Jennifer Flowers, who has served as the commissioner of the WCHA women's league for the past three years, announced Wednesday that she is leaving to become athletic director at Southwest Minnesota State. She will begin her new job July 1.
Flowers was named the fourth commissioner of the women's league in June of 2019 and helped guide the WCHA through the coronavirus pandemic. Among he achievements were a partnership between the WCHA and Big Ten network to stream conference games. The league also returned to eight teams for the first time since the 2016-17 season with the addition of St. Thomas during Flowers' time the league. Wisconsin and Ohio State of the WCHA won NCAA championships in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and the conference this year had all three finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which went to Gophers forward Taylor Heise.
"I am grateful to the WCHA for welcoming me three years ago," Flowers said in a statement. "The opportunity to lead the best league in women's college hockey has been an honor. I am incredibly proud of how our league navigated the challenges presented and our ability to excel through them all. The WCHA is strongly positioned for continued success.
"The highlight for me has been the relationships I've built with our student-athletes; young women who are truly incredible on and off the ice. The WCHA is the best of the best and I will forever be a fan."
Before joining the WCHA, Flowers, a Manson, Iowa, native, spent the three years as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's assistant commissioner for member services. She is a 2003 Winona State graduate and four-year starter on the Warriors volleyball team.
