College Hockey America announced Friday that Lindenwood has been officially admitted into the conference and will begin play starting with the 2012-13 season.
“The CHA membership was very happy when we received the formal letter of application from Lindenwood University,” said CHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio in a press release. “The CHA directors voted unanimously to proceed with the application process and as a result, I scheduled an official visit at Lindenwood University on October 28 and 29. As part of the process, I met with the president of the university as well as the director of athletics and all other administrators on the campus that are directly involved in Lindenwood’s women’s ice hockey program.”
“We are very honored to have been accepted into College Hockey America,” added Lindenwood coach Vince O’Mara. “This is a very exciting time for all of the member institutions. With the announcement of adding Penn State and now Lindenwood, things are really looking up. We know that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us to be able to compete with the strong programs in the CHA and we are ready and looking forward to that hard work. With us being a member of a conference now, that will only assist us in the recruiting process to build a strong women’s hockey program.”
Lindenwood, located in suburban St. Louis, is in the process of moving all of its athletic teams from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. Its women’s hockey program will compete at the Divison I level.
