The annual NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship tournament determines the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Division I and Division III.

The semi-finals and finals of the Division I Championship are branded as the Frozen Four, a passing nod to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 - known as the Final Four in its final rounds. The final two rounds of the hockey tournament were first referred to as the Frozen Four in 1999.

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

1948 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament

The 1948 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 4 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. It began on March 18, 1948, and ended with the championship game on March 20...

. 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.

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.

The NCAA started a Women's Frozen Four beginning with the 2000-01 season.

The Hobey Baker Award

Hobey Baker Award

The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player.It is named for hockey player and World War I veteran Hobey Baker, who played collegiately at Princeton University and learned the game at St...

 ceremony, Hockey Humanitarian Award ceremony, and USCHO.com Town Hall Meeting take place annually during Frozen Four weekend.

Championship game results

Most championships won by school

Teams are listed first in order of championships won, and then by most recent championship.

Rank	School	#
1	Michigan Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey The Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Earning varsity status in 1922, the program is competing in its 90th season...	9
2	Denver Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey The University of Denver Men's Hockey Program has been playing NCAA Division I hockey since 1949. Pioneer Hockey is one of the most successful hockey programs in the history of collegiate hockey. The Pioneers rank second in all-time NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championships with 7. Only the University...	7
	North Dakota	7
4	Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey The Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The team plays at the Kohl Center and is coached by former Badger and NHL player Mike Eaves...	6
5	Boston University	5
	Minnesota Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. They are members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey...	5
7	Boston College	4
8	Michigan State Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey The Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents Michigan State University . The team plays at the Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Michigan, on the MSU campus. The current head coach is Tom Anastos, who took over coaching duties on March 23, 2011,...	3
	Lake Superior State Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey The Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents Lake Superior State University. The Lakers are a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association . They play at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault...	3
	Michigan Tech Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey The Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents Michigan Technological University. The Huskies are a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association...	3
11	Maine	2
	Rensselaer RPI Engineers men's ice hockey The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Engineers are a member of ECAC Hockey . They play at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York.- History :Men's ice...	2
	Cornell Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey The Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey team represents Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York, in NCAA Division I men's competition. Cornell is one of eight members of the academically prestigious Ivy League conference and the hockey team plays in the ECAC Hockey conference.The 1970 Cornell...	2
	Colorado College Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey The Colorado College Tigers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents Colorado College. The Tigers are a member of Western Collegiate Hockey Association...	2
15	Minnesota–Duluth	1
	Northern Michigan	1
	Harvard Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey The Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents Harvard University. The Crimson are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts...	1
	Bowling Green Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey The Bowling Green Falcons ice hockey team is the ice hockey team that represents Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school's team competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Falcons last played in the NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament in 1990...	1

Most championships won by state

The following list is of championships won ranked by state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

.

Rank	State	School	#
1	Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....	Michigan (9) Lake Superior State (3) Michigan State (3) Michigan Tech (3) Northern Michigan (1)	19
2	Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...	Boston University (5) Boston College (4) Harvard (1)	10
3	Colorado Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...	Denver (7) Colorado College (2)	9
4	North Dakota North Dakota North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....	North Dakota (7)	7
5	Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...	Minnesota (5) Minnesota-Duluth (1)	6
	Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...	Wisconsin (6)	6
7	New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...	Cornell (2) Rensselaer (2)	4
8	Maine Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...	Maine (2)	2
9	Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...	Bowling Green (1)	1

Tournament format history

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 up into 2 regionals, East Regional and West Regional; 6 Teams each)

2003–present

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

Division II

The Division II Championship was suspended following 1999, due to a lack of sponsoring schools. Most of the schools in Division II hockey became members of newly formed hockey conferences such as College Hockey America

College Hockey America

College Hockey America is a women's college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is currently made up of four women's teams in New York and Pennsylvania....

. The Northeast Ten Conference

Northeast Ten Conference

The Northeast-10 Conference is an intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA’s Division II. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont...

 is the last remaining Division II conference that sponsors ice hockey.

