List of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey seasons
This article has no lead section. (June 2024) |
Tournament play begins
Though U.S. colleges had been fielding men's ice hockey teams since 1895,
No. | Season | Tournament | No. of teams in tournament |
Start | Finish | NCAA Champion (number) |
Champion Conference |
Champion Record |
Championship Site |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1947–48 | 1948 |
4[a 1] | March 20 | Michigan | None | (20–2–1) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
2 | 1948–49 | 1949 |
4[a 2] | March 19 | Boston College | None | (21–1–0) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
3 | 1949–50 | 1950 |
4 | March 18 | Colorado College | None | (18–5–1) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
4 | 1950–51 | 1951 |
4[a 3] | March 17 | Michigan (2) | None | (22–4–1) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
5 | 1951–52 | 1952 |
4 | March 15 | Michigan (3) | MCHL | (22–4–0) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
6 | 1952–53 | 1953 |
4 | March 14 | Michigan (4) | MCHL | (22–4–0) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
7 | 1953–54 | 1954 |
4 | March 13 | Rensselaer | Tri-State League | (18–5–0) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
8 | 1954–55 | 1955 |
4 | March 12 | Michigan (5) | WIHL | (18–5–1) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
9 | 1955–56 | 1956 |
4 | March 17 | Michigan (6) | WIHL | (20–2–1) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
10 | 1956–57 | 1957 |
4 | March 16 | Colorado College (2) | WIHL | (25–5–0) | Colorado 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. | Season | Tournament | No. of teams in tournament |
Start | Finish | NCAA Champion (number) |
Champion Conference |
Champion Record |
Championship Site |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 | 1957–58 | 1958 |
4 | March 15 | Denver | WIHL | (25–10–2) | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
12 | 1958–59 | 1959 |
4 | March 14 | North Dakota | None | (20–10–1) | Troy, New York | |
13 | 1959–60 | 1960 |
4 [b 1] | March 19 | Denver (2) | WCHA | (27–4–3) | Boston, Massachusetts | |
14 | 1960–61 | 1961 |
4 | March 18 | Denver (3) | WCHA | (30–1–1) | Denver, Colorado | |
15 | 1961–62 | 1962 |
4 | March 17 | Michigan Tech | WCHA | (29–3–0) | Utica, New York | |
16 | 1962–63 | 1963 |
4 | March 16 | North Dakota (2) | WCHA | (22–7–3) | Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts | |
17 | 1963–64 | 1964 |
4 | March 21 | Michigan (7) | WCHA | (24–4–1) | Denver, Colorado | |
18 | 1964–65[b 2] | 1965 |
4 | March 20 | Michigan Tech (2) | WCHA | (24–5–2) | Providence, Rhode Island | |
19 | 1965–66 | 1966 |
4 | March 19 | Michigan State | WCHA | (16–13–0) | Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
20 | 1966–67 | 1967 |
4 | March 18 | Cornell | ECAC | (27–1–1) | Syracuse, New York | |
21 | 1967–68 | 1968 |
4 | March 16 | Denver (4) | WCHA | (28–5–1) | Duluth, Minnesota | |
22 | 1968–69 | 1969 |
4 | March 15 | Denver (5) | WCHA | (26–6–0) | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
23 | 1969–70 | 1970 |
4 | March 21 | Cornell (2) | ECAC | (29–0–0)[b 3] | Lake Placid, New York | |
24 | 1970–71 | 1971 |
4 | March 20 | Boston University | ECAC | (28–2–1) | Syracuse, New York | |
25 | 1971–72 | 1972 |
4 | March 18 | Boston University (2) | ECAC | (26–4–1) | Boston, Massachusetts | |
26 | 1972–73 | 1973 |
4[b 4] | March 17 | Wisconsin | WCHA | (29–9–2) | Boston, Massachusetts | |
27 | 1973–74[b 5] | 1974 |
4 | March 16 | Minnesota | WCHA | (22–11–6) | Boston, Massachusetts | |
28 | 1974–75 | 1975 |
4 | March 15 | Michigan Tech (3) | WCHA | (32–10–0) | St. Louis, Missouri | |
29 | 1975–76 | 1976 |
4 | March 27 | Minnesota (2) | WCHA | (28–14–2) | Denver, Colorado |
- ^ Two games were played between eastern teams to determine tournament participants. Neither game is considered as part of the NCAA or ECAC tournaments.
