GREENVILLE SOUTH CAROLINA (September 23rd 2026) – The Atlantic Coast Conference Hockey League (ACCHL) has named Ghost Brands® its official Agency of Record, establishing a new partnership focused on strengthening the league’s strategy, creative direction, communications, brand presence and overall reach as club hockey continues to grow across the country.
The partnership comes during a period of significant momentum for both the ACCHL and the sport itself. Hockey has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, including throughout nontraditional hockey markets in the Southeast, while club hockey continues to provide new opportunities for student-athletes to compete and represent their universities.
Founded in 1995, the ACCHL has spent more than three decades creating competitive opportunities for conference hockey programs while providing student-athletes an experience that complements their overall university education. What began with eight programs competing for a single championship has evolved into a broad club hockey organization serving men’s and women’s programs across an increasingly diverse geographic footprint.
That growth has taken many forms. The addition of a Men’s Division I (M1) division brought programs ranging geographically from Alabama to Syracuse into the ACCHL structure. At established member universities such as Virginia Tech, Delaware and Liberty, participation has grown to support second and even third teams, creating additional opportunities for students to play club hockey.
The addition of women’s hockey has further expanded the league’s reach, while the ACCHL has also welcomed programs returning from periods of dormancy, such as Dickinson, and programs such as Shippensburg and LSU, where geography, competition and program needs align with ACCHL-managed divisions. Growth throughout the Southeast remains an important part of that larger story. Through the Southeastern Conference Hockey League (SECHL), programs representing universities across traditional SEC markets are helping establish deeper roots for hockey in a region where participation, facilities and fan interest continue to expand.
For the ACCHL, however, growth has never simply been about adding teams.
The league has worked to create an environment where programs can find appropriate levels of competition, manageable geographic structures and consistent governance. That foundation has helped make ACCHL-managed leagues and divisions attractive to both established programs and emerging clubs searching for sustainable ways to compete.
Special events and experiences have also become an important part of that mission. Opportunities such as the ACCHL Fall Classic, outdoor games and international trips to Europe give student-athletes experiences that extend beyond a traditional league schedule and help differentiate club hockey as part of the overall college experience.
Together, those initiatives represent the ACCHL’s broader philosophy: continue creating opportunities, evolve alongside the sport and be willing to pioneer what collegiate club hockey can become.
“The ACCHL has always been willing to evolve with the needs of our programs and the growth of the sport,” said Mike Walley, Executive Director of the Atlantic Coast Conference Hockey League. “Whether that means creating new divisions, welcoming new and returning programs, expanding opportunities for women’s hockey or developing experiences that student-athletes will remember long after their playing careers are over, our focus has always been on building an environment where collegiate hockey can thrive. As hockey continues to grow across our footprint, we believe there is an even greater opportunity ahead of us. Bringing Ghost Brands into the organization gives us a partner that can help us better communicate that vision and position the ACCHL for its next era.”
As Agency of Record, Ghost Brands will work alongside ACCHL leadership to develop a more unified approach to how the organization communicates, markets and presents itself across its growing network of leagues, divisions and programs.
The agency’s initial work will focus on league-wide strategy, social media support, creative direction, graphic design and guidance for the ACCHL’s internal team and student interns. The partnership is designed to create stronger systems and greater consistency while giving the organization additional resources to better tell the stories happening throughout the ACCHL.
That includes strengthening how the league communicates with current and prospective programs, universities, student-athletes, fans, sponsors and potential strategic partners.
“What stood out to us about the ACCHL is that the growth isn’t coming from one place,” said Britton Briley, Founder of Ghost Brands. “You’re seeing new divisions, universities adding additional teams, women’s hockey creating new opportunities, programs returning to the ice and hockey continuing to establish itself in markets throughout the South and beyond. There is real momentum here. Our job is to bring strategy, creative direction and consistency behind that momentum and help more people understand what the ACCHL is building. We want to connect the individual stories of these programs into a stronger league-wide story while helping create a foundation for continued growth for years to come.”
The partnership will also emphasize collaboration throughout the organization. Ghost Brands will work with league leadership, student interns and program representatives to provide creative guidance and marketing strategy while preserving the personalities, traditions and rivalries that make individual university programs unique.
As collegiate hockey continues to evolve, the ACCHL sees an opportunity to continue doing what it has done throughout its history: create pathways for participation while finding new ways to move the sport forward.
From new divisions and expanding university programs to women’s hockey, special events, international experiences and continued growth in emerging hockey markets, the organization enters its next era with an increasingly diverse platform from which to build. With Ghost Brands joining the ACCHL as Agency of Record, the goal is to ensure that growth on the ice is matched by greater strategy, visibility, creativity and impact off of it.
Established in 1995, the Atlantic Coast Conference Hockey League is committed to providing a quality intercollegiate hockey environment as an integral part of the student-athlete’s overall educational experience. Over more than three decades, the ACCHL has expanded from eight founding programs into an organization supporting men’s and women’s conference hockey across multiple competitive levels and geographic regions. Through consistent governance, competitive play, geographic alignment and unique student-athlete experiences, the organization remains focused on creating sustainable opportunities for conference hockey programs while helping pioneer the future of the sport. Learn more about the ACCHL by visiting their website at www.acchockey.com
Ghost Brands® is a full-service creative and marketing agency specializing in sports, entertainment, hospitality and consumer brands. The agency works alongside organizations as an extension of their internal teams, providing strategy, branding, creative development, social media, content production, digital advertising, media buying, public relations and marketing support. Ghost Brands’ sports portfolio includes work across professional, collegiate and venue-based sports organizations, with an emphasis on building brands that extend beyond the playing surface and become part of the communities they represent. Through its partnership with the ACCHL, Ghost Brands will support the league’s continued efforts to strengthen its identity, expand its audience and elevate the stories of its teams and student-athletes. Learn more at www.ghostbrands.com