If were going to succumb to the alarmist reasoning of killing one program to save the others, then it has to be abundantly clear that doing so is the best option. For example, dropping football out of panic better assure that the outcome will be better. The new media deal pays out roughly 1.5 million per team (roughly, it might be less than that, but it is not a huge difference). The Fox deal pays the basketball teams 3 million a year. Is dropping football, and consigning the basketball team to a conference that is basketball only really a better alternative? The "new" Big East is essentially a better version of the A-10. While those schools are good basketball schools, there is a ceiling to what a mid-major accomplishes.
Taking away Butler, Wichita State and VCU's runs in recent years (and even including them, only Butler came a shot from winning a title, and that was with an NBA lottery pick), do the Mid-majors really sustain real basketball success. They have good programs sure, but do they really qualify as real threats to win a national title? Not really, the power 5 wins out in the end. Is receiving an additional 1.5 million a year by joining those forces, plus the residual money retained from not subsidizing football really going to be enough to keep pace with the power 5 conferences. It does not appear likely. When a school such as Iowa State is getting 20+ million dollars a year, the gap becomes too much.
Did you notice that the non-FBS football schools that sustained consistent basketball success happened to be in the Big East? Maybe someone else can come out with the exact numbers, because I do not have them, but I'd wager that they not only made more money by association with the football-playing members, and being in a power conference. Does the addition of Butler and Creighton really compensate for losing Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, and UConn? No. The new Big East is only a shell of what it once was.
Dropping out of the football game, and foreclosing EVER having the opportunity to move up in the world is a death sentence to the ceiling of UConn athletics. While the AAC is not the best thing in the world, it is better than that alternative.