When the proposed Big Ten legislation on enrollment age for college hockey goes to vote in April, each of the 32 Division I conferences will receive a vote. However, some of those votes will count more than others. The votes are weighted, and the power conferences count more than the rest of Division I. The five autonomy conferences have their vote counted four times, while other non-FBS conferences have their votes counted twice and the rest of Division I conferences have their votes counted once.

It’s important to note that when the Big Ten legislation goes to vote, it will be decided by non-hockey conferences. In fact, the Big Ten itself is the only conference with direct voting power on the council.

“Legislation that is considered through the Council structure generally does get a final vote in April,” said Michelle Hosick, Associate Director of Public and Media Relations for the NCAA. “The Council members each have the ability to vote on legislation, whether or not they sponsor ice hockey. Some members without ice hockey may recuse themselves, but that doesn’t always happen.

“Every conference has a representative on the Council. The vote of a representative from one of the five autonomy conferences counts four times. The vote of a representative from one of the five non-FBS conferences counts two times. The vote of remaining representatives count once.”

Other schools could have influence on how their individual conference votes, but there’s no guarantee. To pass the legislation, all it needs is a simple majority.

There are 22 programs (36.7% of college hockey) that has no representation whatsoever on the NCAA council that will vote on this new legislation.

Here is a breakdown:

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Big Ten (conference vote counts FOUR times on council)

Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State

Pac 12 (conference vote counts FOUR times on council)

Arizona State

ACC (conference vote counts FOUR times on council)

Boston College, Notre Dame

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Mountain West Conference (vote counts TWO times on council)

Air Force

AAC (vote counts TWO times on council)

Connecticut

MAC (vote counts TW) times on council)

Miami, Western Michigan, Bowling Green

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Northeast Conference (vote counts ONE time on council)

Robert Morris, Sacred Heart

Patriot League (vote counts ONE time on council)

Holy Cross, Army, Boston University, Colgate

MAAC (vote counts ONE time on council)

Canisius, Niagara, Quinnipiac

Ivy League (vote counts ONE time on council)

Cornell, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Princeton

America East (vote counts ONE time on council)

UMass Lowell, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine

Atlantic 10 (vote counts ONE time on council)

UMass

Big East (vote counts ONE time on council)

Providence

Colonial Athletic Conference (vote counts ONE time on council)

Northeastern

Big Sky (vote counts ONE time on council)

North Dakota

The Summit (vote counts ONE time on council)

Denver, Nebraska-Omaha

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Teams With No Representation On Council

Mercyhurst, Bentley, RIT, AIC, RPI, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Union, Merrimack, St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth, Colorado College, Minnesota State, Michigan Tech, Ferris State, Northern Michigan, Alaska, Alaska-Anchorage, Bemidji State, Alabama-Huntsville, Lake Superior State