Pentagonal League

Last updated
Quadrangular League/
Pentagonal League
Founded1932
Sports fielded
No. of teams4 (1932–47), 5 (1947–55)
Region Northeastern United States

The Pentagonal League is a defunct ice hockey-only United States-based collegiate conference. The league was formed by Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton and Yale as a way of determining which team, among the oldest ice hockey programs, was the best. The league is a precursor to the Ivy League.

Contents

History

The four schools involved can trace the beginning of their ice hockey teams to at least 1905 with Yale's inaugural season in 1895–96 serving as the unofficial dawn of college ice hockey. All four teams ere able to lay claim to a championship since their inception but no formal structure existed to dictate whether one team was superior to another. At the height of the depression, while many programs were in danger of ending, the ice hockey teams at four of the wealthiest institutions in the United States were able to stabilize their schedules by forming the Quadrangular League, an outgrowth of the previous Triangular Hockey League. [1]

The four team league remained in place until 1943 when both Harvard and Princeton suspended their ice hockey programs due to America's participation in World War II. The league resurfaced after the war and was expanded by the addition of Army for the 1946–47 season, becoming the Pentagonal League. The Cadets left the league after two seasons and were promptly replaced by Brown. The league continued in this fashion until 1955, a year after the Ivy League was formally created.

Because the Ivy League never officially supported ice hockey as a sport, the Quadrangular and Pentagonal league are considered informal organizations and not recognized as NCAA conferences.

Members

Locations of member teams
InstitutionNicknameLocationFoundedTenureFateCurrent conference
United States Military Academy Cadets West Point, New York 18021946–1948 Independent Atlantic Hockey
Brown University Bears Providence, Rhode Island 17641948–1955 Ivy League ECAC Hockey
Dartmouth College Indians Hanover, New Hampshire 17691932–1943, 1946–1955 Ivy League ECAC Hockey
Harvard University Crimson Boston, Massachusetts 16361932–1943, 1946–1955 Ivy League ECAC Hockey
Princeton University Tigers Princeton, New Jersey 17461932–1943, 1947–1955 Ivy League ECAC Hockey
Yale University Bulldogs New Haven, Connecticut 17011932–1943, 1946–1955 Ivy League ECAC Hockey

† both Army and Dartmouth have changed their athletic team names in the years since the Pentagonal League was dissolved.

Membership timeline

Brown Bears men's ice hockeyArmy Cadets men's ice hockeyPrinceton Tigers men's ice hockeyYale Bulldogs men's ice hockeyHarvard Crimson men's ice hockeyDartmouth Big Green men's ice hockeyPentagonal League

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">ECAC Hockey</span> US collegiate ice hockey conference

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">College ice hockey</span> US and Canadian amateur collegiate ice hockey competition

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey</span> Ice hockey team

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League</span>

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The Intercollegiate Hockey League began as an agreement between Harvard, Princeton and Yale to play one another in best-of-three series.

The Triangular Hockey League began as an agreement between Harvard, Princeton and Yale to play one another in best-of-three series during the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1915–16 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1915–16 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 19th season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1916–17 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1916–17 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 20th season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1919–20 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1919–20 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 22nd season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1912–13 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1912–13 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 18th season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1916–17 Dartmouth men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1916–17 Dartmouth men's ice hockey season was the 12th season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1922–23 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1922–23 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 25th season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1924–25 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1924–25 Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey season was the 27th season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920–21 Penn Quakers men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1920–21 Penn Quakers men's ice hockey season was the 9th season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920–21 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1920–21 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 26th season of play for the program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1922–23 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season</span>

The 1922–23 Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 28th season of play for the program.

Edward Livingston Bigelow was an American ice hockey player and coach for Harvard who was active in the 1910s and 1920s.

References

  1. "Men's Ice Hockey- Timeline of Tradition". Harvard University . Retrieved August 6, 2011.