1000% this. ESPN shouldn't have to lobby publicly for UConn. The metrics data support themselves - UConn is the top choice for markets, ratings, academics, AD budget, brand value, athletic success, etc. UConn has the data to support a $30M/yr buy-in on its own without any help from a corporate sugar daddy. The B12's TV deal with ESPN runs through 2025 so even if the conference does expand without creating a B12N, you still have to pay the new incoming schools at the same $20-$30M/yr rate of the current members. What other G5 schools, besides maybe BYU, has that kind of value? Answer: None. I guess that's where FedEx would help Memphis or GE would help Cincinnati...to make up the millions that they fall short of the $20-$30M/yr value buy-in. But ESPN will ultimately have to agree to pay this kind of money to these schools and that's where they would hold some leverage. They can simply say that no schools other than UConn or BYU are worth that kind of money. And they'd be right. And hopefully that will be enough for the smart folks inside the B12 to figure out that they want no part of giving their kind of money to schools and ADs that simply aren't worthy of it.