The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is proud to announce that the annual CCHA regular season champion will be awarded the prestigious MacNaughton Cup, known as the premiere trophy in collegiate hockey.

"We are thrilled to award the MacNaughton Cup to the CCHA regular season champions," CCHA Commissioner Don Lucia said. "The 40-pound handcrafted pure-silver trophy has been awarded to a college hockey champion since 1955 and we look forward to keeping the tradition alive in the CCHA. The quest for the most tradition-rich trophy in college hockey begins in October."

“Michigan Tech is proud to be the trustee of the most historic trophy in college hockey,” Michigan Tech Director of Athletics Suzanne Sanregret said. “We’re excited to bring the MacNaughton Cup back to the CCHA. We look forward to competing for a CCHA Championship and returning the cup to its home in the Copper Country.”

Dating back 108 years to its original purchase in 1913, standing three-feet high, and weighing more than 40 pounds, the MacNaughton Cup has been a staple among hockey champions.

The trophy is named after James MacNaughton of Calumet, Mich., who was an avid supporter of amateur ice hockey. In 1913, MacNaughton, then president of Calumet and Hecla, a major copper-mining company based in Michigan’s upper peninsula, authorized the president of the American Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) to purchase a cup and present it to the Association's championship team at the end of the season.

The MacNaughton Cup remained with the AAHA until it ceased operations in 1920. From 1921 to 1954, the Cup was fought for by semi-pro and intermediate hockey aggregations in Michigan's Copper Country. Prior to the 1954-55 season, the cup was donated by Calumet and Hecla, through the generosity of Mr. & Mrs. Endicott R. Lovell, to the newly-founded Midwest Collegiate Hockey League, forerunner of the WCHA, where Colorado College first earned the cup in 1955. Lovell, president of the company at that time and the son-in-law of James MacNaughton, was also an ardent supporter of amateur hockey.

The MCHL chose – in the original spirit – to award the trophy to its regular season champion. The MacNaughton Cup remained a part of the MCHL/WIHL until the league disbanded in March 1958. In 1959-60, the seven original teams resumed formal competition under the name Western Collegiate Hockey Association until 2021.

This is the second era that the MacNaughton Cup will be part of the CCHA. In 1981, the trophy left with Cup custodian Michigan Tech and was presented to the CCHA champion for three seasons until 1984. 

Of the current CCHA members, Michigan Tech leads the way capturing the MacNaughton Cup eight times (1962, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1976, 2016). Minnesota State has won the trophy six times, having been the regular season champion for the past four consecutive years and six of the last seven. Northern Michigan (1991), Ferris State (2014) and Bemidji State (2017) have each won one title.

 

List of MacNaughton Cup Winners
Year	Champion
American Hockey Association champions
1913–14	Cleveland Athletic Club
1914–15	American Soo Hockey Club
1915–16	St. Paul Athletic Club
1917–1919	not awarded
1919–20	Canadian Soo Athletic Club
1920–21	Eveleth Minnesota Hockey Club
1921–22	Canadian Soo Athletic Club
1923–1926	not awarded
1926–27	Calumet Hawks
1927–28	Calumet Hawks
1928–29	Ironwood Rangers
1929–30	Hancock Hockey Club
1930–31	Hancock Eagles
1931–32	Soo Bulldogs
Michigan's Western Upper Peninsula teams
1932–33	Calumet (Pine Street) Trojans
1933–34	Calumet Wolverine AC
1934–35	Painesdale Athletic Club
1935–36	Calumet Aristocrats
1936–37	Painesdale Panthers Athletic Club
1937–38	Calumet-Laurium Olympics
1938–39	Portage Lake Elks
1939–40	Calumet-Laurium Chevs
1940–41	Soo Indians
1942–1949	not awarded
1949–50	Soo Martins
1950–51	Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw Radars
Midwest Collegiate Hockey League regular season
1951–52	Colorado College
1952–53	Minnesota/Michigan
Western Intercollegiate Hockey League regular season
1953–54	Minnesota
1954–55	Colorado College
1955–56	Michigan
1956–57	Colorado College
1957–58	North Dakota/Denver
1958–59	not awarded
Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season
1959–60	Denver
1960–61	Denver
Western Collegiate Hockey Association tournament
1961–62	Michigan Tech
1962–63	Denver
1963–64	Denver
1964–65	Michigan Tech
Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season
1965–66	Michigan Tech
1966–67	North Dakota
1967–68	Denver
1968–69	Michigan Tech
1969–70	Minnesota
1970–71	Michigan Tech
1971–72	Denver
1972–73	Denver
1973–74	Michigan Tech
1974–75	Minnesota
1975–76	Michigan Tech
1976–77	Wisconsin
1977–78	Denver
1978–79	North Dakota
1979–80	North Dakota
1980–81	Minnesota
Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season
1981–82	Bowling Green
1982–83	Bowling Green
1983–84	Bowling Green
Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season
1984–85	Minnesota-Duluth
1985–86	Denver
1986–87	North Dakota
1987–88	Minnesota
1988–89	Minnesota
1989–90	Wisconsin
1990–91	Northern Michigan
1991–92	Minnesota
1992–93	Minnesota-Duluth
1993–94	Colorado College
1994–95	Colorado College
1995–96	Colorado College
1996–97	Minnesota/North Dakota
1997–98	North Dakota
1998–99	North Dakota
1999–2000	Wisconsin
2000–01	North Dakota
2001–02	Denver
2002–03	Colorado College
2003–04	North Dakota
2004–05	Colorado College/Denver
2005–06	Minnesota
2006–07	Minnesota
2007–08	Colorado College
2008–09	North Dakota
2009–10	Denver
2010–11	North Dakota
2011–12	Minnesota
2012–13	St. Cloud/Minnesota
2013–14	Ferris State
2014–15	Minnesota State
2015–16	Minnesota State/Michigan Tech
2016-17	Bemidji State
2017-18	Minnesota State
2018-19	Minnesota State
2019-20	Minnesota State
2020-21	Minnesota State