Championship game results

Year	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Notes
1978	Merrimack Merrimack College Merrimack College is an independent college in the Roman Catholic, Augustinian tradition located in North Andover, Massachusetts, north of Boston, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate degrees in business, education, science, engineering, and the liberal arts...	12–2	Lake Forest Lake Forest College Lake Forest College, founded in 1857, is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. The college has 1,500 students representing 47 states and 78 countries....
1979	Lowell University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey The UMass Lowell River Hawks men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Massachusetts Lowell. It competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Hockey East Association. The team competed at the Division II level until 1983.- External links :* *...	6–4	Mankato State
1980	Mankato State	5–2	Elmira Elmira College Elmira College is a coeducational private liberal arts college located in Elmira, in New York State's Southern Tier region.The college is noted as the oldest college still in existence which granted degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men...
1981	Lowell	5–4	Plattsburgh State State University of New York at Plattsburgh The State University of New York at Plattsburgh is a four-year, public liberal arts college in Plattsburgh, New York. The college was founded in 1889 and opened in 1890. The college is currently part of the State University of New York system and is accredited by the Middle States Association of...
1982	Lowell	6–1	Plattsburgh State
1983	RIT RIT Tigers men's ice hockey The RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team is one of two hockey teams representing Rochester Institute of Technology in suburban Rochester, New York. The school's men's team competes in the Division I Atlantic Hockey conference. The team has won two national championships, one each at the Division II and...	4–2	Bemidji State Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey The Bemidji State Beavers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey and a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Beavers represent Bemidji State University and play at the Bemidji Regional Events Center in Bemidji, Minnesota...
1984	Bemidji State	6–3, 8–1	Merrimack	Two-game, total-goal series
1985-1992	Not held
1993	Bemidji State	10–6, 5–0	Mercyhurst Mercyhurst College Mercyhurst College is a Catholic liberal arts college in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.-History:On September 20, 1926, Mercyhurst College opened its doors just a few blocks away from the city's southern boundary. It was founded by the Sisters of Mercy of the Erie Diocese, who were led by Mother M. Borgia...	Best-of-three series
1994	Bemidji State	3–5, 2–1, 2–1 (OT)	Ala.-Huntsville
1995	Bemidji State	6–2, 5–4	Mercyhurst
1996	Ala.-Huntsville	7–1, 3–0	Bemidji State
1997	Bemidji State	3–2, 4–2	Ala.-Huntsville
1998	Ala.-Huntsville	6–2, 5–2	Bemidji State
1999	St. Michael's Saint Michael's College Saint Michael's College is a private, residential liberal arts Catholic college. The campus is located in Colchester, Vermont. It was founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund, a French order of Catholic priests.-History:...	4–4, 8–5	New Hampshire College Southern New Hampshire University Southern New Hampshire University, also known as SNHU, is a private university in Manchester and Hooksett, New Hampshire. The university is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and also has numerous specialized...

Championship game results

Year	Champion	Score	Runner-up
1984	Babson Babson College Babson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...	8–0	Union (N.Y.) Union College Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
1985	RIT RIT Tigers men's ice hockey The RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team is one of two hockey teams representing Rochester Institute of Technology in suburban Rochester, New York. The school's men's team competes in the Division I Atlantic Hockey conference. The team has won two national championships, one each at the Division II and...	5–1	Bemidji State
1986	Bemidji State	8–5	#Plattsburgh State
1987	#Plattsburgh State	8–3	Oswego State State University of New York at Oswego State University of New York at Oswego, also known as SUNY Oswego and Oswego State, is a public university in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario...
1988	Wis.-River Falls	7–1, 3–5, 3–0	Elmira
1989	Wis.-Stevens Point University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point is a public university located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin...	3–3, 3–2	RIT RIT Tigers men's ice hockey The RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team is one of two hockey teams representing Rochester Institute of Technology in suburban Rochester, New York. The school's men's team competes in the Division I Atlantic Hockey conference. The team has won two national championships, one each at the Division II and...
1990	Wis.-Stevens Point	10–1, 3–6, 1–0	Plattsburgh State
1991	Wis.-Stevens Point	6–2	Mankato State
1992	Plattsburgh State	7–3	Wis.-Stevens Point
1993	Wis.-Stevens Point	4–3 (OT)	Wis.-River Falls
1994	Wis.-River Falls	6–4	Wis.-Superior University of Wisconsin–Superior The University of Wisconsin–Superior is a public university located in Superior, Wisconsin. UW–Superior grants bachelor's, master's, and specialist's degrees...
1995	Middlebury Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...	1–0	Fredonia State State University of New York at Fredonia The State University of New York at Fredonia is a four-year liberal arts college located in Fredonia, New York, United States; it is a constituent college of the State University of New York...
1996	Middlebury	3–2	RIT RIT Tigers men's ice hockey The RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team is one of two hockey teams representing Rochester Institute of Technology in suburban Rochester, New York. The school's men's team competes in the Division I Atlantic Hockey conference. The team has won two national championships, one each at the Division II and...
1997	Middlebury	3–2	Wis.-Superior
1998	Middlebury	2–1	Wis.-Stevens Point
1999	Middlebury	5–0	Wis.-Superior
2000	Norwich Norwich University Norwich University is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont . The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It is the oldest of six Senior Military Colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of...	2–1	St.Thomas (Minn.)
2001	Plattsburgh State	6–2	RIT RIT Tigers men's ice hockey The RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team is one of two hockey teams representing Rochester Institute of Technology in suburban Rochester, New York. The school's men's team competes in the Division I Atlantic Hockey conference. The team has won two national championships, one each at the Division II and...
2002	Wis.-Superior	3–2 (OT)	Norwich
2003	Norwich	2–1	Oswego State
2004	Middlebury	1–0 (OT)	St. Norbert St. Norbert College St. Norbert College is a private Catholic liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the college became coeducational and today enrolls about 2,175...
2005	Middlebury	5–0	St. Thomas (Minn)
2006	Middlebury	3–0	St. Norbert
2007	Oswego State	4–3 (OT)	Middlebury
2008	St. Norbert	2-0	Plattsburgh State
2009	Neumann College	4-1	Gustavus Adolphus
2010	Norwich	2-1 (2OT)	St. Norbert
2011	St. Norbert	4-3	Adrian

# - Participation in the tournament vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.