Lindenwood University will join the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey ranks come this fall, according to an announcement made today by the university based in St. Charles, Mo.
The Lions, who recently won the ACHA Division I national club championship for the fourth time since 2009, will continue to skate out of the 2,500-seat Centene Community Ice Center (CCIC) in Maryland Heights, Mo. Lindenwood has been coached by former NHL defenseman Rick Zombo (North Dakota) since 2012.
Lindenwood iced a women's team beginning in 2011-12, which has competed in the College Hockey America conference since 2012-13. Along with Syracuse, Lindenwood was the only NCAA institution with a Division I women's hockey team that lacked a corresponding men's counterpart.
The Lions become the first NCAA Division I men's hockey program to start up since Long Island University did so in 2020-21. Lindenwood is expected to compete as an independent program, for at least its first season of NCAA competition. Arizona State, which moved from the ACHA to NCAA Division I in 2015, was the last independent to make the NCAA Division I men's tournament, when the Sun Devils qualified in 2019.
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