- ^ ECAC Hockey reorganized its conference membership, dividing the teams into upper- and lower-tiers. The lower tier teams were placed into ECAC 2, creating the first formal divisions for college ice hockey.
- ^ The 1969–70 Cornell Big Red are thus far the only NCAA Division I men's ice hockey champion to complete a perfect season since tournament play began.
- ^ The University of Denver's participation in the 1973 tournament was later vacated by the NCAA committee on infractions.[5]
- ^ The NCAA reclassified the Divisions from University and College to the current numerical format in the summer of 1973, making 1973–74 the first official Division I season.
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
No. | Season | Tournament | No. of teams in tournament |
Start | Finish | NCAA Champion (number) |
Champion Conference |
Champion Record |
Championship Site |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 | 1976–77 | 1977 |
5 | March 26 | Wisconsin (2) | WCHA | (37–7–1) | Detroit, Michigan | |
31 | 1977–78 | 1978 |
6 | March 25 | Boston University (3) | ECAC | (30–2–0) | Providence, Rhode Island | |
32 | 1978–79 | 1979 |
5 | March 24 | Minnesota (3) | WCHA | (32–11–1) | Detroit, Michigan | |
33 | 1979–80 | 1980 |
5 | March 29 | North Dakota (3) | WCHA | (31–8–1) | Providence, Rhode Island | |
34 | 1980–81 | 1981 |
8 | March 28 | Wisconsin (3) | WCHA | (27–14–1) | Duluth, Minnesota | |
35 | 1981–82[c 1] | 1982 |
8 | March 27 | North Dakota (4) | WCHA | (35–12–0) | Providence, Rhode Island | |
36 | 1982–83 | 1983 |
8 | March 26 | Wisconsin (4) | WCHA | (33–10–4) | Grand Forks, North Dakota | |
37 | 1983–84 | 1984 |
8 | March 24 | Bowling Green | CCHA | (34–8–2) | Lake Placid, New York | |
38 | 1984–85[c 2] | 1985 |
8 | March 30 | Rensselaer (2) | ECAC | (35–2–1) | Detroit, Michigan | |
39 | 1985–86 | 1986 |
8 | March 29 | Michigan State (2) | CCHA | (34–9–2) | Providence, Rhode Island | |
40 | 1986–87 | 1987 |
8 | March 28 | North Dakota (5) | WCHA | (40–8–0) | Detroit, Michigan |
- ^ Four teams leave the WCHA and join the more geographically concentrated CCHA. Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech and Notre Dame (Michigan Tech would rejoin the WCHA 3 years later).
- ^ Six teams leave the ECAC over disagreements about the length of the conference schedule. Boston College, Boston University, Maine, New Hampshire, Northeastern and Providence leave to form the Hockey East conference in 1984 and are joined by Division II Lowell (now known as UMass Lowell).
