📍 Ann Arbor, Michigan
🏒 Home of Michigan Wolverines hockey

The second-oldest venue still in use in all of college hockey, Yost Ice Arena is one of the sport’s most intimate, historic and electric barns. The “Hinkle of Hockey” has been around for more than a century and has seen over fifty years of Michigan Wolverines hockey take place under its iconic roof. The arena’s cozy atmosphere, striking architecture and frenzied fans are all part of what makes game nights at Yost special.

The palace first opened in 1923, hosting to Michigan’s basketball squad until they scooted across campus to the Crisler Center in 1967. The namesake of the venue was Fielding H. Yost, a former football coach and athletic director who played a pivotal role in the construction of some of the sports facilities in Ann Arbor, including Michigan Stadium and this fieldhouse which bears his name.

After an extensive conversion process, Yost was retrofitted for hockey in 1973, replacing the Michigan Coliseum as the home of the skating Wolverines. Further renovations occurred during the mid-90s and early 00s, culminating in a huge 2012 overhaul that included the installation of new corner seats and premium areas, a remodeled concourse, changes to the end zone windows and improved light and sound capabilities. As the changes sculpted Yost over the years, they also affected the arena’s capacity, which peaked at just over 8,000 and is now somewhere around 5,800 people.

Although the building may not hold as many fans as other venues in college hockey, the Michigan faithful ensure that every game is packed to the rafters and that the energetic atmosphere never dies. The “Children of Yost” student section often leads the way, lifting up banners – even performing a tifo now and again – clanging cowbells and yelling chants that get the entire crowd going. Their passion extends even to the national anthem, emphasizing “hail” and changing “rockets’ red glare” to “blue glare” instead.

Michigan hockey, of course, is more than worthy of all this praise. Throughout the arena, history cases and plaques highlight the team’s accomplishments and the greatest players to ever take to the ice in Ann Arbor. From old-timers such as Red Berenson to modern legends like Max Pacioretty, Wolverines that have gone on to do great things in the NHL – including those who have won a Stanley Cup – get their own special honorary display in the upper end zone.

The team’s first season came in 1922, a year before Yost opened its doors and fifty-one years before the squad would actually skate there. In the last century of play, Michigan has claimed the NCAA Championship nine times – most of the trophies were awarded in the ’50s, but their most recent win was in 1998 – and participated in the Frozen Four more than two dozen times overall. After bouncing around a few hockey-only conferences for years, the Maize and Blue have been consistent members solely of the Big Ten since 2013.

Whether the Wolverines are tackling a non-conference foe or a familiar rival, Yost Ice Arena provides them and their fans one of the best settings and atmospheres in college athletics. It’s a venue with loads of history to soak in and an electric fanbase with which to mingle.