The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), one of the oldest conferences in the NCAA, has a rich history in women's ice hockey. Many of the MIAC schools developed club teams over the years and eventually varsity hockey programs at the Division III level of the NCAA.
Most of these varsity teams were established in the late 1990s. After Title IX gave equal access to women's sports, the MIAC finally had enough programs to offer women's ice hockey as a conference, starting with the 1998-99 season.
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Early Seasons and Tournament Establishment
In the 1998-99 season, the conference held a postseason tournament named the Augsburg invitational. In the 1999-00 season, the official MIAC women's ice hockey tournament was established to determine the postseason conference champion.
Evolution of the MIAC Tournament Format
With two more schools joining the MIAC, the top four teams qualified, with the higher seed hosting a two-game aggregate. The winner would advance to the AWCHA Division III ice hockey championship to play a best-of-three series for the national championship. In the 2001-02 season, the NCAA established a Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championship, of which the MIAC tournament champion received an automatic bid.
The MIAC, now at ten teams, added a fifth team to their conference tournament. The new play-in game featured the 4th place team hosting the 5th place team, with the winner playing the #1 seed. The conference also eliminated the two-game aggregate model, moving towards a more traditional single-elimination style tournament. In the 2002 tournament, the semifinals and championship were held at a neutral site.
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The next season, in 2003, the entire tournament was held at a neutral site. From that point on, the MIAC tournament went back to the higher seed hosting through all rounds. This format stayed the same for years, with the only temporary adjustments coming because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the 2020-21 tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic, the 2021-22 tournament was modified so that all ten teams qualified for the conference tournament. This was done so to allow all players the chance to play additional games after a few COVID cancellations bled into the 2021-22 season.
Looking Ahead to the 2025-26 Season
The regular season is set to begin on Friday, October 31, with nine non-conference contests. The first conference contests of the season are scheduled for Friday, November 14, with the regular season set to run through Saturday, February 21. The top five teams at the end of the regular season will head to the 2026 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs.
The quarterfinal round is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, with the semifinals set for Saturday, February 28, and the championship game slated for Saturday, March 7.
Rule Adjustments and Streaming Information
Though 2025-26 is an "off year" for rule changes, the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Committee established a handful of adjustments to the rule changes made ahead of the 2024-25 season. One such adjustment was to make game misconduct penalties eligible for appellate review by the NCAA secretary-rules editor and national coordinator of officials. This matches the process implemented last year, which allows conferences to appeal game disqualification penalties in the spirit of fairness to student-athletes.
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The MIAC Sports Network, powered by Hudl, returns as the streaming home of all MIAC-hosted games, events, and championships. The 2026 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs will be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network in a pay-per-view format. Individual playoff contests will be streamed for $10 each, or $25 for a "championship pass" to stream the entire tournament live.
The MIAC mobile app remains free to fans and can be downloaded on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android devices.
All-Conference Honors and Athlete of the Week Awards
MIAC coaches will vote on the 2025-26 MIAC Women's Hockey All-Conference honors after the regular season. Throughout the regular season, the MIAC will recognize top individual performances with the MIAC Women's Hockey Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week awards. Athlete of the Week awards will begin on Monday, November 3, and be announced each Monday following through the end of the regular season.
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