HANOVER, N.H.—Dartmouth’s Haldeman Family Director of Athletics and Recreation, Mike Harrity and Dartmouth College announce a project to renovate Dartmouth’s Rupert C. Thompson Arena, that will modernize locker rooms and team spaces, and benefit team building, student-athlete development, and future recruiting.

Thompson Arena has been the home of Dartmouth men’s and women’s hockey since opening in 1975. The 11,050-square-foot renovation will provide both programs with new locker rooms, team lounges, sports medicine spaces, a weight room, a coaches’ suite, as well as a new donor and fan hospitality space on the concourse level.

Over the last year, Dartmouth women’s hockey welcomed new head coach Maura Crowell, who brings a record of sustained success from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). Crowell led UMD to three consecutive 20 plus win seasons and two NCAA Frozen Four appearances (2021, 2022). She was named the USCHO Division I Women’s Coach of the Year and the CCM/AHCA National Coach of the Year in 2016–17 and was a finalist for the CCM/AHCA award again in both 2021 and 2022. Her leadership signals a new chapter for Dartmouth women’s hockey, rooted in competitive excellence and academic achievement.

The men’s hockey program continues to thrive under Koenig Family Head Coach of Dartmouth Men’s Hockey, Reid Cashman. The program is coming off a historic 2024–25 season, returning to the Top 20 rankings and winning the Ivy League Championship outright for the first time since 1979–80. In addition, Cashman and his staff were named Ivy League coaching staff of the year in 2024-25, while Cashman was named Tim Taylor ECAC Coach of the Year previously for the 2023-24 season. This success reflects the program’s continued investment in holistic student-athlete development—combining elite performance with academic rigor.

“This renovation will create a modern space to facilitate individual student-athlete development and team cohesion both on and off the ice,” Harrity shared. “We’re able to provide our teams with this enhancement because of the tremendous support from our alumni, the college, and the athletics and recreation department.”

The Thompson Arena locker rooms were last renovated in the summer of 2016 with both the men’s and women’s locker rooms receiving improvements. Part of the 2016 renovation also saw updates to the playing surface including new dasher boards and glass and a new refrigeration system. 

Crowell is excited about the upgraded locker room, which will be among the best in Division I hockey. “An upgraded locker room is meaningful to our team because it will give us the ability to have more space and create a true hockey epicenter, which is important to our program. The upgraded stalls and design will put us among the best locker rooms in the nation.”

Cashman is looking forward to having a central hub for Dartmouth hockey. “One of the great positives from this renovation is that everything related to Dartmouth hockey will now be under the Thompson roof. Our new coaches’ suite will allow our coaches to have more integration with our student-athletes. The new locker rooms and lounges will give our student-athletes an unbelievable atmosphere to prepare on and off the ice.”

The project will be divided into three phases, with the final phase expected to be completed in the fall of 2026.

“Renovated facilities are great for the current student-athletes but also should enhance recruiting to grow our program. Thompson Arena is already an incredible rink but the decision to renovate is a testament to Dartmouth’s commitment to constant improvement in all areas,” Dartmouth women’s hockey player Izee Powell ’26 added. “This renovation will create a better training facility for our team which is an important signal that Dartmouth is investing in the student-athletes so that we can be the best we can possibly be. I’m really lucky to be a part of it and I can’t wait for the future success of Dartmouth women’s hockey.”

Matt Fusco ’27 of the men’s hockey team is excited about all of the renovations. “The plans for the rink look unbelievable. We will have so many resources at our disposal, and everything we need will be right there for our whole team. This addition will be big and will help us separate from the rest of college hockey. Having all of the benefits of what Dartmouth offers its students plus the addition to the rink; it makes Dartmouth the place to be in college hockey.”

Phase one, which started in January 2025, focuses on adding to the building infrastructure of the arena.  Phase two focuses on the energy upgrades to the mechanical systems which is part of Dartmouth’s decarbonization effort to reach carbon-zero operations by 2050.

Phase three will complete the interior renovations and all site work upgrades with the completion anticipated in time for the start of the season in fall 2026.

Throughout the renovations, both Dartmouth men’s and women’s hockey will continue to call Thompson Arena home. Dartmouth Athletics and Recreation is grateful to campus leaders for their support in updating Thompson Arena for the first time in 50 years. Dartmouth hockey has benefitted from an energized alumni and fan base with millions of dollars in private support committed to this project. For more information on how you can make a transformational gift to the Thompson Arena renovation, contact Steve Maciejewski, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development (steven.j.maciejewski@dartmouth.edu).

2025-26 season ticket deposits are now on sale, to secure your season ticket for 2025-26, click here for men’s hockey and click here for women’s hockey.