Women's ice hockey has been played in U Sports since the 1997-98 season, when the governing body was known as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union, following a long stint of teams only competing in the OUA.

[1] In 1908, other schools such as the Calgary Collegiate Institute and Mount Royal University began to ice competitive teams as well.

[1] Starting in 1900, male spectators were authorized to assist in women's matches in most of the Canadian provinces and some university teams.

Sometimes, they were forced to cross big geographical distances by train in order to participate in tournaments[3] The first provincial women's championship took place in 1914 in Picton, Ontario.

[8] In the autumn of 1923, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association held its annual meeting in Port Arthur, Ontario.

[10] Numerous university women's teams are reluctant to join the LOHA because they estimated that they would be unable to compete against the Rivulettes.

[14] In 1969, the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, with a mission to organize championships in multiple sports for women university students in Western Canada, presented a proposal which eventually led to the creation of the Canadian Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Union (CWIAU).

In addition, the organizing team of the national tournament (the university which hosts the annual event) and the defending champion, as well as the finalist from all four conferences qualify.

The governing body was known as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU) when women's hockey was added to its championship roster.

The award honours Marion Hillard, a top player on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues outstanding hockey team which captured six championships from 1922-27.