by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor (@chn-adam-wodon)
Maryville University has received approval to launch its new Division I hockey program. An official announcement is expected in the coming week.
The school announced last year at the Frozen Four in St. Louis that it would upgrade to NCAA D-I if it could meet a fundraising goal of $5.5 million. The funding was needed to upgrade its facilities.
Maryville recently closed in on $4 million towards its goal, which was enough for the school’s Board of Directors to give the go-ahead at a recent meeting.
Maryville is a private university, with an enrollment of approximately 5,800 undergraduates, located in the suburbs of St. Louis. It plays at the NCAA Division II level in its other sports. There is no Division II in college hockey, so D-II institutions are allowed to have their hockey programs freely “play up” into Division I.
Maryville currently has five hockey programs that play in the American Club Hockey Association, including men’s teams at the ACHA D-I, D-II and D-III levels, and women’s programs at the D-I and D-II levels. That accounts for approximately 135 extra students at Maryville.
It plays its games at Maryville University Hockey Center in Chesterfield, a building it doesn’t own, but has naming rights over. There will be a 12,000-square foot expansion to the facility to bring it up to NCAA-level caliber, and increasing the seating capacity to 2,000. The goal is to start upgrades this spring, to be completed by the 2027-28 season.
This season’s schedule for Maryville’s D-I men’s club team featured four games against NCAA Division I opponents — two each with Alaska-Anchorage and Long Island.
Maryville plans to play more games against NCAA D-I teams as early as next season, with a full D-I schedule in 2027-28.
Notably, Maryville’s president, Dan Shipp, who started a few months ago, worked at Nebraska-Omaha when that school started its hockey program.Â