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
No. | Season | Tournament | No. of teams in tournament |
Start | Finish | NCAA Champion (number) |
Champion Conference |
Champion Record |
Championship Site |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
41 | 1987–88 | 1988 |
12 | April 2 | Lake Superior State | CCHA | (33–7–6) | Lake Placid, New York | |
42 | 1988–89 | 1989 |
12 | April 1 | Harvard | ECAC | (31–3–0) | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
43 | 1989–90 | 1990 |
12[d 1] | April 1 | Wisconsin (5) | WCHA | (36–9–1) | Detroit, Michigan | |
44 | 1990–91 | 1991 |
12 | March 30 | Northern Michigan | WCHA | (38–5–4) | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
45 | 1991–92 | 1992 |
12[d 2] | April 4 | Lake Superior State (2) | CCHA | (30–9–4) | Albany, New York | |
46 | 1992–93 | 1993 |
12 | April 3 | Maine | Hockey East | (42–1–2) | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
47 | 1993–94 | 1994 |
12 | April 2 | Lake Superior State (3) | CCHA | (31–10–4) | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
48 | 1994–95 | 1995 |
12 | April 1 | Boston University (4) | Hockey East | (31–6–3) | Providence, Rhode Island | |
49 | 1995–96 | 1996 |
12 | March 30 | Michigan (8) | CCHA | (34–7–2) | Cincinnati, Ohio | |
50 | 1996–97 | 1997 |
12 | March 29 | North Dakota (6) | WCHA | (31–10–2) | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
51 | 1997–98 | 1998 |
12 | April 4 | Michigan (9) | CCHA | (34–11–1) | Boston, Massachusetts | |
52 | 1998–99 | 1999 |
12 | October 3 | April 3 | Maine (2) | Hockey East | (31–6–4) | Anaheim, California |
53 | 1999–00 |
2000 |
12 | October 1 | April 8 | North Dakota (7) | WCHA | (31–8–5) | Providence, Rhode Island |
54 | 2000–01 | 2001 |
12 | October 6 | April 7 | Boston College (2) | Hockey East | (33–8–2) | Albany, New York |
55 | 2001–02 | 2002 |
12 | October 5 | April 6 | Minnesota (4) | WCHA | (32–8–4) | St. Paul, Minnesota |
Further expansion and commercialization
After the addition of two more conferences around the turn of the century (
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. | Season | Tournament | No. of teams in tournament |
Start | Finish | NCAA Champion (number) |
Champion Conference |
Champion Record |
Championship Site |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
56 | 2002–03 | 2003 |
16 | October 4 | April 12 | Minnesota (5) | WCHA | (28–8–9) | Buffalo, New York |
57 | 2003–04 | 2004 |
16[e 1] | October 3 | April 10 | Denver (6) | WCHA | (27–12–5) | Boston, Massachusetts |
58 | 2004–05 | 2005 |
16 | October 3 | April 9 | Denver (7) | WCHA | (32–9–2) | Columbus, Ohio |
59 | 2005–06 | 2006 |
16 | October 7 | April 8 | Wisconsin (6) | WCHA | (30–10–3) | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
60 | 2006–07 | 2007 |
16 | October 6 | April 7 | Michigan State (3) | CCHA | (26–13–3) | St. Louis, Missouri |
61 | 2007–08 | 2008 |
16 | October 7 | April 12 | Boston College (3) | Hockey East | (25–11–8) | Denver, Colorado |
62 | 2008–09 | 2009 |
16 | October 10 | April 11 | Boston University (5) | Hockey East | (35–6–4) | Washington, D.C. |
63 | 2009–10 | 2010 |
16 | October 8 | April 10 | Boston College (4) | Hockey East | (29–10–3) | Detroit, Michigan[e 2] |
64 | 2010–11 | 2011 |
16[e 3] | October 2 | April 9 | Minnesota–Duluth |
WCHA | (26–10–6) | St. Paul, Minnesota |
65 | 2011–12 | 2012 |
16 | October 1 | April 7 | Boston College (5) | Hockey East | (33–10–1) | Tampa, Florida |
66 | 2012–13 | 2013 |
16 | October 6 | April 13 | Yale | ECAC | (22–12–3) | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
- ^ The MAAC's hockey programs break away to form Atlantic Hockey.
- ^ The Frozen Four was held at Ford Field in Detroit. This was the first championship in NCAA ice hockey history held at a venue designed for field sports.
- ^ College Hockey America ceases sponsoring men's hockey after all of its four remaining programs either joined other conferences or went independent. The conference remains in operation to this day as a women's-only league.
