When the puck hits the ice on March 23 to open the inaugural Women's Frozen Four, it will be the culmination of a rapid growth spurt in women's ice hockey. The sport will join the official NCAA championship ranks with a bang, or at least the committee selected to put on the event hopes so.

With all aspects of the championship -- marketing, promotion, television, rules and format -- to deal with, the NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Committee had a large order to fill. At its first meeting this summer, the group came together and, with the support of NCAA national office staff, formulated the initial plans for the championship.

"I think the support we've had from the NCAA and women's hockey community has been tremendous," said Carolyn Campbell-McGovern, the committee chair and senior associate director of the Ivy Group. "Obviously, there's a lot of work left, but we have a lot of things in place."

Team selection

When the championship was created at the NCAA's 2000 Convention, the legislation that was approved called for a four-team tournament for women's hockey. In effect, the Women's Frozen Four at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, will be the only four.

"Determining selection procedures was an interesting process," said committee member Jackie Barto, women's ice hockey coach at Ohio State University. "I think we have a system in place that is as fair as possible. That was the biggest thing, because it is how you pick who gets to play. We're very confident that we'll be successful in selecting teams."

With the limited number of conferences that sponsor women's ice hockey (the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and Eastern College Athletic Conference are the only two Division I conferences), there are no automatic bids to the tournament. So, the selection process rests firmly on the committee's shoulders.

"The biggest issue is how we're choosing the participants," Campbell-McGovern said. "We only have four slots, so it's really important that we have the right teams in place. We think we have the right criteria in place. Of course, it hasn't been tested yet, but we feel comfortable with where we are."

The selection show, which will be broadcast via the Internet, will be March 18.

The Women's Ice Hockey Committee, which was forced to hurriedly become familiar with NCAA procedures and policy, came together quickly in part because of its diverse make-up.

"We have a great mix of administrators and coaches on our committee," said Troy Arthur, staff liaison to the committee and assistant director of championships for the NCAA. "And one of the committee's immediate challenges is to manage what has become rapid growth in the sport. This is important, because many programs have their roots in club teams that were not subject to NCAA regulations."

Growth indeed has been rapid. There was a handful of collegiate teams at the start of the 1990s; today there are 63. Many of those teams were club teams that became varsity programs -- in some cases, with little administrative guidance.

"The growth has been dramatic," Arthur said. "We have to be careful to manage this growth and give coaches and student-athletes the support they need to be successful."

Planting the seed

The seed of an NCAA women's ice hockey championship was planted decades ago, when sisters began joining their brothers in youth hockey leagues and on frozen ponds in Canada and the United States.

Harvard University coach Katey Stone started playing hockey when she was 3 years old in Watertown, Connecticut. Her brothers played, and she played with them. Stone went to a private high school that fielded a girls' ice hockey team, which stoked her interest in the game. Now, high-school girls' teams are commonplace in hockey hotbeds such as Minnesota or Massachusetts.

"It's amazing to me to see how many more girls -- young girls -- are playing and how much better the quality is," said Stone, who became the first women's representative on the NCAA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey Rules Committee this fall. "I went to the national tournament and the Under-12 game was much better than the Under-19 game in terms of hockey. It's amazing."

Stone points to increased opportunity for girls, but also said there are many more ice surfaces now. With more ice time available, practice times are more reasonable and do not force a player to pick between hockey and a normal schedule.

Another large factor was the 1998 Winter Olympics. In Nagano, Japan, the United States took the first gold medal awarded in women's hockey.

"That really helped hockey at the grass-roots level, much as the 1980 men's gold medal did," Stone said.

With the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, enthusiasm is building for another American victory.

Barto sees women's ice hockey exploding much as women's soccer did recently, when the women's World Cup became one of the most-watched sporting events of the summer.

"In terms of growth over the past four or five years, it has been unprecedented," she said. "That comes with the opportunities that are available now at the college level. It's much like the soccer craze."

Unlike soccer -- main ingredients for which are open space, a ball and a goal -- hockey requires expensive equipment, an ice surface and substantial financial support. However, in areas where men's ice hockey is supported, the progression to sponsor women's ice hockey has been natural.

In Minnesota, for example, the girls' state high-school tournament has grown dramatically in popularity and level of play.

"The high-school tournaments are at such a different level now," Stone said. "Minnesota has one of the best tournaments around and the interest in women's hockey there is very high."

The popularity of the sport in the state is one reason the committee decided Minneapolis was the best spot for the first championship.

"The support in the community is at a very high level (in Minnesota)," said Campbell-McGovern. "The plans Minnesota has for the championship and the efforts they already have shown are impressive. We're very encouraged."

Minnesota's success will be watched around the country by other potential sites for the Women's Frozen Four. Other sites have been contacted for the 2002 championship, but most are taking a wait-and-see approach.

USA Hockey, it should be noted, played a large role in the success of women's ice hockey. In 1998, USA Hockey staged the first collegiate championship for women, with a Division I/II championship and a Division III championship.

"I think the sport needed a boost from a national body to become what it is today," Barto said. "USA Hockey certainly provided the national exposure. The growth gave schools an outlet and a more viable reason to increase the number of varsity programs."

Future progress

The Division III Presidents Council has proposed legislation that would decrease the number of sponsoring schools needed to hold a championship. The group's proposal would decrease the number to 28. With almost that many Division III institutions currently sponsoring the sport, a separate Division III championship could be in the future, possibly as soon as 2002.

"I think the sport will continue to grow," Stone said. "This year will be very important, but with all the support and effort that I've seen, it should be a great event."

While the details are being sorted out, the Women's Frozen Four will be televised and produced by NCAA Productions. That exposure, along with the NCAA's marketing, licensing and staff commitment, bodes well for the future of the championship.

"The committee is encouraged and excited the tournament will be televised," Campbell-McGovern said. "The emphasis and support the NCAA has given the championship makes it clear that it is important for this to be a success."

"This is our only chance to have the first championship," Barto said. "The support the NCAA has given the sport and the effort put forward is tremendous. It shows me that the NCAA is really committing to women's hockey."

Putting aside their committee involvement, Barto and Stone both confess winning the first championship would be extremely special.

"They're all important, but you definitely want to get that first one," Stone said. "This brings more legitimacy, and the support the NCAA has provided will only increase the exposure. This will be a hotly contested championship."

Team Selection Criteria Procedures

One of the most important tasks facing the NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Committee was to establish fair and consistent selection criteria for championship participants.

The committee created the following criteria for team selections (not in priority order):

Eligibility and availability of student-athletes.

Won-lost record [including, where applicable, such factors as head-to-head competition, results against common opponents, results in last 16 games, results against teams under consideration, and Rating Percentage Index (RPI)].

Strength of schedule.

During the selection and seeding process, the criteria in No. 2 above will carry one point, except head-to-head competition. That criterion will carry the number of points equal to the net difference in the results of these games (for example, if Team A defeats Team B three out of four games, Team A would receive two points in the selection process). Those point totals will be an additional factor in the committee's evaluation process.

The RPI is based on the following formula: won-lost record (35 percent), opponents' winning percentage (50 percent) and opponents' opponents' winning percentage (15 percent).

The committee also will evaluate each team based on the relative strength of its respective conference, using the overall conference RPI and conference comparisons, and each team's conference regular-season and/or conference tournament finish.

In addition, the committee will take into consideration recommendations from the regional advisory committees.