHA, as the health and safety of everyone associated with our league is our top priority." Robertson said. "There was a strong desire to open the season as scheduled on October 3, but that is not possible given the realities we are facing. While we are still finalizing plans for our season at this point, we owe it to our studentathletes, coaches, officials and great fans to acknowledge the fact we will not begin play on time."

With 10 teams in five states, WCHA member institutions are currently operating under multiple state, local, university system, institutional and NCAA COVID-19 mandates. Delaying the start of the season will provide league and member administrators the opportunity to continue detailed discussions regarding the implementation of a return to play plan that addresses the diverse guidelines all WCHA institutions must adhere to and recognizes the rapidly-evolving medical and safety environments that exist today.

The new 2020-21 league schedule and details regarding non-league play and the WCHA postseason tournament will be announced later this fall.