List of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey seasons


Tournament play begins
Though U.S. colleges had been fielding men's ice hockey teams since 1895, the NCAA did not have a formal tournament in place to decide a champion until after World War II. Starting with the 1947-48 season, the NCAA tournament invited the four top-ranked teams to Colorado Springs, Colorado to compete for the NCAA Championship.

No.SeasonTournamentNo. of teams
in tournament		StartFinishNCAA Champion
Champion
Conference		Champion
Record		Championship Site
11947–4819484March 20Michigan -Colorado Springs, Colorado
21948–4919494March 19Boston College -Colorado Springs, Colorado
31949–5019504March 18Colorado College -Colorado Springs, Colorado
41950–5119514March 17Michigan -Colorado Springs, Colorado
51951–5219524March 15Michigan MCHLColorado Springs, Colorado
61952–5319534March 14Michigan MCHLColorado Springs, Colorado
71953–5419544March 13Rensselaer Tri-State LeagueColorado Springs, Colorado
81954–5519554March 12Michigan WIHLColorado Springs, Colorado
91955–5619564March 17Michigan WIHLColorado Springs, Colorado
101956–5719574March 16Colorado College WIHLColorado Springs, Colorado

Rotating tournaments

After spending 10 years at one location, the NCAA began to move the Division I ice hockey tournament to different sites. Over the next 14 years, the tournament was held in 11 different venues and, more importantly to the northeast teams, was held in New England eight times. While the rotations stopped briefly in 1972, they resumed after 1974 and the tournament has not been held in the same city for consecutive years since.

No.SeasonTournamentNo. of teams
in tournament		StartFinishNCAA Champion
Champion
Conference		Champion
Record		Championship Site
111957–5819584March 15Denver WIHLMinneapolis, Minnesota
121958–5919594March 14North Dakota -Troy, New York
131959–6019604 March 19Denver WCHABoston, Massachusetts
141960–6119614March 18Denver WCHADenver, Colorado
151961–6219624March 17Michigan Tech WCHAUtica, New York
161962–6319634March 16North Dakota WCHAChestnut Hill, Massachusetts
171963–6419644March 21Michigan WCHADenver, Colorado
181964–6519654March 20Michigan Tech WCHAProvidence, Rhode Island
191965–6619664March 19Michigan State WCHAMinneapolis, Minnesota
201966–6719674March 18Cornell ECACSyracuse, New York
211967–6819684March 16Denver WCHADuluth, Minnesota
221968–6919694March 15Denver WCHAColorado Springs, Colorado
231969–7019704March 21Cornell ECACLake Placid, New York
241970–7119714March 20Boston University ECACSyracuse, New York
251971–7219724March 18Boston University ECACBoston, Massachusetts
261972–7319734March 17Wisconsin WCHABoston, Massachusetts
271973–7419744March 16Minnesota WCHABoston, Massachusetts
281974–7519754March 15Michigan Tech WCHASt. Louis, Missouri
291975–7619764March 27Minnesota WCHADenver, Colorado

Quarterfinals expansion

For the 30th season of the tournament, which had become the de facto possession of the WCHA and ECAC, the NCAA instituted a new rule by which they were able to add up to four additional teams to the tournament if they saw fit. This policy essentially became a vehicle allowing the CCHA champion to play with the lone exception coming in 1978. For the 1981 tournament the NCAA altered the rule to guarantee a full quarterfinal round and started including true 'at large' teams for the first time. Between 1981 and 1987 the quarterfinals consisted of two games where the team that scored the most goals in the two games would advance to the "Frozen Four". Between 1977 and 1987 Detroit, Michigan and Providence, Rhode Island would each host the tournament 4 separate times.

