You never know. The Big Ten makes up excuses as it sees fit. No affiliate members. Ok only AAU affiliate members even if you are a D3 school. If they add ASU it'll be ok you don't have to be AAU, just a "National Brand." Then they could say UND is a national hockey brand with the nations largest attendance and one with a rich hockey tradition including the second most national championships and long established hockey rivalries with Big Ten schools.
Did Big Ten delete an innocent post on twitter because they think they might be "giving away the secret"?