ACCHL Men's 1 Conference Set for 2025-26

The Atlantic Coast Collegiate Conference (ACCHL)  announced that the University of Pittsburgh, University of Delaware, Syracuse University and Stony Brook University would be joining the three ACCHL teams (NC State University, University of Louisville and University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill) who were given preliminary approval to form an ACHA Division 1 league, along with existing M1 member, University of Alabama.  The ACCHL has met the condition of forming a league of at least six members and has been given official approval by the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

The conference will begin play in 2025-206 under a two division format; a north and south division.  The league will be looking to grow over time to include eight teams in each division and will bring like minded schools together who are ambitious and progressive in their approach to growing ACHA M1 hockey in the East. Head Coach Chris Garafolo of Stony Brook shared his enthusiasm for the new league; “We are very excited to join the ACCHL.  The vision and direction of the league is progressive and very strategic. In order to continue to grow we felt joining the ACCHL was the right decision for our program and the other northern teams as well.”  Tim Healy, Head Coach for  NC State sees this growing ACHA M1 hockey in the East;  “By having four established and highly competitive programs join this new league, it shows the commitment we have to creating a league that is the most progressive on the East Coast.  It allows us to open 2025-2026 with like minded programs while continuing our goal to build a competitive ACHA M1 league in the south.  This enables us to incorporate other teams from the Southeast when they are ready to make the jump to M1 and be competitive.  What we found in this process was a group of teams in the North that wanted to create in their region, what we started creating in our region.  It made sense to bring these eight programs together to grow the north and the south at the same time.”
Commissioner Mike Walley was reflective and excited on what this means for the ACCHL; “On our 30th anniversary of the league, the ACCHL is proud to announce the inaugural season of M1 play for 2025-2026.  We continue to be committed to every team, student-athlete and coach to provide a competitive league at reduced mandatory travel and costs.  Over three decades the league coaches developed a tiered system which permits every team to compete at their level of growth of commitment”
League Make-Up:
North Division:  University of Pittsburgh, Stony Brook University, University of Delaware and Syracuse University.
South Division: University of Alabama, NC State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and University of Louisville.