Bavarian ice hockey leagues Nation State Promotion To Oberliga Süd Levels Bayernliga (IV) Landesliga (V) Bezirksliga (VI) Number of leagues 9 Number of teams 80 Current Champions 2007-08 EHC Waldkraiburg
The Bavarian ice hockey leagues are part of the German ice hockey league system and form the tiers four to six of the league system in the state of Bavaria. The leagues are operated by the Bayrischer Eissport Verband, the Bavarian association for ice sports.
Overview
The league system in Bavaria consists of three separate tiers, these being the Bayernliga (IV) (English:Bavarian League), Landesliga (V) (English:State League) and Bezirksliga (VI) (English:County League). The overall system has remained unchanged for a lengthy period of seasons.
The number of clubs, especially in the lowest tier, the Bezirksliga, can fluctuate due to teams joining and other teams leaving the league. This is mostly due to lack of players, or, the other extreme, an over supply of players and the need to form a reserves team. Occasionally, clubs fold, reform or re-enter the league system. In the current Bayernliga season, the EC 2000 Ulm/Neu-Ulm folded in December 2007, being unable to pay their players.
The Bayernliga champion earns the right to gain promotion to the Oberliga. At the end of the 2006-07 season, the runner-up was also promoted, which is an exception.
Until the end of the 1999-2000 season, the Bayernliga was only the fifth tier of the league system. The league between Oberliga and Bayernliga, the Regionalliga, was disbanded after this season and the majority of its clubs integrated into the Oberliga.
The Bavarian Eissport Verband (BEV) is the largest regional ice hockey association in Germany with 14.000 registered players in over 90 clubs. Apart from the 79 senior teams playing in its league system for the 2007-08 season, there is also eight women's teams and 284 junior teams. For this reason, the Bayernliga is the only statewide league whose champion directly qualifies for the Oberliga, all other leagues, the Regionalligas (English:Regional Leagues) cover larger areas or have to go through a promotion play-off round.
Above the BEV there are currently five Bavarian teams in the DEL (German Ice Hockey League) (I), two in the 2nd Bundesliga (II) and twelve in the Oberliga (III). This means, 19 of 56 clubs in the first three divisions of German ice hockey currently come from Bavaria.
Ice hockey in Bavaria Bavaria, especially the southern, mountainous region of it, is the "cradle" of German ice hockey with many former German internationals coming from there. Historically, the German championship was dominated by clubs from Bavaria and Berlin. Nowadays however, Bavarian teams rarely win a championship. The situation is actually very similar to the Canadian teams in the NHL, who provide the majority of players but win a minority of titles.
In 87 editions of the German championship until 2007, Bavarian clubs have won 35. Of the current DEL teams, none hold a German title to their name. In the 2nd Bundesliga, Landshut and Riessersee hold 12 titles between them and in the Oberliga, Füssen, Tölz and Rosenheim have earned 20 German championship between them. The EV Füssen is second only in numbers of titles to Berliner Schlittschuhclub, having won 16 German championships from 1949 to 1973.
One reason for the leading role Bavarian ice hockey had, and still to some extent has, is the number of ice hockey stadiums in the state. Almost 40 percent of all stadiums in Germany are in Bavaria and twice as many as in the second-ranked state Nordrhein-Westfalen:
StateNumber Bayern73Baden-Württemberg24Berlin6Brandenburg0Bremen2Hamburg4Hessen 10Mecklenburg Vorpommern4Niedersachsen10Nordrhein Westfalen35Rheinland- Pfalz8Saarland2Sachsen11Sachsen- Anhalt1Schleswig- Holstein2Thüringen1Germany193 Source:
Leagues & modus The nine senior leagues split over three tiers, operating on the following modus:
Bayernliga For the 2007-08 season, the Bayernliga sponsored the Bayer company operated in one single division of 16 clubs. The season went from October 2007 to March 2008.
Each team in the league played each other twice, home and away. at the end of the regular season, the top eight teams entered a play-off round. In a best-of-three modus, the winner of the Bayernliga was determined. The bottom eight teams also played a best-of-three play-down round to determine the two teams relegated to the Landesligas.
Until the end of the 1999-2000 season, the league operated on a fourteen club home-and-away season with no play-offs. From 2000, the strength of the league was increased to sixteen clubs in two regional groups of eight. After a first round, the top four of each group played another group stage, the championship group. The bottom four from each group did the same in a relegation group. From the 2002-03 season, play-offs were introduced after the championship round. The year after, the league moved to its current modus of a sixteen team home-and-away season with play-offs at the end.
