A lot of great thoughts here, everyone should keep the ideas flowing because I do believe this is the write track. First and foremost, unfortunately it's all about the money. So I say go contra to what the Big 12 did and EXPAND and welcome teams that are worthy of P6 status! We have undoubtedly the best TV conference commish in the country so he needs to test the waters with the networks to see what combination of teams in a new restructured, truly national American Athletic conference is most desirable. If reeling in any of the Mountain West's better programs, Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Air Force, or UNLV, plus of course independent BYU makes sense to the Networks and a big money TV contract then do what they say because as we all know too well by now, they control the game. Once Aresco has an idea of what the "right" expanded AAC conference is and what kind of dollars it will reap, then go to the schools that make the most sense and do the deal. The AAC, especially with Aresco at the helm is in a great position to pull this off. Here is what a possible expanded American could look like.
HOW COULD THIS NOT BE CALLED A POWER 6 CONFERENCE
New 16 Team American Athletic Conference
EAST
UCONN
TEMPLE
CINCINATTI
ECU
NAVY
UCF
USF
MEMPHIS
WEST
HOUSTON
SMU
TULSA
TULANE
They would pick from a selection of teams based on a combination of factors, FOOTBALL(most important) travel partners, TV markets, basketball prowess, etc.
The best candidates in my opinion would be:
BYU
Boise State
Colorado State
Air Force
San Diego State
UNLV
There are some pretty good basketball schools in there.
If Aresco could fetch 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 per team in a truly National conference like this it would be easy to reel any of these teams in.
Finally, I am well aware that the sports networks are already paying for this content on the cheap and if bringing BYU into the Mountain West was that enticing they would jump on it. The point of this expansion idea is that the 4 strongest Western teams make an expanded American all that much better.