According to multiple published reports from earlier this week, Tennessee State University is establishing a men's club ice hockey program that is expected to begin play with the 2024-25 season. The announcement was made in conjunction with the 2023 National Hockey League Entry Draft that was held Wednesday and Thursday in Nashville, the home of both Tennessee State and the NHL's Nashville Predators.
TSU would be the first historically black college or university (HBCU) to offer men's ice hockey at the collegiate level. The university's ultimate goal is to apparently move up to NCAA Division I in the near future, possibly by the 2026-27 campaign, while also eventually adding an NCAA Division I women's team.
TSU first explored adding ice hockey two years ago, by conducting a feasibility study along with the NHL. Should the Tigers ultimately make the move to NCAA Division I, they would be the first men's hockey program team at that level in the south since the University of Alabama-Huntsville suspended operations in 2021.
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