No.SeasonTournamentNo. of teams
in tournament		StartFinishNCAA Champion
Champion
Conference		Champion
Record		Championship Site
301976–7719775March 26Wisconsin WCHADetroit, Michigan
311977–7819786March 25Boston University ECACProvidence, Rhode Island
321978–7919795March 24Minnesota WCHADetroit, Michigan
331979–8019805March 29North Dakota WCHAProvidence, Rhode Island
341980–8119818March 28Wisconsin WCHADuluth, Minnesota
351981–8219828March 27North Dakota WCHAProvidence, Rhode Island
361982–8319838March 26Wisconsin WCHAGrand Forks, North Dakota
371983–8419848March 24Bowling Green CCHALake Placid, New York
381984–8519858March 30Rensselaer ECACDetroit, Michigan
391985–8619868March 29Michigan State CCHAProvidence, Rhode Island
401986–8719878March 28North Dakota WCHADetroit, Michigan

Additional expansion

With 4 major conferences and a myriad of independent programs competing at the Division I level, the tournament was expanded to 12 teams beginning with the 1987-88 season. The first round followed the same pattern as the quarterfinals with teams playing two games against a single opponent and the one with a higher goal total after the series advancing. The rest of the tournament retained the earlier format. One year later the goal-total format was abandoned and replaced by a best-of-three series for the opening round and quarterfinals. In 1992 the entire tournament was switched to a single-elimination format and divided into two regional locations that would feed into the "Frozen Four". For the first time, in 1999, the championship was held in a region without a local Division I program when the championship round was awarded to Anaheim, California.

No.SeasonTournamentNo. of teams
in tournament		StartFinishNCAA Champion
Champion
Conference		Champion
Record		Championship Site
411987–88198812April 2Lake Superior State CCHALake Placid, New York
421988–89198912April 1Harvard ECACSt. Paul, Minnesota
431989–90199012April 1Wisconsin WCHADetroit, Michigan
441990–91199112March 30Northern Michigan WCHASt. Paul, Minnesota
451991–92199212April 4Lake Superior State CCHAAlbany, New York
461992–93199312April 3Maine Hockey EastMilwaukee, Wisconsin
471993–94199412April 2Lake Superior State CCHASt. Paul, Minnesota
481994–95199512April 1Boston University Hockey EastProvidence, Rhode Island
491995–96199612March 30Michigan CCHACincinnati, Ohio
501996–97199712March 29North Dakota WCHAMilwaukee, Wisconsin
511997–98199812April 4Michigan CCHABoston, Massachusetts
521998–99199912October 3April 3Maine Hockey EastAnaheim, California
531999–00200012October 1April 8North Dakota WCHAProvidence, Rhode Island
542000–01200112October 6April 7Boston College Hockey EastAlbany, New York
552001–02200212October 5April 6Minnesota WCHASt. Paul, Minnesota

Further expansion and commercialization

After the addition of two more conferences around the turn of the century bringing up the total number to 6, and with each receiving an at-large bid starting in 2001 and 2003 respectively, the tournament was again expanded by 4 teams. Two additional regional groups were added and byes into the quarterfinals were eliminated. Additionally the "Frozen Four" was seen as a vehicle to increase both revenue and the popularity of college hockey, as such the apex of the tournament began to move around to non-traditional college hockey areas, usually in the buildings of NHL teams.
The first decade of the 21st century saw significant changes to hockey's conference landscape. After the 2002–03 season, the MAAC hockey programs split from the league to form Atlantic Hockey. CHA stopped sponsoring men's hockey after the 2009–10 season, but still operates as a women's league.