Landesliga Each of the four Landesligas played a regular season of home-and-away matches. The two first placed teams of each league then entered a championship round of eight teams. Again played in home-and-away modus, the top two teams of this round gain promotion to the Bayernliga. Should one or more teams from the Bayernliga gain entry to the Oberliga with a lesser number then that being relegated from the Oberliga to the Bayernliga, additional teams may be promoted from the Landesliga.
The other six teams in each of the four Landesligas played out another home-and-away round with the last placed team from each league being relegated to the corresponding Bezirksliga.
This modus for the 2007-08 season actually differs from the previous years, when after the first round of home-and-away games, the Landesligas were split into a top-four and a bottom-four group, with the latter determining the relegated team and the former playing for the group champion who would enter a four-team play-off for the Landesliga title and Bayernliga promotion.
Bezirksliga In the Bezirksliga, the lowest level of play, each league again plays a home-and-away season. The winner of each Bezirksliga goes to the Bezirksliga championship where the four teams determined the champion of this level. Each of the four regional champions is also promoted to the corresponding Landesliga. For all other clubs in the Bezirksliga the season ends after the main round. there is no relegation as there is no league below the Bezirksliga.
Bayernliga, Landesliga and Bezirksliga champions On top of the division champions, each tier also plays out its level champions, the Bayernliga Meister, Landesliga Meister and Bezirksliga Meister.
Bayernliga SeasonClub1975-76EV Pegnitz1976-77TSV Königsbrunn1977-78TSV Farchant 1978-79EA Schongau1979-80ESV Bayreuth1980-81SC Reichersbeuern1981-82ERSC Amberg1982-83ESV Burgau1983-84EV Dingolfing1984-85EC Hedos München1985-86EV Bad Wörishofen1986-87EV Pegnitz1987-88VfL Waldkraiburg1988-89EHC Bad Reichenhall1989-90ERV Schweinfurt1990-91EV Bad Wörishofen 1991-92ETC CrimmitschauSeasonClub1992-93EC Pfaffenhofen1993-94ESC Dorfen1994-95Germering Wanderers 1995-96ESC Dorfen 1996-97ESV Bayreuth1997-98ESC München1998-99EHC Memmingen1999–2000ERV Schweinfurt 2000-01Höchstadter EC 2001-02EA Schongau 2002-03EHC München2003-04Star Bulls Rosenheim2004-05EV Landsberg2005-06Höchstadter EC2006-07EHF Passau2007-08EHC Waldkraiburg2008-09ERV SchweinfurtSeasonClub2009-10TEV Miesbach2010-11ERC Sonthofen2011-12ERV Schweinfurt2012-13EHC Bayreuth2013-14ERC Sonthofen2014-15EV Lindau2015-16EHC Waldkraiburg2016-17EHC Waldkraiburg With the ETC Crimmitschau in 1992, a team from Sachsen won the Bayernliga.
Landesliga SeasonClub1994-951995-96EV Dingolfing 1996-97ESC München1997-981998-991999–2000EHC Waldkraiburg 2000-01TSV Schliersee 2001-02EV Landsberg2002-03TuS Geretsried II 2003-04TSV Erding2004-05ECDC Memmingen2005-06EHF Passau2006-07EHC Nürnberg2007-08ESV Buchloe2008-09EHC Bayreuth
Bezirksliga SeasonClub1994-95ESV Bayreuth1995-96SC Reichersbeuern 1996-971997-981998-99HC 1998 München 1999–20002000-01EV Landsberg 2001-02BTS Bayreuth 2002-03TSV Erding2003-04TSV Kottern2004-05ERC Selb2005-06EC Bad Kissing2006-07ESV Gebensbach2007-08SC Gaißach2008-09TSV Schliersee The 2000-01 Bezirksliga final saw the clash of two Bavarian "giants". The two re-formed clubs, SB Rosenheim and EV Landsberg both didn't lose a regular season game and remained unbeaten in the semi-finals, Landsberg having scored 234 goals in 14 matches and Rosenheim 164 in 12. Landsberg then went on to win both final games finishing on a 16-0-0 record with 247 goals for and 15 goals against. A year later, the situation repeated itself quite similar in the Landesliga, with the EVL again dominating.
