List of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey seasons
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.

List of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey seasons

Section Title: Additional expansion
Table Section Text: 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.

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 (1)	CCHA	(33–7–6)	Lake Placid, New York

42	1988–89	1989	12	April 1	Harvard (1)	ECAC	(31–3–0)	St. Paul, Minnesota

43	1989–90	1990	12	April 1	Wisconsin (5)	WCHA	(36–9–1)	Detroit, Michigan

44	1990–91	1991	12	March 30	Northern Michigan (1)	WCHA	(38–5–4)	St. Paul, Minnesota

45	1991–92	1992	12	April 4	Lake Superior State (2)	CCHA	(30–9–4)	Albany, New York

46	1992–93	1993	12	April 3	Maine (1)	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

Sentence(s)

The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season was the 50th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held.

final_sentence: The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season was the 50th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held.