No.SeasonTournamentNo. of teams
in tournament		StartFinishNCAA Champion
Champion
Conference		Champion
Record		Championship Site
562002–03200316October 4April 12Minnesota WCHABuffalo, New York
572003–04200416October 3April 10Denver WCHABoston, Massachusetts
582004–05200516October 3April 9Denver WCHAColumbus, Ohio
592005–06200616October 7April 8Wisconsin WCHAMilwaukee, Wisconsin
602006–07200716October 6April 7Michigan State CCHASt. Louis, Missouri
612007–08200816October 7April 12Boston College Hockey EastDenver, Colorado
622008–09200916October 10April 11Boston University Hockey EastWashington, D.C.
632009–10201016October 8April 10Boston College Hockey EastDetroit, Michigan
642010–11201116October 2April 9Minnesota-Duluth WCHASt. Paul, Minnesota
652011–12201216October 1April 7Boston College Hockey EastTampa, Florida
662012–13201316October 6April 13Yale ECACPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Conference realignment and dissolution

In 2010, Terry Pegula, an alumnus of Pennsylvania State University, donated $102 million to his alma mater for the express purpose of building a brand-new hockey arena and to fund the upgrade of both the men's and women's ice hockey programs from club level to Division I. This began a chain of events that caused a massive amount of conference realignment, the founding of two new conferences, and the ending of one of the oldest conferences in the NCAA. Penn State's rise to the D-I ranks gave the Big Ten its sixth university that sponsored varsity men's ice hockey, a number significant for two reasons. First, Big Ten bylaws dictate that the conference can only sponsor a sport if it has at least six participating members. More significantly, NCAA rules on conference formation dictate that at least six teams must be present for a conference to receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. In short order the other five teams announced their intention to leave their current conferences. In response several members of the WCHA, including traditional powerhouses Denver and North Dakota, split to form a new conference, the NCHC. The NCHC quickly grew to 8 member teams, leaving the WCHA with only 4 remaining schools and the CCHA with 6. Five of the remaining CCHA schools then proceeded to join the WCHA, along with the Independent Alabama-Huntsville, bringing the WCHA up to 10 member schools. The remaining CCHA team, Notre Dame, joined Hockey East. In essence all of the universities that changed conferences were not significantly harmed by the changes because no team was left without a conference by the start of the 2013–14 season, but the shift did create one more automatic qualifier for the tournament, reducing the chance to receive an at-large bid for all schools across the nation.
In November 2019, the seven Midwestern schools among the 10 members of the men's WCHA jointly announced they would leave the league after the 2020–21 season, citing the league's extended geographic footprint as a reason for this move. On February 18, 2020, these seven schools announced they would start play in a new CCHA in the 2021–22 season.
The 2020 tournament was cancelled on March 12, 2020, just before the start of most conference postseason tournaments, due to concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conference timeline


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bar:2 color:barcolor from:08/01/1964 till:06/30/1972 text:IACA
bar:3 color:barcolor from:07/01/1951 till:05/01/1953 text:MCHL WIHL
bar:3 color:barcolor from:08/01/1953 till:05/01/1958 text:
bar:3 color:barcolor from:08/01/1959 till:end text: WCHA
bar:4 color:barcolor from:07/01/1958 till:06/30/1981 text:Big Ten
bar:4 color:barcolor from:07/01/2013 till:end text:
bar:5 color:barcolor from:07/01/1961 till:end text:ECAC
bar:6 color:barcolor from:07/01/1971 till:06/30/2013 text:CCHA
bar:6 color:barcolor from:07/01/2021 till:end text:CCHA
bar:7 color:barcolor from:07/01/1984 till:end text:Hockey East
bar:8 color:barcolor from:07/01/1985 till:06/30/1988 text:GWHC
bar:9 color:barcolor from:07/01/1998 till:05/01/2003 text:MAAC
bar:9 color:barcolor from:08/01/2003 till:end text: Atlantic Hockey
bar:10 color:barcolor from:07/01/1999 till:06/30/2010 text:CHA
bar:11 color:barcolor from:07/01/2013 till:end text:NCHC
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Chronological Statistical Leaders

Since 1947-48

Single Season Points

Career Points

Single Season Goals

Career Goals

Single Season Wins†

† Most individual goaltending statistics were not recorded before 1960

Career Wins‡

‡ prior to 1970 NCAA rules limited players to 3 varsity seasons

Single Season Goals Against Average*

^ Minimum 30 games played