Minnesota State

The Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey team commenced play as a varsity sport in 1969-70. They competed independent of a conference affiliation at the NCAA Division II level from 1969-70 to 1983-84. From 1984-85 to 1991-92, the Mavericks competed at the NCAA Division III level, before returning to the NCAA Division II ranks from 1992-93 to 1995-96. Starting with the 1996-97 season, the Mavericks began competition at the NCAA Division I level. The Mavericks were granted acceptance to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) in 1999-00, and remained with the conference until 2021.

The program saw great success at the NCAA Division II level during the 1970s and 1980s. The Mavericks finished as the NCAA Division II national runner-up in 1979, after being defeated by the University of Massachusetts Lowell 6-4 in the final. The Mavericks were awarded the 1980 NCAA Division II National Championship over Elmira College 5-2 in the championship game. In 1991, while competing at the NCAA Division III level, the Mavericks finished as national runner-up following a loss versus the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point 6-2. In 2013 and 2014, the Mavericks reached the NCAA Division I Tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. The program has seen sustained success in recent seasons, winning their conference tournament in three out of four tries from 2019 to 2023, and achieving the best record in their conference for six consecutive seasons from 2018 to 2023. In 2021, the Mavericks won their first NCAA Division I Tournament game in their first of two consecutive trips to the Frozen Four.

On March 29, 2017, the university announced that it was in negotiations to extend the contract of head coach Mike Hastings by 10 years (through the 2027-28 season), providing its coach with the longest contract term in all of Division I men's hockey. In addition to the contract extension, the university said it would invest further resources into the program's recruiting and equipment budgets and work to cover full cost of attendance.

With the 2021–22 season, the Mavericks, and six other teams formerly in the WCHA, began play in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, restarting the conference after an eight-year hiatus.

On March 30, 2023, head coach Mike Hastings left Mankato to coach Wisconsin. The Mavericks hired Luke Strand, former Ohio State assistant coach and Sioux City Musketeers head coach.

Minnesota State is one of six Minnesota-based universities that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey, the others being Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, and St. Thomas. Before a major hockey conference realignment in 2013, five of the six teams all competed in the WCHA. Additionally, these same five schools once competed annually for the North Star College Cup, hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.