Denver Pioneers The Denver Pioneers are a Men ' s Division I team in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association . The University of Denver began playing ice hockey in 1949 in a surplus WWII naval drill hall that had been re - purposed into the 5 , 200 seat DU Arena , where the Pioneers would play up until 1997 . The Pioneers went 4 - 13 that first season , but soon became a competitve program , and in 1956 , the hiring of legendary coach Murray Armstrong would make the Pioneers the dominant program in NCAA hockey during the 1960s . Armstrong ' s teams won 5 NCAA titles ( 58 , 60 , 61 , 68 and 69 ) with a steady pipeline of talented players , mostly from Western Canada . The greatest of these teams was the 1960 - 61 DU team that went 30 - 1 - 1 , and won the NCAA Championship Game 12 - 2 , the largest margin of victory in history . Other highlights of the 60s included a victory and a tie against the 1960 U . S . and Soviet Olympic teams , respectively , as well as the 1968 - 69 Denver NCAA Championship team , led by future NHLers Keith Magnuson , Cliff Korroll and Craig Patrick , which defeated Ken Dryden ' s Cornell team in the title game , 4 - 3 . The Pioneers fielded many strong teams in the 1970s , and a several in the 1980s and 90s , but were unable to claim another NCAA crown until 2004 , when the Pioneers defeated Maine 1 - 0 in a memorable title run under coach George Gwozdecky . The Pioneers proved the title was no fluke when they repeated as Champions in 2005 with a 4 - 1 win over North Dakota . Today , the Pioneers play to sellout crowds of 6 , 000 + in Magness Arena , part of a $ 75 million sports complex that was completed in 2000 . Current head coach . George Gwozdecky Coaching records . " * Ranks 18th All - Time in NCAA Division I Wins " Arenas . DU Arena ( 1948 – 1997 ) . University of Denver Arena was a 5 , 200 - seat multi - purpose arena in Denver , Colorado . It was home to the University of Denver Pioneers ice hockey team . It also hosted several Frozen Fours . It was razed in 1997 to make room for the $ 75 million Magness Arena , ( part of the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness ) which opened in 1999 . Originally a Naval Drill Hall built during World War II in Farragut , Idaho , the DU arena was donated to the University after the war and reassembled on the Denver campus in 1948 - 49 to house the University ' s then - new ice hockey program . The arena was refurbished in 1972 - 73 when the roof needed repairs , and 14 seven - ton steel trussess were added to shore up the roof . Additional patchwork renovations were added in the 1990s , prior to razing the building in 1997 . The best known features of the arena were the steep bleacher balcony at the south end , and the 1970s rainbow painted on the north end wall . Famous hockey games held there include the NCAA ice hockey finals in 1961 , 1964 and 1976 . Magness Arena ( 1999 – present ) . The Ritchie CenterMagness Arena is a 7 , 200 - seat multi - purpose collegiate sports arena in Denver , Colorado . It was built in 2000 as part of the Daniel L . Ritchie Center for Sports & Wellness , a $ 75 million , 400 , 000 - square - foot ( 37 , 000 m ) sports complex at the University of Denver . It is home to the University of Denver Pioneers ice hockey and basketball teams . The Ritchie Center replaced the former DU Arena and DU Fieldhouse , which were razed in 1997 to make way for the Ritchie Center . The basketball team also plays smaller games at Hamilton Gymnasium , located in the Ritchie Center . The arena is named after cable television pioneer Bob Magness , who donated $ 10 million towards construction costs .