Division II is an extremely overlooked angle when it comes to college hockey. People often don't even know what distinguishes it from the other two levels of the NCAA on ice. Over the next week, I will dive into each of the seven current Division II schools suiting up this 2026-27 Season.

Before looking at the teams that play under the Division II banner, we must first understand what Division II actually is. Division II operates within equivalency limits under what the NCAA calls a "partial-scholarship model." 

Equivalency limits restrict the number of combined  full athletic scholarships per sport. This means that coaches and faculty must to decide how to distribute financial awards across each team, hence the partial-scholarship model. Division II hockey has an equivalency limit of 13.5 scholarships. 

However, limits do not include academic scholarships. That exclusion lines up with the NCAA's vision of Division II being a more balanced life for collegiate athletics for students.

"The Division II partial-scholarship model allows schools to support more student-athletes while maintaining a balanced college experience focused on academics, athletics and campus involvement, the NCAA explained.

There are currently just seven Division II NCAA Hockey teams, all competing within the Northeast-10 Conference. Rather than a National Championship like Division I and III, there is just an NE10 Conference Championship to conclude each campaign.

Schools within NE10 do not exclusively play intraconference games. They frequently crossover with local Division III schools. For example, American International College (AIC) are matching up with Massachusetts Division III programs such as Westfield State University and Salve Regina University this fall

AIC most recently koined from Division I after the 2024-25 Season. The Yellow Jackets took last year off to fully transition to Division II. Stonehill College moved up to Division I following 2022-23. Saint Anselm College announced it would be moving to the Division III NEWMAC for 2027-28. With NEWMAC's lack of hockey, it is unclear where the team will play after this season.

Exploring the intricacies of Division II is something that has fascinated me in this changing landscape and rising costs of NCAA Hockey. It is a viable alternative for players and institutions on the Division I bubble. I look forward to taking all of you on this journey down neglected path of college puck.