Mason City, IA – The Midwest College Hockey (MCH) will be under new leadership for the 2026-27 season after Commissioner Chris Perry announced his resignation in May. Perry had been the only commissioner of the MCH since its inception in 2019. He also has stepped away from the same position with the WCHL and WWCHL conferences to focus on his role within the ACHA M1 Deputy Commissioner role.
The MCH is indebted to Chris for his leadership and development of the conference over the past seven seasons. Charter members in 2019 were Illinois State University, Maryville University, Midland University, McKendree University, Northern Illinois University and Waldorf University.
Membership has expanded over the years with the additions of the University of Illinois, University of Jamestown, University of Mary, Iowa State University and Minot State University with as many as ten teams in 2024-25.
The MCH currently has 5 members for the 2026-27 season who will compete this season for an automatic bid to the 2027 ACHA M1 National Championships March 11-16, 2027 at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, MO. The teams are Iowa State University, Midland University, University of Jamestown, University of Mary and Waldorf University.
Three people have been tabbed to lead the MCH beginning in July 2026 with Dan Huntley, current head coach at UMary and Mike Heitkamp, administrator at Waldorf University, taking on co-commissioner roles and Mitch Keeran taking on all MCH athletic communications.
