Very exciting news!
I do want to point out that the article isn't fully accurate. Lindenwood has been playing ACHA D1 for over a decade, not D2 as stated in the article. Making the jump from ACHA to NCAA is difficult, but they have a better head start with the ACHA D1 experience than they would if they had been in D2. With 3 ACHA D1 national championships since 2008, they have absolutely been one of the better non-NCAA programs. This is the step that made sense, not a giant leap of faith from a middling ACHA program.
Arizona State recently made the jump from ACHA D1 to NCAA D1. They made it to the NCAA Tournament in year 3, so there is definitely a roadmap to follow here.