The Northern Collegiate Hockey Association announced today the appointment of Jim Olson as the Interim Commissioner of both the NCHA Men’s and Women’s Conferences.

“I am both humbled and honored to have been selected for this opportunity,” Jim Olson said. “I am excited for the opportunity to serve the NCHA in this new role. I want to thank Don Olson for his exemplary leadership. He has been a mentor, coach, and most importantly a friend. I wish him the best in his retirement.”

Olson began his work as active Commissioner on an interim basis as of September 15 and took over for Don Olson.

Don Olson, the fourth commissioner in the history of the league, served the post from March of 2017 until his recent retirement. Olson exits the league after providing crucial leadership through more league expansion and a changing landscape of hockey in the West region.

“It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Jim Olson to the position of Commissioner of the NCHA,” said Dr. Rob Barnhill, Concordia University Wisconsin Director of Athletics. “As the sun sets on Don Olson’s tenure of excellent leadership, it rises on a new opportunity for Jim to continue the development and custodianship of one of the most respected Division III hockey conferences in the country. Jim is no stranger to the group, as he has served the NCHA successfully in the role of director of officials for many years. Jim’s intimate knowledge of Division III hockey, college hockey in the west, and the inner workings of the NCHA as an organization made him a most logical choice. I know I speak for many when I say that we look forward to working with Jim and we are blessed to have his experience and passion for hockey in our conference office.”

Both the men’s and women’s conferences have undergone big changes since 2017, closing with the league adding women’s programs at both Lawrence and MSOE. On the men’s side, the strength of the conference continues to flourish and grow, seen last year with Adrian College winning the NCAA National Championship in convincing fashion as part of a 31-1-0 campaign that ended with an NCAA-record 31 consecutive victories. In addition, St. Norbert College finished ranked No. 9 and made the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection, and Aurora University was also ranked in the USCHO.com National Top 15 poll for the majority of the campaign.

Heading into its 25th season in 2022-23, the NCHA will see a handful of additional changes in staffing. Jim Olson takes over the top role after serving as the NCHA Director of Officials, overseeing the league’s referees, since July of 2007. The long-time league veteran has seen much of the NCHA’s history first hand over the years.

Lastly, Brian Monahan will also be stepping away from his PR role after close to two decades of dedicated work. Chris Zills, who has served as the league’s SID for the past 21 seasons, will take over the combined role of two former staff positions (Director of Sports Information and Director of Public Relations) and will now serve as the Director of Communications.