St. Thomas was cleared last month to jump its entire athletic department, including men’s and women’s hockey, from Division III to Division I and late last week St. Thomas was accepted into the new CCHA on the men’s side, giving the new conference eight total teams for its inaugural 2021-22 season.
The Tommies will join the Summit League for most of its other sports, excluding football.
St. Thomas will the conference along with Bemidji State, Minnesota State, Ferris State, Lake Superior, Michigan Tech, Bowling Green and Northern Michigan.
Starting for 2021, the school’s women’s hockey program has been accepted into the WCHA.
The men’s program is currently coached by Jeff Boeser. He’s been the head coach since 2010 and the program has a 38-year streak of winning records at the Division III level.
Currently, St. Thomas’ arena only holds 1,000 people.
In Division III, St. Thomas has won 15 national championships over the last 38 years. Located in St. Paul, it has an enrollment of 10,000 students.