The league was first introduced in the 1973–74 season as the second tier of German ice hockey, the level below the
Ice hockey Bundesliga.
History up until 1994 • From 1973–74 to 1980–81 the league operated as the single-conference
2nd Bundesliga • In the 1981–82 season, it was divided into two conferences:
2nd Bundesliga Süd (southern division) and
2nd Bundesliga Nord (northern division) • For the 1982–83 season, it returned to a single-conference league due to a lack of clubs interested in playing in the league • Starting from the 1983–84 season until 1991–92, it was divided into the
2nd Bundesliga Süd and
Nord again, with the top four clubs from each league meeting the bottom two
Bundesliga clubs for a promotion round for two places in the
Bundesliga • In the seasons 1992–93 and 1993–94, the league operated as one single division again
From 1994 The large number of insolvencies of second division clubs in 1994 was the reason for the abolition of the
2nd Bundesliga and the introduction of the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga with 18 teams, without
promotion and relegation. A number of top clubs from the second division were admitted to the
DEL. Below the former
2nd Bundesliga, the
Oberliga now became the highest league still under control of the
DEB. The
Oberliga was however renamed
1st Liga for the next couple of seasons, until returning to its old name.
From 1998 As the highest single-division for the
DEB, a new league was formed in 1998, receiving the name "Bundesliga". The decision to name the new league "Bundesliga" led to conflicts between the
Deutschen Eishockey-Bund and the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga, since the
DEL was of the opinion that it owned the right to call itself
Bundesliga, being the highest league in the country. For this reason, the
DEL logo also carries the name
1st Bundesliga in smaller letters below. Eventually, a compromise was reached, naming the new league
2nd Bundesliga instead.
From 1999 Since 1999, the league became the
2nd Bundesliga again, which is organized today by the
Eishockeyspielbetriebsgesellschaft (
ESBG). As in the
DEL, the clubs must undergo a strict financial examination. Despite this fact, some clubs still found themselves in financial difficulties throughout the season and had to withdraw, like the
EC Bad Nauheim in the past. The
Moskitos Essen and
Eisbären Regensburg both declared
insolvency on 15 April 2008, being unable to meet their debts. Both clubs were immediately relegated from the
2nd Bundesliga. Due to the structure of the
2nd Bundesliga, where all teams playing are separate companies operated by the mother club, the insolvency of one of those does not mean the club itself becomes insolvent. In the 2008–09 season, the
Tölzer Löwen had to declare insolvency and, despite coming second in the league, were relegated. Because the
Füchse Duisburg had to return their DEL licence, the champion of the 2nd Bundesliga has the option of promotion to the DEL this season. ==Promotion and relegation==