Well Iowa is in the ACHA Division 2, and it looks like the school would have to build an area for the team. Iowa State is in the ACHA Division 1. Iowa State has an arena that they can play in, the Hilton Coliseum. The Hilton Coliseum is the home of Iowa State's basketball teams, but it can also has ice making ability. The Hilton Coliseum seats 14,356 and could be too big in the long run for the hockey team, but at least they wouldn't need to build a brand new arena right away.
A team that could come to the NCHC with Iowa State is the University of Cincinnati. It's close to Miami (OH) the Bearcats play in a 10,000 seat arena The Cincinnati Gardens.