2014 NCRHA Board of Directors Summer Meeting

The National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) recently completed a very successful annual league meeting when its Board of Directors (BOD) met June 21-23, 2014 in Independence, MO, the site of the upcoming 2015 National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships. The NCRHA conducts an in-person meeting every summer to discuss changes to its by-laws, operations and playing rules, and many notable announcements and changes came out of this year’s edition. The NCRHA BOD is comprised of one voting member from each of its seven conferences.

Here are some highlights:

Divisional Structure

Several proposals were received related to the NCRHA’s divisional structure, how teams move between divisions, and the number of teams at nationals per division. The divisional structure received a wholesale overhaul prior to the 2008-2009 season, and the BOD feels that while in need of some minor tweaks and updating, the current divisional structure is sound. The Board also expressed a need for renewed focus on the differences between Division I programs and the others.

First and foremost club programs need to understand that the difference between Division I and other divisions is organization level, not talent. The goal is to have programs that are well organized and designed for long term sustainability, helping prevent having clubs that are around for only a few years and then go dark. Ideally, the majority of programs in the NCRHA will be in Division I, while teams in lower divisions will be trying to establish themselves and organize to the point where they belong in Division I. While there is no set formula for determining that a program belongs in Division I, the NCRHA looks for various “hallmarks” to make that determination.

The hallmarks of a Division I program include but are not limited to: 1) long term sustainability (lots of committed players, a B team, a succession plan for future leadership, actively recruiting new players on and off campus) 2) well organized (communication with the league, paperwork, meets deadlines, fiscally responsible, well-funded) 3) strong school ties (communication with club sports director, on-campus visibility, involved faculty advisor) and 4) organized and committed to travel (plans to attend nationals every year, has attended nationals repeatedly, ability and desire to play out of conference games).

The benefits to participating in Division I include having a greater chance of being selected to attend the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships, having prime game times, and the ability to host true home games outside the traditional festival-style weekend. Home games can be longer than the standard 12 minute period format. Division I programs and games will receive primary focus from the league in scheduling and promotion.

Divisional Applications and Review

The NCRHA Board of Directors has placed a renewed emphasis on helping clubs attain Division I status and ensuring that those that meet many of the hallmarks of a Division I club are classified in the proper division. Since 2009, programs have had to apply (Divisional Application) prior to each season to be placed in the division they felt was most appropriate for their program. Those Divisional Applications are reviewed and then either accepted or denied. If it is felt that a program has applied for an inappropriate division, the Divisional Application goes to the entire NCRHA Board of Directors for a final determination. Teams applying to be classified in Division II can be required to participate in Division I if the BOD feels that they are more appropriately a Division I program.

Since 2009 it has been the practice of the NCRHA Board of Directors to automatically review Divisional Applications from all Division II programs that attended the national championships to determine if they should be in Division I the following season, regardless of the division applied for. The BOD voted at the meeting to codify this procedure in the League Operations Manual (LOM), since it had not been included in the LOM previously.

Voluntary and Forced Divisional Movement and Loss of Nationals Eligibility

Beginning with the 2015-2016 season, programs applying to move their team from Division I to Division II will be ineligible to participate in the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships for one season. Furthermore, teams that have applied to participate in Division II and had their application denied and were classified by the BOD as a Division I program may choose to remain in Division II, but with similar loss of eligibility to participate in the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships.

Automatic Movement for DII programs

Division II clubs who reach the semifinals at the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships in two consecutive seasons will be automatically placed in Division I for the following season. The team may opt to remain in Division II, but will forfeit any right to participate in the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships for one season.

Renaming of Divisions

The B Division has been renamed Division III, while the previous Division III has been renamed Division IV. This brings all teams playing for four-year universities and colleges under a consistent naming convention. Therefore the NCRHA Divisions are as follows:

Division I – Primary competitive division for well organized clubs

Division II – Secondary competitive division for less organized clubs

Division III – Competitive division for teams from schools with more than one team

Division IV – Division designed for new clubs or those that are trying to build or rebuild their program. No national championship tournament is held for this division.

JC Division – Division specifically for Junior College, Community College, trade schools, or others.

2015 National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championships – Independence, Missouri

The Board met with representatives of the Independence Events Center and the Independence Convention and Visitor's Bureau to continue planning next year's event. The venue is a fantastic facility with a 5,800 seat bowl that is home to the Missouri Mavericks of the Central Hockey League, with a community ice rink attached. The location is ideal, located about a half hour east of Kansas City International Airport next to I-70, with hotels, restaurants and shopping in the immediate area. The City of Independence is best known as the home town of President Harry S. Truman, and his residence and Presidential Library are located there. For more information please refer to the joint press release posted in April and watch for additional information on NCRHA.org during the coming months.

Playing Rules Changes 

No major playing rule changes were enacted, but several minor updates were made and will appear in the 2014-2015 edition of the NCRHA Rule Book.

Club Development Initiative 

Jeff Nolan (MCRHL) and Patrick Moyer (WCRHL) volunteered to spearhead an effort to help clubs looking for assistance with budgeting, fundraising and organizational issues. If your club is interested in either providing materials or being involved with the program, please contact [email protected] for more information.

A complete listing of rule changes, amended League Operations Manual, and amended Rulebook will be available on NCRHA.org by September 1, 2014.