Mercyhurst University announced plans Friday, March 27, to cut men’s ice hockey from its NCAA Division I athletics program.
Effective upon completion of the 2025-26 academic year, Hurst will no longer sponsor men’s ice hockey as a varsity sport. Women’s ice hockey and club men’s ice hockey will continue.
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One of several moves announced Friday, Hurst also plans “a series of academic program adjustments.” These decisions, the university said in a statement, “reflect a comprehensive strategy focused on long-term viability and alignment with student demand.”
Joe Spano, the university’s director of athletics, said through a release that Hurst is, “committed to providing the resources, guidance and individual support needed as (student-athletes) determine their next steps.”
More: Mercyhurst sends message with first Division I basketball playoff win
Shaping the future
Mercyhurst moved its entire athletic program to Division I competition in 2024-25. Ice hockey, however, started D-I competition in 1999-2000.
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Started as a D-III program some dozen years prior, Hurst men’s hockey rose through the NCAA ranks under head coach Rick Gotkin, who retired after the 2025-26 season.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
The Mercyhurst University and Ohio State men’s hockey teams warm up as fans arrive at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie on Oct. 25, 2019.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University fans Dan Kritkausky, center, and Mike Wtulich, right, both 21, joke with Ohio State sophomore Quinn Preston before a men’s hockey game at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie on Oct. 25, 2019.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University hockey player Joseph Duszak shows off a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater March 13 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center after signing a two-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs effective beginning in the 2019-20 season. He was the seventh Mercyhurst player to sign an NHL contract. Mercyhurst’s Duszak signs with Maple Leafs
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Hockey fans show support for Mercyhurst University equipment manager Mike Folga before a men’s game on Fighting for Folgs Day at the Erie campus on Jan. 26, 2019. Longtime equipment manager Folga was battling cancer. Erie’s Folga headlines emotional event at Mercyhurst
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mike Folga, equipment manager for the Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team, talks to the team before a game on Fighting for Folgs Day at the Erie campus on Jan. 26, 2019. Folga was being treated for cancer. Mercyhurst’s Folga dies at 63
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University men’s hockey players surround Mike Folga, seated at center, during Folga’s visited the team’s locker room at the Mercyhurst Ice Center at the university’s Erie campus on Jan. 14, 2019. Folga, 63, had stage IV leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of smooth muscle tissue cancer that was discovered in his groin, Folga worked as an equipment manager and trainer in the NHL in the 1980s and 1990s and has been the Mercyhurst men’s equipment manager since 2000.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst’s Joseph Duszak, left, looks to pass around RIT’s Abbott Girduckis, center, and Regan Seiferling during the third period of a hockey game at the Mercyhurst Ice Center at Mercyhurst University in Erie on Nov. 3, 2018. The pass from Duszak to Taylor Best set up the Lakers’ second goal of the game, but the Lakers settled for a tie against the Tigers in the American Hockey Association matchup.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst’s Derek Barach plays in the third period against RIT on Nov. 3, 2018, at the Mercyhurst Ice Center at Mercyhurst University.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University senior Brandon Wildung makes a stop against Sacred Heart during an Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinal at Mercyhurst University in Erie on March 9, 2018.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University senior Nathan Ferriero, top, gets by Sacred Heart junior Zach De Concilys during an Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinal at Mercyhurst University in Erie on March 8, 2018.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University senior Jona Charbonneau scored three goals against Sacred Heart during an Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinal at Mercyhurst University in Erie on March 8, 2018.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Team USA goaltender Ryan Zapolski, at left, and Mercyhurst men’s hockey coach Rick Gotkin retire Zapolski’s uniform number during a news conference following a workout at the Mercyhurst Ice Center at Mercyhurst University in Erie on Feb. 1, 2018. Zapolski, an Erie native, Cathedral Prep and Mercyhurst University graduate, was working out in Erie for a few days before joining the Team USA hockey in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Olympic spotlight
