Thursday, July 28, 2016

Following the league meeting earlier this month, the TSCHL has accepted Xavier University into the TSCHL on a probationary status.  The reasoning for the probationary status is to give the current TSCHL membership an opportunity to evaluate Xavier as a potential full member in the future.  Xavier will be playing a schedule which features games against 8 of the 9 current TSCHL member teams, but due to the probationary status, Xavier will not be factored into TSCHL rankings or be eligible for TSCHL post season play.

Xavier, who previously played as a member in the ACHA Division III Atlantic Region, will be making the move to the ACHA Division II Southeast Region for 2016-17.  The Xavier program was created in 2005-06 and has been competitive within the ACHA Atlantic Region throughout its history.  Most recently Xavier finished the 2015-16 season with a 9th place ranking in the Atlantic Region.

TSCHL Commissioner Phil Oberlin stated, “We recognize Xavier as a stellar program in the ACHA with potential to grow into a great program, but as a league we would like to take this year to evaluate Xavier as a new member in the ACHA Division II and more specifically in our league play.”  The TSCHL will be evaluating Xavier on multiple program areas including ACHA compliance, program professionalism, sportsmanship and competitiveness against current TSCHL member teams.  Oberlin added, “As a league we need to ask ourselves, what can Xavier bring to our league?  And will Xavier make our league better and more competitive in the future?  This year should answer these questions.”

After receiving the TSCHL’s decision on accepting Xavier on a probationary status, Xavier University Head Coach Tim Driscoll said, “I want to express our gratitude for this opportunity.  We fully recognize the need for you to gain comfort in our ability to compete with the other league members and therefore the probationary status for the 16-17 season. We are not naive about the challenge given the caliber of talent in the TSCHL and our history playing several of the teams.  We look forward to meeting the challenge!  I am optimistic that we will earn your confidence and our hope is that we can help improve the leagues already strong reputation.”

Following the 2016-17 season the TSCHL will make the decision whether to accept or deny Xavier as a full member team for the 2017-18 season.