The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Waterloo, Iowa at Young Arena. The Waterloo Black Hawks were founded as a semi-professional “senior” team in 1962. The Hawks were successful with local fans immediately, and the team won its first league championship in just their second year together. In fact, from 1963/64 through 1967/68, Waterloo won five consecutive USHL titles. in 1977, the USHL merged with the Midwest Junior Hockey League and began the conversion to an all-junior format. The Black Hawks lifted two more playoff trophies in the springs of 1978 and 1979 during the league’s transitional years. In 2002, the United States Hockey League, became the nation’s only Tier I junior circuit. Tier I junior status attracts the top college-bound players, because it provides the broadest on-ice, academic, and social support while still allowing elite players to maintain NCAA eligibility. Professional hockey has also taken notice of Waterloo as quality place for talent to develop; since 2003, 32 Black Hawks have been selected by National Hockey League teams.