It was held between March 22 and 29, 1980, and concluded with North Dakota defeating Northern Michigan 5–2.
The first-round game was held at the home team venue while all succeeding games were played at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
The NCAA gave four teams automatic bids into the tournament.
The NCAA also had the ability to add up to 4 additional teams as it saw fit and chose to include the CCHA tournament champion as well.
The ECAC champion was seeded as the top eastern team while the WCHA co-champion that finished highest in the regular season was given the top western seed.