I think it needs to be kept in mind how long it would take to be competitive in hockey in the NCHC. It's a BIG jump in level of play from where they are now. And that's IF the NCHC would take them, as they already shoot down WCHA teams that are jumping off that sinking ship (WCHA will likely dissolve in the near future). If they didn't go NCHC, where would they go to? No one is going to add a program from North Dakota if there aren't other teams nearby to play and college hockey is, as you know, a super niche sport.
That's a lot of huge ifs to address.