The 1972/73 season was the last one as a tier-two league. With the foundation of the "2nd Bundesliga", the "Oberliga" fell to tier three. While the league champion moved up to the "Bundesliga" and the teams placed two to nine gained entry to the new second division, only the bottom seven clubs remained in the league.  1973 saw DEB introduce a new second division to the German ice hockey pyramid, with the formation of the 2nd Bundesliga. The Oberliga was demoted to become the new German third division (third highest level of ice hockey in Germany). 1972-73 was the last season Oberliga operated as the division two league. The Oberliga champion that season was granted automatic promotion to the Bundesliga. Clubs that finished second to ninth qualified for automatic entry to the new 2nd Bundesliga, while the bottom seven clubs remained in Oberliga. The "Oberliga" was now again divided into a northern and a southern group. The top two teams out of the two divisions originally played out a promotion round to the "2nd Bundesliga" which also served to determine the "Oberliga" champion. While the modus and number of teams in the league continued to fluctuat, the overall situation remained the same. The year 1994 saw major changes in the German league system. The "Bundesliga" and "2nd Bundesliga" merged to form the new "DEL", an independently run league consisting of 18 clubs in its foundation years. Those second division clubs that did not elect to join the "DEL" were integrated into the new "1st Liga", which had replaced the "Oberliga" and operated in a northern and a southern group. The best teams of each of the two divisions played out a "DEB" championship, similar to the old "Oberliga" championship. The 1998-99 season was very much a transition season. The "DEB" had reintroduced a single-division, nationwide league, titled "Bundesliga" to compete with the "DEL". The league below was now the "1st Liga", which was made up of those clubs from the "1st Liga" not adCentred to the new "Bundesliga" and "2nd Liga" clubs. However, this situation existed for only one season. From 1999, the league returned to its traditional name "Oberliga", with two regional groups, north and south. In turn, the league above it took the name "2nd Bundesliga".