With all the recent upheaval in the NCAA Division I college hockey ranks, Alabama-Huntsville is still seeking a new conference to call home after College Hockey America dissolved last year and the Chargers were subsequently spurned by the CCHA.
With Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State off to the Big Ten in 2013, and Miami (and possibly Notre Dame and Western Michigan) headed to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, might UAH be a good fit for what remains of the CCHA? That remains to be seen, or if the Chargers would be admitted to a reconstituted WCHA that absorbs the remaining CCHA survivors. Not sure if Atlantic Hockey would be a fit for UAH with its 12 scholarship limit, but the Chargers do need to find a new league within the next few years to remain viable.
Twenty years ago it wasn't a problem being an independent, with UAH playing the likes of the two Alaska schools, Air Force, Army and Notre Dame on a regular basis, sort of like a de facto league with its own NCAA Tournament berth. Going it solo on the independent route today, with everyone else carrying some sort of conference affiliation, is tough, especially after New Year's when conference schools are all tied up playing each other.
You can read more about the UAH program and some possibilities for it here:
http://www.uscho.com/2011/08/15/lone-independent-alabama-huntsville-sees-opportunity-in-conference-shuffle/
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