The 2003 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The tournament began on March 28, 2003, and ended with the championship game on April 12. A total of 15 games were played. 2003 was the first year 16 teams were invited to the tournament and was the first expansion of the tournament since 1988 when it increased from eight to 12 teams. The first and second rounds of the 2003 tournament were divided across four regional sites, an increase from the two regional format in place since 1992.
This yearâÂÂs tournament was the first since 1998 to feature multiple programs, Minnesota State and Wayne State, making their first appearance in the NCAA playoffs.
Minnesota became the first team to successfully defend their title since Boston University won back-to-back titles in 1971 and 1972.
The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 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. Regional placements are based primarily on the home location of the top seed in each bracket with an attempt made to put the top-ranked teams close to their home site.
The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament was announced on March 23, 2003. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) had five teams receive a berth in the tournament, Hockey East had four teams receive a berth in the tournament, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) had three teams receive a berth in the tournament, the ECAC had two berths, while both the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and College Hockey America (CHA) received one bid for their tournament champions.
<small>Number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.</small>
<small>Note: * denotes overtime period(s)</small>
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Most Outstanding Player(s)