If expansion is dead, the top AAC teams need to band together with the top MWC teams to form a football only conference. The bottom half of the AAC is not tenable for the likes of UConn and Cincinnati in the long term. A football only conference of UConn, UC, UH, BYU, Boise, Air Force, Navy, CSU, USF, UCF, and maybe Memphis could serve as a legitimate sixth league option. It would also afford the opportunity for UConn and UC to bring olympic sports back to the Big East, immediately bolster the basketball conference there and create one of the best BB leagues in the country. This would position UConn best to prove itself for down the road P5 expansion. Staying in the AAC and battling it out against ECU, Tulane, Tulsa, Temple, and SMU in all sports will further devalue our brand across the board. When the AAC was formed, of course there was the 12-team conference championship rule, but the addition of these bottom-feeding schools that have no value, few fans, and have no football or basketball cache whatsoever significantly bring down the league from a branding and revenue standpoint.
I get the sense UConn knows this and from some of the tea leaves out there, UConn is not content to stay in the AAC if they don't get a B12 bid, or if they decide not to expand.