College Hockey: Power Ranking the Top 20 Programs of All Time

College football's season kicked off on Thursday night, which means school is in session and... hockey season is right around the corner.

Here is a look at, historically, the top 20 programs in the college ranks. We point out the number of national championships each school has won, and a few of the school's famous alumni. Because of the nature of the NHL's draft rules, many of the "alumni" saw some action at the university but didn't necessarily have to earn a degree.

20. Ohio State

National Championships: 0

Notable Alumni: Ryan Kesler, RJ Umberger

Ohio State might have the strongest following of any hockey program in Columbus.

19. Notre Dame

National Championships: 0

Notable Alumni: Yan Stastny, Brett Lebda

The Fighting Irish have started to attract top talent, and have a number of high draft picks in recent years (Riley Sheahan, Stephen Johns) to show for it.

18. Harvard

National Championship: 1

Notable Alumni: Craig Adams, Tom Cavanagh, Dominic Moore

The Ivy League might not be the first place you'd look for college hockey, but Harvard has a good history on the ice.

17. Northern Michigan

National Championships: 1

Notable Alumni: Dallas Drake, Mike Santorelli, Erik Gustafsson

The first school on the list from Michigan, a relative unknown that won a national title in 1991.

16. Bowling Green

National Championships: 1

Notable Alumni: Kevin Bieksa, Dan Bylsma, Rob Blake

Three of the last four Stanley Cup Finals saw a Bowling Green alumni involved, and Blake's resume certainly doesn't need me to pump its tires.

15. U. Minnesota-Duluth

National Championships: 1

Notable Alumni: Brett Hull, Norm MacIver, Mason Raymond, Dylan Olsen

Hull is as impressive as any name on this list, but UMD continues to put top-level prospects like Olsen into the professional ranks.

14. Colorado College

National Championships: 2

Notable Alumni: Mark Stuart

Ask anyone west of the Rockies what the best hockey game is of the year, and many will tell you it's when Colorado College and U. of Denver get together.

13. RPI

National Championships: 2

Notable Alumni: Adam Oates, Brandon Pirri

RPI has two national championships and has put 32 players into professional hockey. Not bad for a school with fewer than 6,000 undergraduate students.

12. Cornell

National Championships: 2

Notable Alumni: Ken Dryden, Joe Nieuwendyk, Matt Moulson, Douglas Murray

With names like Dryden and Nieuwendyk on the list, Cornell can be proud of their representation in the NHL.

11. Maine

National Championships: 2

Notable Alumni: Paul Kariya, Dustin Penner, Jimmy Howard, Garth Snow

Penner and Howard will likely be major factors in who wins the Western Conference this year.

10. Lake Superior St

National Championships: 3

Notable Alumni: Doug Weight, Brian Rolston

Between 1988 and 1996, the Lakers were perhaps the most dominant program in the country. They qualified for the national tournament nine straight years, winning all three of their national championships in that span.

9. Michigan Tech

National Championships: 3

Notable Alumni: Tony Esposito, Andy Sutton, Jarkko Ruutu

When Esposito opted to go to college, it was both unconventional and potentially costly. But after he got buried on Montreal's depth chart, a trade to Chicago worked out alright.

8. Michigan State

National Championships: 3

Notable Alumni: Ryan Miller, Duncan Keith, Rod Brind'Amour, Drew Miller, John-Michael Liles, David Booth, Shawn Horcoff

You won't find a more proud Spartan than Ryan Miller, who's one of a handful of family members to wear the green in East Lansing.

7. Boston College

National Championships: 4

Notable Alumnis: Kevin Stevens, Brooks Orpik, Brian Gionta, Cory Schneider, Rob Scuderi, Kevin and Jimmy Hayes, Ben Smith

Since the year 2000, BC has been to seven Frozen Fours and won three of their four national titles.

6. Minnesota

National Championships: 5

Notable Alumni: Herb Brooks, Phil Kessel, Erik Johnson, Steve Janaszak, Blake Wheeler, Thomas Vanek, Nick Leddy

The Golden Gophers continue to attract elite talent and place players into the NHL.

5. Boston University

National Championships: 5

Notable Alumni: Mike Eruzione, Tony Amonte, Keith Tkachuk, Jack O'Callahan, Chris Drury, Rick DiPietro

Two players from the greatest moment in international hockey and one of the greatest mullets of all time (Amonte) makes for a nice collection of former BU students.

4. Wisconsin

National Championships: 6

Notable Alumni: Dany Heatley, Chris Chelios, Mike Richter, Curtis Joseph, Adam Burish, Rene Bourque, Joe Pavelski, Brian Rafalski

The Badgers have won a national title in each of the past four decades, and continue to place top talent like Jake Gardiner into the NHL.

3. U. of Denver

National Championships: 7

Notable Alumni: Keith Magnusson, Cliff Koroll, Glenn Anderson

Maggie and Koroll grew up together, played at Denver together, and eventually played together in Chicago. Denver's absolutely a hockey town, but the Avs aren't always the reason why.

2. North Dakota

National Championships: 7

Notable Alumni: Jonathan Toews, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, TJ Oshie, Jason Blake, Eddie Belfour, Troy Murray

Some of the most exciting young players in the game today played for the Fighting Sioux, including the 2010 Conn Smythe winner. Oddly enough, Toews wears the same number in Chicago that Murray did in the 1980s.

1. U. of Michigan

National Championships: 9

Notable Alumni: Mike Cammalleri, Jack Johnson, John Madden, Marty Turco, Aaron Ward, Al Montoya, Brendan Morrison

Red Berenson is arguably the greatest coach in the history of major college hockey, and he's produced a lot of good professional players.