Findlay spent five years in the CHA, never finishing higher than fourth in the standings,[2] and only winning a single game in the conference tournament.
[3] After a change to the administration of Findlay in the summer of 2003, the University announced on January 6, 2004 that the ice hockey program would revert to club and intramural status.
The change did not come as a shock to many familiar with Findlay's situation as head coach Craig Barnett had already resigned to take a position with Lake Forest Academy prep school.
When the CHA applied for its automatic tournament bid in 2002, the NCAA had reservations about Findlay's full Division I status as it had moved the University's athletic program to Division II status only four years earlier.
Because NCAA rules mandate that automatic bid conferences must contain at least six member schools the CHA scrambled to resolve the waiver that would allow Findlay to play in the conference despite the 9-year moratorium mandated by the NCAA on teams playing above their level.