Drunk Athletic Conference? Okay, I'll play:
Thunder Chickens, UConn, Syracuse, Snooki, Pitt, Penn State, WVU, Temple, Army, Navy, Maryland, Buffalo- all current northeast FBS teams. If you must get to 16 & want historic teams with huge endowments, add Harvard, Yale, Princeton, & Penn. They have FBS sized stadia & their endowments alone ensure stability. Plus their alumni are the movers & shakers of the business, scientific, financial & artistic worlds.