The College Hockey America Board of Directors has voted unanimously to reinstate former member Robert Morris.
Robert Morris’ reinstatement as a full member is effective immediately. The Colonials will return to competition in the CHA at the start of the 2023-24 season.
“On behalf of the College Hockey America Board of Directors, I want to welcome Robert Morris University back to the CHA,” CHA commissioner Robert DeGregorio said in a statement. “We’re excited to have RMU back in the conference and look forward to seeing the Colonials on the ice competing in the CHA in 2023-24.”
The reinstatement follows a Dec. 17, 2021 decision by Robert Morris administration and the school’s board of trustees to reverse a previous announcement on May 26, 2021 that it was eliminating its men’s and women’s hockey programs. Following the reinstatement of its program, RMU applied for readmittance to the CHA earlier this year and that request was granted with the board’s recent vote.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be rejoining a conference in the CHA that we’re both familiar with and have had success in,” RMU VP and director of athletics Chris King noted. “I’d like to thank CHA commissioner Robert DeGregorio for providing us the opportunity to rejoin the league as well as for his support throughout the last year. His leadership and vision for the league made it natural for us when we reinstated our programs and were looking for a conference home. We’re looking forward to reigniting the rivalries we established when we originally competed in the CHA.”
Robert Morris will use the 2022-23 season to prepare for returning to the ice in 2023-24. The school has already announced the hiring of former RMU associate head coach Logan Bittle as the program’s next head coach. The process of hiring of assistant coaches and support staff and recruitment of student-athletes is ongoing.
“It’s great to be back in the CHA,” Bittle said. “It has been home to our program since our inception. We’ve seen the league grow to where it is today and we’re excited to jump back in and help continue to grow the league well into the future.”
Robert Morris was a member of the CHA from 2005 to 2021, compiling an overall record of 239-248-57 (.492) and a CHA mark of 124-117-34 (.513) during that span. The Colonials won three CHA regular-season titles (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19) and three CHA postseason titles (2012, 2017, 2021) during their first run in the conference.
