Unfortunately, in the new era of the NIL the Big Ten will be most likely be getting 4-6 teams in the tournament annually. Combined with the college hockey powers such as BU, BC, Denver, North Dakota, St. Cloud, Harvard, Quinnipiac, Duluth, Minnesota State, Cornell and automatic bids from the Atlantic and the CCHA, achieveing an at large bid for UConn or any other programs not on the top tier becomes extremely difficult in the current climate.
In the era of the portal and the NIL, it seems as though the vast majority of schools in college hockey have become farm systems for the Big Ten and elite programs. Look at what Michigan State is doing this off season.