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Members of the Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team perform as “The Swan Lakers” during the Gliding Stars Ice Show at the Mercyhurst University Ice Center on April 5, 2014.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mike Folga, head athletic trainer and equipment manager for the Mercyhurst University men’s hockey team, carries the Stanley Cup onto the ice at the Mercyhurst Ice Center before their game against Bentley on Feb. 1, 2014. Folga was a trainer with the New York Rangers in 1994 when that team won the Stanley Cup.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University men’s hockey coach Rick Gotkin leads practice in Erie on Oct. 10, 2012.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University goaltender Max Strang defends against Holy Cross’ Mike McNamara during the second period of the Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinals game at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie on March 11, 2012.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst University’s Nardo Nagtzaam, shoots against Holy Cross defender Mike Daly during the first period of the Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinals at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie on March 11, 2012.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College hockey player Derek Elliott tapes his sticks at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Nov. 18, 2011.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College goalie Ryan Zapolski waits in the cage during a game at the Mercyhurst Ice Center against Holy Cross on Jan. 15, 2011.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
The crowd watches the game between Mercyhurst University and the Queen’s Gaels at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Oct. 3, 2010.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College hockey player Brandon Coccimiglio practices with his teammates at the Mercyhurst Ice Arena on Oct. 1, 2010.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College hockey player Jeff Terminesi practices with his teammates at the Mercyhurst Ice Arena on Oct. 1, 2010.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College hockey player Grant Blakey practices with his teammates at the Mercyhurst Ice Arena on Oct. 1, 2010.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College’s Matt Fennell couldn’t get this shot past Army goalie Jay Clark in the second period Jan. 11, 2008. Army’s Owen Meyer, left, Zach McKelvie, top left, and Chris Blair, right, defend Fennell and Nick Vandenbeld on the play.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College’s Brett Robinson checks Army’s Chris Colvin in the first period Jan. 11, 2008.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College sophomore Nick Vandenbeld skates near the Waterloo Warriors’ Kyle Schwende during their contest Oct. 7, 2007.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst goaltender Tyler Small makes a save against Windsor St. Clair while Jesse Ouimet and Drew Thachuk tangle near the net in October 2006.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst men’s hockey player Ben Cottreau in October 2006.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Former Mercyhurst College hockey player Jamie Hunt, works out at the college’s Ice Center.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College goalie Andy Franck stops a shot by Sacred Heart’s Peter Giatrelis in the first period at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in February 2003.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College’s P.J. Hiscock beats Bernie Chmiel of Sacred Heart to the puck at Mercyhurst Ice Center in February 2003.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College left winger Adam Tackaberry got this shot off in the third period despite being crunched by a Holy Cross defender in January 2003.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College Hockey players stand beneath the new banners commemorating their 2001 MAAC championship and NCAA West Regional berth during the pregame ceremony at Mercyhurst Ice Center on Oct. 9, 2001. The Look Back: March 25, 2001
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Mercyhurst College hockey players hold their 2001 MAAC championship rings during the pregame ceremony at the Mercyhurst Ice Center Oct. 9, 2001.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst College’s men’s hockey team is recognized in March 2001 for their sensational 2000-01 season.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Sister Mary Damien Mlechick, RSM, cheers on her beloved Mercyhurst College hockey team against Bowling Green in December 2000 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
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Look back on 25 years of Mercyhurst University Division I men’s hockey
Mercyhurst Athletic Director Joe Kimball, left, and John Leisering talk during the Erie Metropolitan Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner and ceremony at the Zem Zem Shrine Club in Millcreek Township on June 21, 2011. Leisering was inducted into the hall of fame. Leisering was sports information director for Mercyhurst College for 25 years and worked primarily with the school’s men’s and women’s hockey program, becoming the familiar voice of the program on radio broadcasts. Leisering named Sportsman of Year for many contributions to Erie sports
Hurst was 617-578-114 in 38 seasons under Gotkin. It reached the NCAA tournament in all three levels under his leadership.
The Lakers won two D-I conference championships in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) before shifting to Atlantic Hockey America (AHA), where they won two regular season titles and one conference tournament.
“Atlantic Hockey America is deeply disappointed by the news regarding the Mercyhurst men’s ice hockey program,” commissioner Michelle Morgan said in a statement. “We recognize the weight of this decision and the significance it has for the student-athletes and staff members who are affected.”
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Discontinuation of men’s ice hockey leaves Hurst with 30 sponsored varsity sports. Its evolving program saw multiple sports added in the past year, including women’s wrestling and women’s flag football.
Look back: Q&A with retiring Mercyhurst University men’s hockey coach Rick Gotkin
Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@gannett.com. Follow him on X @realjuveino.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Mercyhurst University cuts men’s ice hockey from athletic program