ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Bowling Green University has accepted an invitation to join the WCHA for the 2013-14 season, bringing the league's total number of schools to nine after the conference splits in two seasons.
The Falcons are one of five current CCHA schools to announce such a move in the off-season. Lake Superior State, Ferris State, UAF, and Northern Michigan will also become WCHA members in the fall of 2013 along with current league schools UAA, Minnesota State-Mankato, Bemidji State, and Michigan Tech.
Keeping the WCHA at least six members strong is imperative for the league to maintain an automatic qualifier status for the NCAA tournament. A conference with at least eight schools reduces the number of non-conference games, always a plus for Alaskan universities.
The WCHA as it stands now will endure a mass exodus to the Big 10 and National Collegiate Hockey Conferences in two years, thus necessitating the off-season of transition.
