The North American 3 Eastern Hockey League (NA3EHL) was founded for the 2012-13 season as the Northern States Junior Hockey League, the league also referred to itself as the Northern States Hockey League. The league was founded out of the Super Elite division of the International Junior Hockey League, which played from 2006 to 2012 and was previously known as the Interstate Junior Hockey League, which played from 1999 to 2006 before being renamed. The league was founded as a member of the Amateur Athletic Union and its United Hockey Union program. Several of the league's teams had previously played in other leagues while some were entirely new franchises. The league came under the control of the North American Hockey League prior to the 2014-15 season very shortly after withdrawing from