NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship
Current season, competition or edition: 2017 Division I Championship
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| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country | United States |
| Most recent champion(s) |
North Dakota (8) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| Official website | NCAA.com |
The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship 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. Like other Division I championships, it is the highest level of NCAA men's hockey competition.
The semi-finals and finals are branded as the Frozen Four. 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. The tournament features 16 teams representing all six Divisions 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.
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.Michigan has won the most tournaments with nine, while Vic Heyliger has coached the most championship teams, winning six times with Michigan between 1948 and 1956.
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