American International informed players earlier today that it will end its Division I program at the end of this season and field a Division II team starting next year.
Coach Eric Lang confirmed this via a text to USCHO, as well as posting the following on X:
AIC has been the place I've called my home for over 15 years of my life, as a player, a graduate assistant, and Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach. There have been some stops here and there along the way, but something always brings me back to the institution I love.
The information…
— Eric Lang (@ericlang9) November 12, 2024
AIC, a Division II school, has been Division I in hockey since 1998, when it moved the program to D-I and joined the MAAC, which eventually became Atlantic Hockey.
The Yellow Jackets have had recent success under Lang, winning four straight regular-season and three straight playoff titles from 2019 to 2022. AIC upset No. 1 St. Cloud State in the 2019 NCAA tournament.
The school and Atlantic Hockey America have yet to release statements, but it is assumed that AIC will end its relationship with Atlantic Hockey America. The school is a member of the Northeast 10, a Division II conference that sponsors men’s hockey. Current members are Assumption, Franklin Pierce, Post, Saint Anselm, Saint Michael’s and Southern New Hampshire.
There is no NCAA Division II tournament and teams in the NE-10 typically play Division III schools in non-conference play.
It is also likely that the program will end its relationship with the Mass Mutual Center, its home since 2017. Before that, AIC’s home rink was the Olympia Ice Center.
This is a developing story.
