The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates mostly in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for men's hockey when most of its current members split from what is today known as ECAC Hockey. It largely sought to emulate the Big East Conference, which had grown quickly since its creation a few years earlier. The women's league began play in 2002.