BOSTON – The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) will be well-represented at the annual Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland over the next four seasons, as future participants for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 tournaments were announced Tuesday at the Massachusetts State House in Boston.
 
The Odyssey Trust, which hosts the Friendship Four, revealed that the University of Minnesota Duluth was selected for the 2026 tournament, the University of North Dakota will take part in the 2027 edition, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha will play in Belfast in 2028. Last year it was announced Miami University would be the first NCHC team to participate in the Friendship Four this coming November. With Tuesday’s selections, the National will have a team playing internationally each of the next four seasons.
 
Founded by The Odyssey Trust and held annually at The SSE Arena, Belfast, the Friendship Four is the first and only NCAA Division I ice hockey tournament to take place outside of North America. Since its inception in 2015, the tournament has become a flagship event in Northern Ireland’s sporting calendar, bringing world-class collegiate hockey to Belfast while promoting education, cultural exchange, and community engagement.
 
Along with Minnesota Duluth at the 2026 Friendship Four will be a pair of Hockey East foes in Connecticut and Providence, as well as ECAC Hockey member Colgate. The 2027 Friendship Four will see North Dakota joined by Northeastern of Hockey East, Quinnipiac of ECAC Hockey and Wisconsin of the Big Ten. In addition to Omaha, the 2028 tournament will feature Dartmouth from ECAC Hockey, Maine from Hockey East and Notre Dame from the Big Ten. Match-ups for the 2026-2028 Friendship Fours will be announced in the future with the tournament held each Thanksgiving weekend.
 
Miami will become the first NCHC team to participate in the Friendship Four this season. The RedHawks battle RIT on Friday, Nov. 28 in the second semifinal at The SSE Arena, home of the Belfast Giants in the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Miami will then face either Sacred Heart or Union on Saturday, Nov. 29. The 2025 Friendship Four marks the 10-year anniversary of the Belfast-based tournament.
 
The high-profile tournament and today’s announcement in Boston build on the Sister Cities agreement between Belfast and Boston, signed a decade ago. The agreement aims to foster stronger economic development, trade and investment, tourism, youth, cultural exchanges, and educational linkages between the two cities across the Atlantic Ocean.
 
The winner of the Friendship Four receives the Belpot Trophy, won last year by Boston University. For more information on the Friendship Four, click here. To purchase tickets to the 2025 tournament, click here.
 
UPCOMING FRIENDSHIP FOUR MEN’S TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS
2025 – Miami, RIT, Sacred Heart, Union
2026 – Colgate, Connecticut, Minnesota Duluth, Providence
2027 – North Dakota, Northeastern, Quinnipiac, Wisconsin
2028 – Dartmouth, Maine, Notre Dame, Omaha