Hiram College to add men’s D-III hockey in 2025-26 season, names Curto head coach

Hiram College has announced the addition of D-III men’s ice hockey starting in the 2025-26 season. Hiram will also add women’s lacrosse and women’s bowling.

CURTO (photo: Hiram Athletics)

Jeffrey Curto, Ph.D., assistant professor of sport management, will head the first varsity men’s ice hockey team in Hiram history.

“This is a historic period for Hiram athletics and its new total of 26 varsity sports,” director of athletics Scott Pohlman said in a statement. “Our academic and athletic administration have been working hard to make Hiram the ideal destination for the Division III student-athlete.”

Hiram will be the only Division III men’s ice hockey team in the state of Ohio.

“I’m honored that Hiram College and Scott Pohlman selected me as the first head coach for the new men’s hockey program at Hiram College,” said Curto. “Becoming the only NCAA Division III hockey program in the state of Ohio gives players from Ohio a chance to play at a high level, stay in the state and gain a tremendous education.”

Prior to coaching at Hiram, Curto was the associate head coach of the Eastern Kentucky University Division III ACHA hockey team in Richmond, Kentucky in 2016 and previously coached at the high school and U16 levels. He holds a Ph.D. in sport management from Troy University.

Hiram men’s ice hockey will host games at The Pond – Ice Rink & Sports Complex in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Curto will begin serving as head coach in 2024-25 before the Terriers officially take the ice the following academic year.

Located in Hiram, Ohio, 35 miles southeast of Cleveland, Hiram College has an enrollment of 731 and was founded in 1850.