Conference realignment and dissolution
In 2010,
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.[8] On February 18, 2020, these seven schools announced they would start play in a new CCHA in the 2021–22 season.[9] In July of that year, the revived CCHA announced that St. Thomas, which had just received NCAA approval to move directly from Division III to Division I starting in July 2021, would join the league upon its arrival in D-I.[10]
The
No. | Season | Tournament | No. of teams in tournament |
Start | Finish | NCAA Champion (number) |
Champion Conference |
Champion Record |
Championship Site |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
67 | 2013–14 | 2014 |
16[f 1] | October 4 | April 12 | Union |
ECAC Hockey | (30–6–4) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
68 | 2014–15 | 2015 |
16 | October 4 | April 13 | Providence | Hockey East | (26–13–2) | Boston, Massachusetts |
69 | 2015–16 | 2016 |
16 | October 3 | April 9 | North Dakota (8) | NCHC | (34–6–4) | Tampa, Florida |
70 | 2016–17 | 2017 |
16 | October 1 | April 8 | Denver (8) | NCHC | (33–7–4) | Chicago, Illinois |
71 | 2017–18 | 2018 |
16 | October 1 | April 7 | Minnesota–Duluth (2) |
NCHC | (25–16–3) | St. Paul, Minnesota |
72 | 2018–19 | 2019 |
16 | October 6 | April 13 | Minnesota–Duluth (3) |
NCHC | (29–11–2) | Buffalo, New York |
73 | 2019–20 | 2020 |
Tournament canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic[11] | Detroit, Michigan | |||||
74 | 2020–21 | 2021 |
16 | November 14 | April 10 | Massachusetts | Hockey East | (20–5–4) | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
75 | 2021–22 | 2022 |
16 | October 2 | April 9 | Denver (9) | NCHC | (31–9–1) | Boston, Massachusetts |
76 | 2022–23 | 2023 |
16 | October 1 | April 8 | Quinnipiac | ECAC Hockey | (34–4–3) | Tampa, Florida |
- ^ Major conference realignment shook the Division I men's hockey landscape, with the following changes:
- The Big Ten became the first Division I all-sports conference to sponsor men's ice hockey since the MAAC ceased sponsorship of the sport in 2003. Before 2013–14, the six Big Ten hockey schools consisted of three WCHA members, two CCHA members, and one independent.
- Five WCHA members and one CCHA member announced in 2011 that they would form the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, with play to start in 2013–14. Several months after the NCHC was formed, two more schools joined, one from the CCHA and one from the WCHA.
- The original CCHA folded at the end of the 2012–13 season. In addition to the previously mentioned conference moves, one school (Notre Dame) joined Hockey East (becoming that conference's first non-New England member) and five either joined or rejoined the WCHA.
- In addition to the five former CCHA members, the WCHA added former independent Alabama–Huntsville.
Conference timeline
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/t941pn7217mxsej46pmnpdcmkfy9kq0.png)
Chronological Statistical Leaders[12]
Since 1947-48, as of 2022
Single Season Points
|
Career Points
|
Single Season Goals
|
Career Goals
|
Single Season Goals Against Average*
* At least 1/3 of team's minutes played |
Career Goals Against Average^
^ Minimum 30 games played |
See also
References
- ^ "Yale Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
- ^ "NCAA Division I Tournament". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
- ^ "History of the Tri-State League". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
- ^ "History of the WCHA". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
- ^ "NCAA Puts Denver on Two Year Probation". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
- ^ "Penn State Makes it Official: Varsity Programs on the Way". USCHO.com. September 17, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
- ^ "The CCHA is going away, but its history will have a final resting place". USCHO.com. March 6, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
- ^ "Statement Regarding Hockey League Affiliation" (Press release). Bowling Green Falcons. June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Randy (February 18, 2020). "CCHA will be new name for seven teams leaving WCHA in 2021-22". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- ^ "St. Thomas men's team moves to Division I, will join new CCHA for 2021-22 season". USCHO.com. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ a b Solari, Chris. "NCAA cancels March Madness, Frozen Four, all other championships; Big Ten halts all sports". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
- ^ "NCAA - All-time season". Elite Prospects. Retrieved May 6, 2018.