Divisionial champions The Landsliga and Bezirksliga are subdivided in four divisions each with the following divisional champions:
Landesliga SeasonNorthSouthEastWest2000-01ESV Würzburg TSV Schliersee EV Regensburg IIEV Lindau 2001-02EV Pegnitz SB Rosenheim Germering Wanderers EV Landsberg 2002-03EV Pegnitz TuS Geretsried IIEV Bruckberg Germering Wanderers 2003-04EV Pegnitz EV FürstenfeldbruckTSV Erding JetsTSV Peißenberg 2004-05EHC Nürnberg IITSV Trostberg Deggendorfer SC ECDC Memmingen 2005-06ERV Schweinfurt ESC Holzkirchen EHF Passau EC Ulm/Neu-Ulm 2006-07VER Selb ESC Holzkirchen Germering Wanderers ESV Buchloe 2007-08EHC BayreuthESC HolzkirchenSVG Burgkirchen ESV Buchloe2008-09EHC BayreuthEHC Bad AiblingSVG BurgkirchenEV Lindau
Bezirksliga SeasonNorthSouthEastWest2000-01EHC Regensburg SB Rosenheim Deggendorfer SC IIEV Landsberg 2001-02BTS Bayreuth TuS Geretsried IIDeggendorfer SC IITSV Kottern 2002-03EC Bayreuth SC Riessersee IITSV Erding JetsTSV Peißenberg 2003-04EHC Ingolstadt IIESC Holzkirchen EHF Passau TSV Kottern 2004-05VER Selb EAC Bad Reichenhall SE Freising ERC Lechbruck 2005-06EC Bad Kissingen EHC München IIESV Waldkirchen EV Bad Wörishofen 2006-07EHC Bayreuth ESC Geretsried ESV Gebensbach VfL Denklingen 2007-08EC Amberg SC GaißachEV BruckbergESC Kempten2008-09ERC IngolstadtTSV SchlierseeESV Waldkirchen1. EC Senden
League system in the 2008-09 season
LevelLeague(s)/Division(s)IVBayernliga 16 clubsVLandesliga Nord 8 clubsLandesliga Süd 8 clubsLandesliga West 8 clubsLandesliga Ost 8 clubsVIBezirksliga Nord 7 clubsBezirksliga Süd 8 clubsBezirksliga West 9 clubsBezirksliga Ost 8 clubs Source:
Placings in the Bayernliga 2000 to 2009
Club 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 EHC München * 10 9 2 OL OL BL BL BL BL Star Bulls Rosenheim * DEL 3 1 OL OL OL OL OL EV Landsberg * RL 1 2 1 OL BL BL OL EHF Passau 1 OL OL Deggendorfer SC * OL OL OL 7 2 OL OL TSV Peissenberg * RL RL RL 10 12 4 3 1 ERV Schweinfurt 1 RL RL OL OL OL 6 7 2 Höchstadter EC 3 1 RL OL OL OL 1 8 11 3 TSV Erding * OL BL OL 4 3 5 10 4 ESC Dorfen RL RL RL 9 9 6 10 11 9 5 ESV Buchloe 6 VER Selb * OL OL OL OL OL 13 7 ECDC Memmingen* RL RL RL OL 4 10 2 8 ERC Sonthofen 2 4 6 8 9 13 12 6 9 EHC Waldkraiburg 7 7 7 4 5 2 7 1 10 ESV Königsbrunn 9 4 2 5 13 14 6 9 8 11 Germering Wanderers 15 15 12 12 EC Pfaffenhofen RL 5 5 8 6 2 14 3 4 13 EV Pfronten 5 9 6 15 15 14 EHC Nürnberg 5 15 EV Dingolfing 8 6 3 4 3 15 16 EC Ulm/Neu-Ulm * OL OL 14 14 EV Fürstenfeldbruck 11 14 13 16 11 5 16 16 EV Pegnitz 8 9 13 SVG Burgkirchen * 12 8 10 11 10 7 16 15 Geretsried Riverrats * RL OL OL OL 5 3 8 EA Schongau 4 3 1 10 7 12 11 Augsburger EV* 2 RL RL OL 11 13 ERSC Ottobrunn 14 12 8 14 12 16 ERC Lechbruck 7 13 12 12 14 TSV Trostberg 6 11 11 13 16 EV Lindau 14 EV Regensburg II * 15 EV Moosburg 10 16 16 ESC Vilshofen 13 15