NCAA Hockey: Guide to Hockey East →

Hockey East was formed in September 2001 in response to the dawn of women's collegiate hockey as an NCAA sport. The five original members were Hockey East schools on the men's side that had formed Division I women's programs - Boston College, Maine, New Hampshire, Northeastern, and Providence. The original charter stipulated that any other Hockey East school that added a varsity women's program in the future would be freely admitted to the league.