I haven't seen this news come across the list.  Passing it along.  From 
yahoo.com

Bemidji State gets good news from WCHA
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Sports Writer Apr 29, 12:21 am EDT 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Bemidji State has been trying to get into the Western 
Collegiate Hockey Association for years, and the powerful conference might 
finally be relenting for the first No. 16 seed ever to reach the Frozen 
Four.
The 10-team WCHA lifted its long-standing moratorium on expansion Tuesday 
at the league’s annual meeting in Marco Island, Fla. The league hasn’t 
officially approved Bemidji State’s application for admission, but 
Commissioner Bruce McLeod said he will be more aggressive in pursuing a 
12th school to accompany the Beavers into the mix.
“Our issue at this point was not Bemidji State University and their 
membership,” McLeod said in a teleconference. “Our issue was more with the 
number. We’ve been through quite a few things in the last six months or so 
trying to work through the number of 11.”
Unlike the 11-member Big Ten, the WCHA is firm about having an even number 
of teams to make a balanced schedule.
McLeod said he hopes to have a resolution by mid-summer.
Time is of the essence for Bemidji State, which made a stunning run to the 
NCAA Frozen Four this season. The school’s College Hockey America 
conference will fold after next season.
While the WCHA didn’t hold a formal vote on the Beavers’ application, the 
Beavers came away with the impression that they took a huge step closer to 
a new hockey home.
“We have been patient for 10 years—what’s a few more months?” coach Tom 
Serratore said. “I’m confident the WCHA will be able to find a 12th 
member, and I feel very confident where we stand with the WCHA. All we 
need to do is be patient and things will work out.”
It’s been a long climb up the hockey ranks for the school of 5,000 in 
northern Minnesota. The Beavers won 13 national championships in Division 
II, III and NAIA before making the jump to Division I in 1999.
It wasn’t until this season that the Beavers finally caught the attention 
of hockey fans across the country.
The final seed in the 16-team NCAA tournament, Bemidji State defeated 
Notre Dame and Cornell in the first two rounds to advance to the national 
semifinals in Washington, D.C. The Beavers lost to Miami of Ohio, but the 
feel-good run could only have helped them in their quest to join the 
mighty WCHA.
While McLeod said the program’s success this year didn’t make the school’s 
application any more or less attractive, the commissioner did say it 
raised Bemidji State’s profile.
“We were just real conscious of not trying to get caught up in all that 
enthusiasm,” McLeod said. “We were very happy for them and it probably put 
a little pressure on us from a public standpoint more than anything.”
Now it seems the only thing in Bemidji State’s way is the lack of another 
program to reach that round number of 12. Nebraska-Omaha and Northern 
Michigan have been floated as potential members, but McLeod declined to 
comment specifically on those two schools. He did say an upstart program 
at Minnesota State University, Moorhead would be a “long shot.”
McLeod said he is willing to be flexible with schools to make joining the 
WCHA an attractive option and is confident he will be able to find a 12th 
school to make it happen.
“We’ve reached a real critical point in collegiate hockey, especially in 
the West,” McLeod said. “The direction I’ve been given is we have to be 
more aggressive in our approach.”