ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- For the first time in the programs' 18-year history, the Manhattanville College men's and women's hockey teams will share a home beginning in 2017-18, as both Valiant programs have accepted an invitation to join the new United Collegiate Hockey Conference, the conference office announced this week.
 
"We are pleased to announce the formation of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference," said Daan Braveman, President of Nazareth College and UCHC President. "We have a tremendous grouping of academic and athletic institutions, and this will be an exciting time for our student-athletes and member institutions."  

"We are very pleased to finally have both our men's and women's hockey programs in the same conference for the first time," said Manhattanville Director of Athletics Keith Levinthal. "Over the last few years, we have seen incredible growth in the sport of ice hockey and I'm glad that the UCHC will benefit from the infusion of new programs."
 
For the Manhattanville men's team, the UCHC will include all of its traditional ECAC West Conference rivals – Elmira College, Hobart College, Nazareth, Neumann University and Utica College – in addition to 2016-17 conference newcomers Lebanon Valley College and Stevenson University, as well as new programs Chatham University, King's (Pa.) College and Wilkes University.
 
"We are very excited to complete in the UCHC next season," said head men's hockey coach Arlen Marshall. "We look forward to maintaining some of our longstanding conference rivalries as well as building new ones in one of the country's most competitive conferences."

The Manhattanville women's team will be making a move from its previous home, the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC). The UCHC will comprise several members of the ECAC West Conference – Chatham, Elmira, Neumann, Utica and William Smith College – as well as Stevenson from the Colonial Hockey Conference and new programs Lebanon Valley, King's (Pa.) and Wilkes.

"We will absolutely miss the great relationships and the first-rate experience we enjoyed in the NEHC," Levinthal added. "However, the opportunity to join with other Middle Atlantic Conference schools under the UCHC umbrella was a major consideration in our decision."
 
"We look forward to the new opportunity and challenge that playing in the UCHC will bring next season," said head women's hockey coach David Turco. "This conference is a great step forward in the landscape of Division III women's hockey and we are excited to take the ice with some of the best teams in the country next season."
 
The Valiant men's and women's teams will continue play in the ECAC West and NEHC for the 2016-17 season before transitioning to the new conference next year.
 
Empire 8 Commissioner, Chuck Mitrano, will serve as the inaugural commissioner of the UCHC. Mitrano has 22 years of experience in collegiate athletics and is in his 15th year as Empire 8 Commissioner. Mitrano was named one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America and has served on numerous NCAA committees, and he is also currently the President of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. A highly respected speaker on leadership, he has conducted dozens of programs for student-athletes, coaches, and administrators for institutions and conferences across the country.
 
"I'm honored to serve as the inaugural commissioner of the UCHC," says Mitrano. "We have an exceptional group of institutions that will make UCHC a highly respected structure in the landscape of ice hockey. We are excited to enhance the experience for our student-athletes while representing the very best values of ice hockey."

The Manhattanville men's team will kick off the winter season on Friday, October 28 at Salve Regina University, and will begin their home slate two weeks later on November 11 at 7 p.m. against Hobart. The Manhattanville women's team will begin its 2016-17 season on home ice, when the Valiants host Castleton University in an NEHC matchup on Friday, November 4 at 7 p.m.
 
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