TheAmerican Women's College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) debuted in 1997–98. It was a program funded through theUnited States Olympic Committee/NCAA Conference Grant Program. The AWCHA organized and developed activities with collegiate women's varsity ice hockey teams, and helped to promote women's ice hockey at all NCAA levels. The first AWCHA Division I nationalice hockey championship was held in March 1998. The New Hampshire Wildcats defeated the Brown Bears by a4–1 score, to become the first recognized national champion in women's college ice hockey.[1] There were two more AWCHA National Championships and then the NCAA became involved. In August 2000, the NCAA announced it would hold its firstDivision I women's ice hockey national championship. TheMinnesota Duluth Bulldogs captured the first NCAA national championship, defeating theSt. Lawrence Saints by a4–2 tally on March 25, 2001.
Prior to the NCAA establishing a women's ice hockey championship, the AWCHA held a championship from 1997–98 season to 1999–2000 season. Below are those champions.
| Year | Champion | Coach | Score | Runner-up | Coach | City | Arena | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | New Hampshire | Karen Kay | 4–1 | Brown | Digit Murphy | Boston, MA | FleetCenter | [2] |
| 1999 | Harvard | Katey Stone | 6–5 | Brown | Digit Murphy | Minneapolis, MN | Mariucci Arena | [3] |
| 2000 | Minnesota | Laura Halldorson | 4–2 | Brown | Digit Murphy | Boston, MA | Matthews Arena | [4] |
Six Inductees to be Honored June 11