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The debut of Tennessee State's hockey team has been postponed to the 2026-2027 season. According to a statement from the university, the delay will allow more time to focus on fundraising, recruiting, faculty planning, and staff development. However, while the launch is delayed, Tennessee State is said to still be preparing for the 2026-2027 season.
“Working closely with the NHL and the Predators, we agree that an additional year will provide the program with the time and resources it needs to launch at full strength and with long-term financial success in mind,” TSU Interim President Dwayne Tucker said in the statement.
The decision to postpone the season was made in collaboration with Tennessee State, the NHL, the Nashville Predators, and College Hockey Inc. Kevin Westgarth, NHL vice president, hockey development and strategic collaboration spoke about the decision in a statement.
“Deferring the inaugural season of TSU Tigers hockey to 2026-27 is the right step to build a foundation worthy of the university…We have faith in President Tucker’s vision and look forward to adding new names to the TSU Athletics history alongside legends like Olympic gold medalist Wilma Rudolph and NBA champion Dick Barnett. Hopefully, we’ll see an ex-Tiger raise the Stanley Cup one day, not too far in the future.”
The Nashville Predators chief marketing officer Bill Wickett added, “We applaud university leadership, led by Interim President Tucker, for its desire to ensure that when the Tigers step on the ice for the first time, they are doing it for a long time, and we pledge to walk hand-in-hand with that leadership in making it happen.”
In 2023, Tennessee State announced the creation of the first HBCU hockey program. The delay sets back the initial goal of the team by the 2026-2027 school year to fully transition into a Division I program. In the original timeline, Tennessee State planned for the team to operate as a club organization in the upcoming school year.
