You guys make it seem like the MAC couldn't woo some other schools to come with them that didn't make it into an AQ and are in the Midwest. Travel costs for non-profit sports would be astronomical for the Big East and Mountain West.
OMG - The MAC teams have stadiums that seat 15k, while Big 12 have over 45k. There is a huge difference. The AQ leftovers would have just formed their own conference with a few CUSA teams. There would be enough midwest teams that travel costs would not be that bad. You act like it would have been ISU just joining the existing teams in the given conferences with no other movement.
Once again, NO WAY IN HELL that we would have ever been in the MAC. If you are trying to argue this, you need to go see a shrink to reverse the brainwashing that the Hawkeye Media has done on you.