Bringing men’s ice hockey to Tennessee State University was not the work of one organization, but rather a collaboration of community partners.
The effort among four entities — the NHL, Nashville Predators, College Hockey Inc. and TSU — helped establish the first hockey team at an HBCU school, which is set to begin Division I play in the 2025-26 season.
The idea initially stemmed from a relationship between TSU president Glenda Glover and Predators CEO Sean Henry. Henry offered a means to help the school add men’s hockey by raising more than $1 million, while Glover’s administration would agree to fully support it on its campus.
Kevin Westgarth, vice president of hockey development and strategic collaboration for the NHL, says the league was already looking to establish hockey at an HBCU school when he received a timely email from TSU athletic director Dr. Mikki Allen.
“We were having a brainstorming session around what it would take to get a hockey team on an HBCU campus,” Westgarth said. “Literally as we got off that call, we got an email forwarded from Dr. Allen at Tennessee State saying they’re interested in adding varsity hockey. It was beautiful timing.”
Westgarth sees TSU as another success story in growing college hockey through partnerships with the league. The NHL also has managed partnerships at Arizona State University, Augustana University and the University of Delaware.
TSU men’s hockey to begin Division I hockey in 2025-26
When the announcement was made in June 2023, the goal was to begin with club hockey in 2024-25, aiming to play Division I by 2026-27. That timeline has been altered by new coach Duante’ Abercrombie, who wants to bypass club hockey in favor of playing Division I starting 2025-26.
“Tennessee State University is a Division I school in athletics,” Abercrombie said. “I don’t see why (club hockey) is a direction we would have to go at this time.”
He mentioned recruitment and scheduling as two main reasons why going directly to Division I is preferred over spending a year in club hockey.
“This whole year is just building our D1 schedule. That’s all I’ve been doing is recruiting and trying to get with other college coaches to get on their schedule,” he said.
College Hockey Inc. and the Nashville Predators’ role
Most of the legwork to building programs like TSU’s is through College Hockey Inc., an organization devoted to promoting and growing NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey. One of its biggest tasks is performing…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at "ice hockey" – Google News…