For the 1996/97 season the two clubs from East Germany moved from the northern group to the southern group and the three clubs from North Rhine-Westphalia from the southern group to the northern group. The new group division, according to which the regions north and west play in the north group and east and south in the south group, was decided at the Bundestag in 1995. In the promotion rounds of the previous season , two promoted teams were played for the south in order to fill the south group with eight teams. In the north this season was played with nine teams. In order to get back to eight teams in the northern group, a promotion round North was held for the last time, on which only the winner rose. From now on, all four champions of the regional leagues were to be promoted directly, and there were two relegated teams from each group.
In the south, the champions of the Regionalliga Ost TuS Lichterfelde and Regionalliga Süd TSV Mannheim went straight to the Bundesliga. In the north, a promotion round was held for the last time, for which two teams from Regionalliga Nord (N) and Regionalliga West (W) were allowed to start. Blau-Weiss Köln won: