Julianne Bye Cup
The home of a record 16 national championships, the Women’s League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association will present a new regular season championship trophy named in honor of longtime women’s hockey advocate Julianne Bye, the league announced Feb. 18, 2019.
The Julianne Bye Cup will be awarded yearly to the winner of the WCHA regular season championship beginning with the 2018-19 season.
“For 20 years I have watched the highly skilled and competitive teams of the WCHA Women's Hockey League,” Bye said. “In my opinion, the WCHA is the premier women's college hockey league. Winning the regular season championship should be celebrated with joy and pride. The perpetual trophy recognizes this amazing accomplishment.”
Julianne Bye’s love for the game of hockey began as a child watching the 1960 Winter Olympics and has been a strong advocate for the women’s game for several decades. She was instrumental in the launch of the women’s hockey program at the University of Minnesota and has been one of the WCHA’s biggest boosters since the Women’s League was founded in 1999.
“We are thrilled that our regular season championship trophy will now bear the name of one of strongest supporters of the WCHA and women’s hockey,” WCHA Vice President and Women’s League Commissioner Katie Million said. “The Julianne Bye Cup will become one of the most coveted trophies in the women’s game.”
The Julianne Bye Cup is a custom-made perpetual traveling trophy that will be presented to the winner of the WCHA regular season championship each year. The trophy will travel from champion to champion at the conclusion of each regular season. The Cup will rest on a three-tier base that will include the trophy name and the Julianne Bye story on the first tier and engraved plates with each championship school’s name.
The Julianne Bye Story
Julianne Bye’s love for the game of hockey began as a child watching the 1960 Winter Olympics and has been a strong advocate for the women’s game for several decades. Her story is told on the Julianne Bye Cup in the inscription below:
The Julianne Bye Cup
It is my true honor to present the perpetual trophy for the WCHA Women’s League Regular Season Champion. The WCHA stands as the nation’s premier women’s college hockey conference, proudly showcasing the talents of incredible female student-athletes. WCHA teams have been a force in the women’s hockey community since the league’s inception and I marvel at the growth in skill, talent and high standard of hockey that is played every day. This trophy celebrates and recognizes these outstanding accomplishments.
As a lifelong lover of the game of hockey, it is important to me that future teams, coaches and staff recognize that women are supporting women to grow the game we all love. My message to the regular season champions, “Raise this trophy with pride and joy. Congratulations on your hard work and drive. You are WCHA Regular Season Champions!”
Julianne Bye
Minnesota's 2018-19 WCHA Regular Season Championship team was the first to WCHA squad to be presented with the Julianne Bye Cup.
| All-Time WCHA Women’s League Regular Season Champions | ||||
| Year | Champion | W-L-T | Points | Head Coach |
| 1999-00 | Minnesota Duluth | 21-1-2 | 44 | Shannon Miller |
| 2000-01 | Minnesota | 18-4-2 | 38 | Laura Halldorson |
| 2001-02 | Minnesota | 19-2-3 | 41 | Laura Halldorson |
| 2002-03 | Minnesota Duluth | 21-2-1 | 43 | Shannon Miller |
| 2003-04 | Minnesota | 19-3-2 | 40 | Laura Halldorson |
| 2004-05 | Minnesota | 25-1-2 | 52 | Laura Halldorson |
| 2005-06 | Wisconsin | 24-3-1 | 49 | Mark Johnson |
| 2006-07 | Wisconsin | 23-1-4 | 50 | Mark Johnson |
| 2007-08 | Minnesota Duluth* | 24-4-0 | 48 | Shannon Miller |
| Year | Champion | W-L-T-SW^ | Points | Head Coach |
| 2008-09 | Minnesota | 23-2-3-2 | 51 | Brad Frost |
| 2009-10 | Minnesota Duluth | 20-6-2-1 | 43 | Shannon Miller |
| Minnesota | 18-6-4-3 | 43 | Brad Frost | |
| Year+ | Champion | W-L-T-SW+ | Points | Head Coach |
| 2010-11 | Wisconsin | 24-2-2-2 | 76 | Mark Johnson |
| 2011-12 | Wisconsin | 23-3-2-1 | 72 | Mark Johnson |
| 2012-13 | Minnesota | 28-0-0-0 | 84 | Brad Frost |
| 2013-14 | Minnesota | 26-1-1-0 | 79 | Brad Frost |
| 2014-15 | Minnesota | 22-2-4-2 | 72 | Brad Frost |
| 2015-16 | Wisconsin | 24-3-1-1 | 74 | Mark Johnson |
| 2016-17 | Wisconsin | 22-2-4-3 | 73 | Mark Johnson |
| 2017-18 | Wisconsin | 20-2-2-2 | 64 | Mark Johnson |
| 2018-19 | Minnesota | 19-4-1-0 | 58 | Brad Frost |
| *26 games and WCHA regular season title later vacated
due to ineligible player. ^ Beginning with the 2008-09 season, shootout wins = 1 additional point. + Beginning with the 2010-11 season, victories were worth 3 points. |
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| Most WCHA Regular Season Championships, by Team | |
| No | Team (*- Co-Champions, #- Vacated) |
| 10 | Minnesota (2000-01, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2008-09, 2009-10*, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2018-19) |
| 7 | Wisconsin (2005-06, 2006-07, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18) |
| 4 | Minnesota Duluth (1999-00, 2002-03, 2009-10*, 2007-08#) |