DU has longed for West Coast Conference membership since rejoining Division I athletics in 1998, according to Athletic Director Josh Berlo during the joint WCC/DU virtual press conference announcing DU’s acceptance of the conference’s membership offer. The deal was finalized in lightning speed as it took less than two weeks to seal final acceptance.
WCC commissioner Stu Jackson cited informal social contact, especially over the past year, as the start of discussions. Then, after a series of meetings across both organizations, after less than two weeks of in-depth discussions, the WCC extended an offer to the Pioneers. DU’s administration, athletic department, and Board of Trustees showed rare combined agility, speed, and alignment in accepting the offer to join the West Coast Conference. DU is the conference’s 11th member, and Jackson confirmed that the search will continue for a 12th, noting that a dozen members matches the conference’s ideal membership vision. Continue reading The Decision: Nimble DU Navigates Rapid West Coast Membership Offer→
We have waited years for this to happen. Friday, a tweet by ESPN’s Pete Thamel confirmed it – DU is moving from the Summit League to the West Coast Conference on July 1, 2026. The Denver Post followed the tweet with an article citing the tweet and the move of nine DU sports to the West Coast Conference (WCC). Denver will be joining a conference of equals – largely private schools with similar size, funding and academic profile in alignment with the University. The move will increase DU’s academic profile and give the University greater visibility to the valuable California student market while basketball most certainly will receive a boost in national interest.
If any DU fan were being honest with themselves, they would have picked last night’s matchup against #9 Boston College if they were asked which single game they’d prefer the #7 Denver Pioneers (3-2-1) win this weekend. Unfortunately, that hypothetical scenario became reality in game two as DU couldn’t solve the Northeastern Huskies’ (3-1-0) goalie Lawton Zacher despite peppering him with 35 shots. The Huskies got a goal from freshman Amine Hajibi early in the second period, and it was the only offense either team could muster in the Pioneers’ final appearance at historic Matthews Arena, which is being demolished this Winter. Continue reading Denver Dominates but Can’t Solve Goalie Zacher, Falls 1-0 at Northeastern→
Coming off a disappointing split with Lindenwood in St. Louis last weekend, the #7 Denver Pioneers (3-1-1) needed a big win in the worst kind of way. And they got it in the biggest kind of way, dispatching the #9 Boston College Eagles (2-2-1) with a 7-3 drubbing that was not close once the second period started. If there were any tears in Chestnut Hill tonight, they certainly weren’t in Denver’s locker room. Continue reading Denver Wins 4th Straight Over Boston College With 7-3 Rout→
The #5 Denver Pioneers (0-0-1) opened their 2025-26 season in Colorado Springs against the Air Force Falcons (0-0-1), and despite outshooting the hosts 59-24 through 65 minutes of hockey, they could not find the game-winner and skated to a 1-1 tie before Sam Harris won the exhibition shootout in the third round. Freshman Clarke Caswell scored his first career goal with under five minutes left in regulation to tie the game at one after Will Dawson opened the scoring for the Falcons almost 17 minutes into the game. The Pioneers narrowly avoided joining the growing ranks of big-time upsets this weekend, including Clarkson’s win over Penn State and Ferris State’s victory over defending champions Western Michigan. Continue reading Pioneers Win the Tie in Season Opener at Air Force→
Call it revenge, call it just taking care of business, call it anything you want. Denver was not going to deliver a repeat performance from last December when UNLV visited Magness Arena for the second time in less than 10 months. Last year, Denver fell to the ACHA champions in the shootout (after an official 6-6 tie). Tonight, though, the Pioneers were not letting another viral moment happen, scoring the game’s first four goals and cruising to a 6-1 exhibition game victory over the UNLV Rebels. Sam Harris recorded a natural hat trick, Cale Ashcroft scored two power-play goals in the third period, and freshman Payton Nelson – a Centennial native – opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game. Continue reading Sam Harris Nets Natty Hatty as Denver Cruises in UNLV Exhibition Rematch→
NCAA hockey teams are set to battle during the 2025-26 season to reach the Frozen Four in Las Vegas, Nevada. The highly touted LetsGoDU SUPER-POLL™ convened veteran gamblers Billy Walters, Billy Baxter, “Roxy” Roxborough, and “Lefty” Rosenthal, all elected to the Las Vegas Sports Betting Hall of Fame, for their highly accurate predictions. After a smoke-filled late-night at Goddard Family Company headquarters in Houston, Texas, the University of Denver was selected as the prohibitive favorite, which marks the 21st consecutive season the LetsGoDU SUPER-POLL™ has named the Pioneers title favorites.
DU women’s volleyball (10-3, 2-0) swept two matches to open Summit League conference play. Thursday, the team played Oral Roberts in Tulsa and carved out a 3-0 sweep behind outside hitter Ava Reynolds. On Saturday, DU returned home against UMKC. DU played a dominant first set, came from behind in the second, lost the third, and dominated the Roos in the fourth set. Jamia Johnson led DU with 17 kills to cap the opening sweep. Continue reading Denver Sweeps Summit League Home Openers→
According to numerous sources, colleges and universities are conducting risk assessments and budgeting accordingly, anticipating lawsuits over Title IX legislation. As the Power Four conferences look to profit-share up to $20 million with student-athletes, they have a difficult and potentially costly decision to make. Either equitably split the revenue spoils with their male and female athletes or allocate the money to revenue-producing sports (or a mix of the two options). The same goes for in-house generated NIL (Name, Image & Likeness) funds.
As we prepare to start another college hockey season in just a few weeks, we are also entering a new, unprecedented era as former Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Major Junior players are eligible to play in the NCAA for the first time since the early 1980s. This new era also gets underway after we awarded our third first-time Division I national champion – Western Michigan – since 2021. The other two champions in that span were Denver in 2022 and 2024, when they won their 9th and record 10th championships, respectively, which presents an interesting dichotomy, a sort of success split between the historical blue bloods and new powers in the sport. Continue reading What Are the Top Division I Men’s Hockey Programs of the Last 25 Years (and All Time)?→
