The Husky Ice Hockey Program is about providing a positive and competitive experience to players while they attend one of the top schools in the nation. It is about earning a degree and playing a sport that the student- athletes love. But it is more than that.

Husky Hockey is more than playing a sport, or the game of ice hockey. The program is so much more than refining skills and winning games. It is about providing student-athletes with experiences that become life lessons. It is about learning how to run a small organization; learning how to think in ways to create success and overcome challenges on and off the ice, on one’s own and as a group. The Program is about achieving goals, on and off the ice; it is about becoming a stronger person by balancing school, sport and personal lives; it is about taking on and overcoming challenges; and it is about working together as a team, learning from each other, and growing together.

The Program also offers internships to students in the community so they too can grow in their field of interest. Husky Hockey provides a win-win situation for the team and the students, who are gaining valuable, hands- on experience in their area of study.

All in all, Husky Hockey is that extra something special that makes one’s collegiate experience memorable. It is about the people, what they learn together, how they grow together, and what they bring with them, and what stays with them, for the future.

The Ice Hockey at the UW is considered a non-varsity, club sports program within the University of Washington Department of Recreation Sports Program. A student board runs and organizes the club, with assistance from the coaches, players, volunteers and interns. There are two teams within the organization: The travel rep team called, the PAC- 8/ACHA team, and local recreational team called, Team Husky. Student dues, fundraising and sponsorships primarily fund each team. The club is also a non-profit organization, which allows tax-deductible contributions to help deter the high costs of operating an ice hockey program.

The club can be dated back to the 1920’s and the team(s) was known to play locally, regionally, along the entire West Coast, and nationally. While Team Husky plays in the local Greater Seattle Hockey League (GSHL), the PAC-8/ACHA Husky Hockey team competes in the PAC-8 Conference, which includes Washington State University, Oregon, UCLA, USC, CAL-
Berkeley and Stanford. The PAC-8 Conference adheres to some of the most rigorously academic player eligibility rules and regulations in the country, while producing some of the top teams in the West.

The PAC-8/ACHA Husky Hockey team also is a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), and competes in the Division II West Region. There are approximately 120 teams across the country in DII in four regions, with 30 teams competing in the ACHA-West. The top 4 teams from each region receive an invitation each year to play in the prestigious ACHA DII National Championship Tournament. There are approximately 300 teams in ACHA playing in the following four divisions:

• Division I - teams that are highly supported by their school and can travel across country to compete; players tend to have played some varsity collegiate hockey
• Division II – teams, which are supported by their school, while others are not. Players come from all backgrounds and experiences.
• Division III - smaller university and colleges with a mix bag of talent from all levels.
• Women’s Division - women’s collegiate non-varsity teams.

Husky Hockey’s budget exceeds $50,000 each year. Student-athletes carry the burden of registration fees, practice and game ice costs, official fees, travel, lodging, equipment, food, among other things. Each year the team approaches the Recreational Sports Department at the UW for assistance. Each year The Program is provided with their share of the student recreation fees. Typically this is less than $2,000. That is why Husky Hockey relies heavily on sponsorship, donations, ticket and retail sales. Without these avenues, Husky Hockey would not be able to survive.