Two years after University of Michigan Regent Denise Ilitch first called for a varsity women’s hockey program, the Wolverines still don’t have a rink to call home. But as of Wednesday, their professional counterparts do.
Thanks in large part to the efforts of Ilitch’s mother, Detroit Red Wings owner Marian Ilitch, Little Caesars Arena will now host a Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise representing the state of Michigan. Starting in the 2026/27 season, ‘Hockeytown’ will feature women’s hockey at the highest level.
The expansion to Detroit provides a blueprint of increased visibility, revenue and demand for women’s hockey. That offers the Wolverines an opportunity to financially justify an expansion of their own.
“I hope we’re a catalyst for more in the University and college levels everywhere,” PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said Wednesday. “But certainly here in Michigan, we feel like there’s certainly some room for growth.”
The state produced the fifth-most D1 women’s hockey players in the 2025/26 season, and 50% of collegiate athletes in the sport were born in Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York or Michigan. While the rest of those states earned an original PWHL team in 2024, Michigan didn’t — until Wednesday.
Just like how LCA hosted a Little Caesars hockey league for young girls before the PWHL came calling, the Wolverines currently have a club team that practices on the rink at Yost Ice Arena. But the state of Michigan hasn’t had a collegiate NCAA team since Wayne State shut down its program in 2011.
Despite elite talent like Olympic hero Megan Keller and 13 active PWHL players hailing from the Mitten State, the reality for Michigan-born women is that achieving their dreams of competing at the highest level means leaving their home state. When the PWHL draft is held at the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit on June 17, those women — along with many of their collegiate counterparts — will have a chance to take their craft back home.
A key part of making the expansion possible was demonstrating that Detroit had the demand and infrastructure to handle a women’s hockey team. When LCA broke a PWHL attendance record hosting a neutral site ‘Takeover Tour’ game this March, it confirmed that the local landscape was ripe for women’s hockey. And after Ilitch Sports and Entertainment agreed to accommodate a team in the LCA facilities, the plan was firmly on its way to success.
“If you look around with our other teams, I don’t think we worry about the size of the venue more so than ensuring that the fans have a first-class experience,” PWHL executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer said. “The players are here in first-class facilities, so the size of the building is not a challenge. If we average 10, 11, 12,000 fans a game here, great.”
The March 28 game featured 14,000 fans, more than double the post-1997 renovation attendance record at Yost Ice Arena. From a seating capacity perspective, Yost is a far cry from LCA. In fact, an Oct 2024 study by Collegiate Sports Associates highlighted that the biggest obstacle to creating a D1 women’s team at the school is a lack of available facilities.
Accommodating a new program, the study argues, would require a $50 million expansion of Yost Ice Arena to include additional locker rooms and support spaces, a move that wouldn’t be financially feasible with estimated revenues of just $500,000 per year. But of the 29 varsity sports Michigan currently funds, 27 produce a loss of year-on-year revenue — including the men’s ice hockey team, which generated a $1 million loss in the 2023-2024 season.
Contributions from the University, athletic department and donors alike ensure the Wolverines men’s ice hockey program is subsidized to cover the deficit. With a professional franchise just down the road offering increased access to sponsorships and other fundraising opportunities, a women’s team could operate similarly.
“That’s why we do this, to create opportunities for more young girls and women,” Hefford said. “Some of them may have an opportunity to play in this league. Others will be able to follow this league, be fans of the league. Some may be able to work in this league. So it’s really about more opportunities and having people feel like there’s a place for them in hockey.”
Schools like Minnesota and Penn State created their women’s hockey programs through methods like an expensive two-rink solution and massive alumni donations. Now that the state of Michigan has the infrastructure to facilitate spending on women’s hockey, the estimated $50 million mark appears much more achievable. This gives the Wolverines a chance to catch up.
Even if Yost is renovated to include locker rooms and other spaces that can accommodate NCAA designations for both teams, there’s still the issue of access. The reason many other colleges with both men’s and women’s teams have two separate rinks is to avoid scheduling conflicts. Currently, the Wolverines’ women’s club team plays early on Saturdays and Sundays, but a full-fledged varsity team would require more ice time.
According to the aforementioned study, this could be solved with a $330 million new rink, but the PWHL’s LCA agreement gives the cheaper, shared ice solution some headway. If a professional women’s team can logistically operate in a building that also features the Red Wings, Pistons and a WNBA franchise coming in 2029, Michigan’s athletic department could navigate a similar agreement between two varsity hockey programs.
“The bid process itself was just a partnership,” Ilitch Sports and Entertainment chief executive officer Christopher Ilitch said. “We’ve had games here before. (The PWHL) made it very clear they wanted to be in Detroit, and our fans made it really clear that they wanted it here.”
Fans pushing for women’s hockey in Michigan is nothing new — but an actualized home for it is. Detroit’s development is a symbol of progress for women and girls looking to pursue careers in hockey without leaving the state.
“To have the league here in general, again, signals the ability for young girls to get interested in hockey and to see themselves in that league,” Detroit mayor Mary Sheffield said. “So I think it’s a good first step.”
There’s still work to be done to facilitate a D1 women’s hockey team in Ann Arbor. But for those who have tirelessly advocated for one, Wednesday was a key moment in the quest for a breakthrough at the collegiate level.
