It's not air travel as such....UConn could as well be San Francisco or Arizona with air.
It is "distance" and relevance.
Why should an FSU or Clemson desire UConn to be added to the ACC? FSU is a program who's fans are primarily in Florida, with the largest outside the state representation in Atlanta and North Carolina. We have as much to do with Connecticut as UConn has with Los Angeles. And LA is just a hop on a non stop airline from NY.
We already hear rumors that Boston College will eventually join the ACC, One of their fans in Tallahassee would be a sighting about as rare as seeing a carrier pigeon.
Would UConn fans buy rickets and come to Doak Campbell stadium in Tallahassee?
I do not think so..airplanes or not. The USF-FSU games of late have been a great fan rivalry, and they bring 'em as do we.
It is my cornball belief that conferences should be as regional as possible...that the AAC and CUSA will never feel "right" because they are what they are...a conglomeration of programs that have little relevance to each other.
If the ACC goes further northeast, it almost certainly would have to go North-South in Divisions to get some votes.
You aren't wrong about conferences. But the ACC can't fix this until it can put together a North-South divisional alignment. So would FSU like to see this?
ACC N: UVA, VT, Pitt, BC, Cuse, Louisville, UConn, Cinci
ACC S: FSU, Miami, Clemson, GT, UNC, Duke, NC State, WF
Is it unbalanced for football and basketball? Not really. The south is stronger on the football side, but UL and VT can be a viable alternative. The north is slightly stronger at basketball, but you've still got Duke and NC in the south, plus an improved FSU and Miami.