I’d say Pitt has a bit more value because of their rivalry with WVU. Having that in the same conference means something … not a lot, but there’s some value there.
Duke would bring another basketball power to the conference, which also has value.
I’ve never thought much of Syracuse - any institution that builds a dome named after the “father” of air conditioning but then doesn’t put A/C in that dome seems a bit sketchy to me.
I think Washington State and Oregon State are good cultural fits, but I’m leery about a conference stretching from Orlando to Pullman. I just don’t think that’s smart. Same thing with Cal and Stanford … they’re classy institutions with very, very occasional decent teams (whenever they get an Andrew Luck or an Aaron Rodgers or a Joe Kapp), which can mean something to a conference, but location outweighs that in my mind.
Frankly … there’s nothing good about any more potential moves for any conference at this point (Notre Dame being the sole exception but they’re not going anywhere). I think there’s gotta be a very compelling argument before you start expanding past 18, especially while the ACC still lives. Seems to me any moves to grow at this point, be it the B12 or the ACC, would be out of fear and desperation about what the other one is doing, which isn’t a good reason.