They have Club Hockey which, when I was the trainer, drew more fans than probably 3/4 of the sanctioned sports. It was a good time.
As far as starting a regular program, it comes down to money. Start out with scholarship money. How many schollys? Where does the money come from? Multiply that by 2 to stay in compliance with Title IX.
An alternative is to go Division 3, which has no scholarships, but there are no D3 opponents in Ohio. So your travel expenses are going to be huge. There are some D1 schools (i.e. Ivy League) that don't have scholarships, and a lot of schools that don't have the max. But can you consistently schedule them?
Then you need a rink. The club team plays at Center Ice, near Akron Canton Airport. That's another cost. Add in uniforms, practice time, games, a zillion "nickle and dime" expenses nobody thought of. I'm not saying it can't be done, but there are no rich hockey alumni willing to sign checks for all of those expenses.
My suggestion, visit the club team. Take in some games. These guys have been playing hockey a big part of their lives, are AU students in good standing, and put on a good show. The league is competitive. I've had a lot more fun at (club) hockey games than I have at most football games I've been to.
So their families are paying the bills instead of the university, when the puck drops I seriously doubt you'll notice a difference. π
http://www.zipshockey.com/
https://linktr.ee/AkronIceHockey
https://www.blastathletics.com/video_links/19876