On her way into a sunset social gathering for her conference’s coaches and administrators, commissioner Michelle Morgan paused to take a photo.
In the distance, an orange-glowing sun was heading toward the Gulf of Mexico horizon.
With that image in mind, Morgan updated the group on the branding announcement that was to happen on Tuesday.
Sunset on an era. Next chapter and a bright future loading… pic.twitter.com/XoAy1Z9ZAm
— Michelle Radzik Morgan (@Commish_Morgan) April 30, 2024
“In my remarks, I thought it was a great way to honor our past with the metaphor of the sunset,” Morgan said by telephone from the American Hockey Coaches Association convention in Naples, Fla. “Tomorrow was going to be a new day.”
After nearly a year of work on new branding and a merger of the men’s Atlantic Hockey Association and the women’s College Hockey America, the unveiling to the league’s stakeholders was set.
“When I started a year ago, there was some discussion and some desire that the directors for both leagues would want to consider or seriously consider moving in the direction of unification into one league,” said Morgan. “But we had to figure out what that looked like.”
During Morgan’s first few months on the job, she looked to have conversations and understand what had taken place historically, or what had been discussed.
Once it was determined what a unified league and merger of two separate organizations might look like, the rebranding process began.
“We really got into this deep, six-month process that was pretty intensive related to branding, and understanding who we are, where we’ve been, what our history is, and what what’s our name going to be, what our colors are going to be, and what does the icon look like,” Morgan said. “Ultimately, landing where we did with Atlantic Hockey America.”
The new branding is a combination of the two former conference names. According to an announcement released on Tuesday by the rechristened conference, “The logo takes a nod from the iconography of the College Hockey America star and the puck from Atlantic Hockey. The motion lines honor the past while pushing toward the future.”
While some coaches and administrators had been part of the rebranding discussions, most got their first look in a meeting of about 80 people on Tuesday morning, starting with a presentation on the process and ending with the reveal video also published on social media.
“There were people that were really comfortable with the current name of their league and identity,” said Morgan. “But I think with all that said with this merging of the two, there was a good, collegial atmosphere amongst the directors to say, ‘Hey, we want what’s best for the entirety of our league and the totality of all of these programs, not just one or the other.'”
“And so I think where we landed is really evidence of truly the merging of two leagues, but not losing the key components of what makes each league so special,” Morgan said.
Going forward, Morgan anticipates a stronger identity for the combined league with the ability to build off the brands of each member institution.
As part of that, each member’s colors will be reflected on uniforms and signage. “It was really important that in true partnership we didn’t lose the identity of the institutions,” Morgan said.
In the near future, the newly-combined conference will add merchandise and an e-commerce store.
Morgan anticipates benefits resulting from “increased alignment and new partnerships” for its 15 member institutions, especially with only three programs – Mercyhurst, RIT, and Robert Morris – having both men’s and women’s hockey.
“I look at it really as a growth opportunity,” Morgan said. “An exciting time, and a bright future.”
