How strong are NCAA III and ACHA Div. 2?

[Ryker]

I was wondering about the strength and the quality of NCAA III and ACHA Div. 2. Can anyone explain a bit more and perhaps make some comparisons to other leagues?

I'm interested to hear about NCAA III, because there's a Slovenian goalie that's playing for Norwich University, so I'd like to put his play there into some context.

As for ACHA Div. 2, I'll be going to UNC Chapel Hill soon, so since that's where their team plays, I'd also like to know a bit more about what to expect and how it compares to other collegiate leagues. I think I've been spoiled by CIS and probably can't expect the same quality, but how much of a difference is there?

 

[CrazyEddie20]

Norwich is a great program in Division III. Some legitimate ECHL prospects come out of Division III every year. Not a lot, but several, and they are good players.

UNC plays division 2 club hockey. It's a glorified beer league.

 

[sbkbghockey]

Norwich is a great program in Division III. Some legitimate ECHL prospects come out of Division III every year. Not a lot, but several, and they are good players.

UNC plays division 2 club hockey. It's a glorified beer league.

I have not seen UNC play, but ACHA D2 is a higher level than beer league overall. Eddie is correct that ACHA D2 has a wide range of teams, some are run very professional and have sizable team budgets either by fundraising or some university support while others are run more like beer league teams where it's just a bunch of guys that come together to play some hockey games throughout the season. There's some lower ACHA D2 teams that only play a handful of games a season where some of the well organized ones play 30+.

Overall most ACHA D2 teams have players with significant, but not elite, high school or prep school experience. The top programs have players with midget major or tier III Jr. A or B players.

It's hard to generalize too much because of the wide range of team organization and talent in the ACHA D2 but, yes it is very much lower than NCAA DIII and the CIS. - That said, it is still a fun and competitive experience to play on an ACHA D2, if you're going to UNC as a fan, it would still be fun to attend UNC games.

 

[Avsrule2022]

How about the comparison of NCAA Div III and ACHA Div I? Would the ACHA still be considered lower?

 

[sbkbghockey]

How about the comparison of NCAA Div III and ACHA Div I? Would the ACHA still be considered lower?

Some strong ACHA fans will say the differences between NCAA DIII and ACHA DI are marginal while many NCAA fans say there's a large difference. Both sides have good points.

There's still a difference in the level of play, overall the NCAA DIII is a higher caliber of play than ACHA DI. However, the talent gap between the levels has significantly closed over the past 5-10 years. The high level ACHA DI teams would likely fall in the middle of NCAA DIII.

There are pros and cons to a player deciding between the two levels, here's just a few:

The NCAA DIII has the prestige of associated with the NCAA while the ACHA is still relatively new, formed in 1991. NCAA DIII has a strong presence in the Northeast and Upper Midwest but is still very confined to the traditional hockey regions; the ACHA DI has a wider geographical footprint stretching from Arizona to Rhode Island. NCAA DIII is largely made up of private, small (selective), liberal arts colleges and universities; ACHA DI has a mix between smaller schools, large public universities. NCAA DIII has no athletic scholarships but student-athletes can receive other financial aid such as grants or academic schollies; ACHA also doesn't have athletic scholarships but players can receive other financial aid- unlike the NCAA, less regulation often provides ACHA DI programs a bit more flexibility for grants and financial aid. NCAA DIII are funded programs from university athletic departments; the ACHA DI programs rage from club organizations under the student activity department to programs funded by club/rec sports deprts, to fully funded programs varsity-club and NAIA varsity teams.

If the current rate of development continues for the ACHA, things are going to be very interesting over the next 5-10 years. I think over the next decade that the talent level at the top of the NCAA DIII will continue to out-pace the ACHA but the overall talent gap will continue close between the two levels.

 

[Avsrule2022]

Some strong ACHA fans will say the differences between NCAA DIII and ACHA DI are marginal while many NCAA fans say there's a large difference. Both sides have good points.

There's still a difference in the level of play, overall the NCAA DIII is a higher caliber of play than ACHA DI. However, the talent gap between the levels has significantly closed over the past 5-10 years. The high level ACHA DI teams would likely fall in the middle of NCAA DIII.

There are pros and cons to a player deciding between the two levels, here's just a few:

The NCAA DIII has the prestige of associated with the NCAA while the ACHA is still relatively new, formed in 1991. NCAA DIII has a strong presence in the Northeast and Upper Midwest but is still very confined to the traditional hockey regions; the ACHA DI has a wider geographical footprint stretching from Arizona to Rhode Island. NCAA DIII is largely made up of private, small (selective), liberal arts colleges and universities; ACHA DI has a mix between smaller schools, large public universities. NCAA DIII has no athletic scholarships but student-athletes can receive other financial aid such as grants or academic schollies; ACHA also doesn't have athletic scholarships but players can receive other financial aid- unlike the NCAA, less regulation often provides ACHA DI programs a bit more flexibility for grants and financial aid. NCAA DIII are funded programs from university athletic departments; the ACHA DI programs rage from club organizations under the student activity department to programs funded by club/rec sports deprts, to fully funded programs varsity-club and NAIA varsity teams.

If the current rate of development continues for the ACHA, things are going to be very interesting over the next 5-10 years. I think over the next decade that the talent level at the top of the NCAA DIII will continue to out-pace the ACHA but the overall talent gap will continue close between the two levels.

Great info, thanks!

 

[LVShark]

How does NCAA DIII compare to the top end ACHA DI teams? Such as ASU, Liberty, etc

Could these top teams make the jump to DIII?

 

[StoneColdGMJN]

How does NCAA DIII compare to the top end ACHA DI teams? Such as ASU, Liberty, etc

Could these top teams make the jump to DIII?

Teams like ASU, OU, Minot and other top teams could easily make the jump to DIII and be competitive.

 

[Off da post and in]

Teams like ASU, OU, Minot and other top teams could easily make the jump to DIII and be competitive.

Competitive yes, but I doubt that they could win the conference title in any of the following DIII leagues; NCHA, WIAC, MIAC, SUNY, ECAC West, or NESCAC.

If they played in the NCHA they'd be fortunate to come in 4th behind St. Norbert College, Adrian College, and St. Scholastica College. In the WIAC same story behind UW- Eau Claire, UW- River Falls, and UW- Stevens Point.

 

[mpir3]

How does NCAA DIII compare to the top end ACHA DI teams? Such as ASU, Liberty, etc

Could these top teams make the jump to DIII?

Maybe i'm biased as i play pickup @ ASU's rink and live right by campus, but i think they would do quite well in DIII. There roster with players past teams/experience etc doesn't look much different that the DIII schools. I played jr A in the EJHL about 10 yrs ago and know many friends that went on to play for various SUNY schools, etc. I'd say ASU's whole DI team could play at that level.

They did beat Penn St. in Penn St's first year of NCAA D1.