NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament

NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament

Current season, competition or edition: 2024 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1948
No. of teams	16
Country	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Denver
Most titles	Denver (10)
TV partner(s)	ESPN
Official website	NCAA.com

The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I.^[1] Like other Division I championships, it is the highest level of NCAA men's hockey competition. This tournament is somewhat unique among NCAA sports as many schools which otherwise compete in Division II or Division III compete in Division I for hockey.

Since 1999, the semi-finals and championship game of the tournament have been branded as the "Frozen Four"—a reference to the NCAA's long-time branding of its basketball semi-finals as the "Final Four".

The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single elimination competition that has determined the collegiate national champion since the inaugural 1948 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament. The tournament features 16 teams representing all six Division I conferences in the nation. The Championship Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 16 within four regionals of 4 teams. The winners of the six Division I conference championships receive automatic bids to participate in the NCAA Championship. The tournament begins with initial games played at four regional sites culminating with the semi-finals and finals played at a single site.^[1]

In setting up the tournament, the Championship Committee seeks to ensure "competitive equity, financial success and likelihood of playoff-type atmosphere at each regional site." A team serving as the host of a regional is placed within that regional. The top four teams are assigned overall seeds and placed within the bracket such that the national semifinals will feature the No. 1 seed versus the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed versus the No. 3 seed should the top four teams win their respective regional finals. Number 1 seeds are also placed as close to their home site as possible, with the No. 1 seed receiving first preference. Conference matchups are avoided in the first round; should five or more teams from one conference make the tournament, this guideline may be disregarded in favor of preserving the bracket's integrity.

Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado hosted the tournament for the first ten years and has hosted eleven times overall, the most of any venue.^[2] The Denver Pioneers have won the most tournaments with ten, while Vic Heyliger has coached the most championship teams, winning six times with Michigan between 1948 and 1956.^[3][4]

The 2020 championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[5][6][7]

1948–1976

4 teams (1 game series)

1977–1980

5–6 teams (1 game series)

1981–1987

8 teams (2 game, total goals first round at higher seed)

1988

12 teams (2 game, total goals first two rounds at higher seed)

1989–1991

12 teams (best of 3 games first two rounds series at higher seed)

1992–2002

12 teams (divided into 2 regionals, East Regional and West Regional; 6 teams each)

2003–present

16 teams (divided into 4 regionals: Northeast, East, Midwest, and West Regionals: 4 teams each)

^1 Participation in the tournament vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

Michigan

North
Dakota

Denver

Wisconsin

Minnesota

Lake
Superior State

Michigan
State

Michigan
Tech

Minnesota
Duluth

Colorado
College

Cornell

Maine

RPI

Bowling
Green

Northern
Michigan

Union

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Schools with D1 Mens Ice Hockey championships
– 10 championships, – 9 championships, – 8 championships, – 6 championships, – 5 championships, – 3 championships, – 2 championships, – 1 championship

Boston
College

Boston
University

UMass

Harvard

Quinnipiac

Yale

Providence

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Schools with D1 Mens Ice Hockey championships
– 5 championships, – 1 championship

The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:

•  •  First round (12 teams starting in 1988, 16 teams starting in 2003)
•  QF  Quarterfinals (1 or 2 teams starting in 1977, 4 teams starting in 1980)
•  F4  Frozen Four
•  RU  National Runner-up
•  CH  National Champion
•  RU   •  The team achieved the placement shown, but the participation was later vacated. These vacated appearances are not included in the total columns.

Starting in 2003, the 4 teams seeded No. 1 in the regions are shown with single underline.

* Was not a member of the winning team.
† Natural hat-trick.
‡ Tournament participation later vacated.

Minimum 2 tournaments

The following is a list of teams that have not made an NCAA tournament anytime in the last 10 seasons.

† Alaska's only appearance in 2010 was later vacated due to NCAA rules violations.^[10]
‡ St. Lawrence received an automatic bid in 2021, however, the team had to decline the invitation due to a positive COVID-19 test from their head coach.^[11]

At the conclusion of each tournament both an all-tournament team and 'Most Outstanding Player in Tournament' is named. Both achievements have been in effect since the inaugural championship in 1948

• NCAA Division II Men's Ice Hockey Championship
• NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship
• NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament (National Collegiate division; de facto equivalent to Division I)