Paragraph 1: I've said that a dozen times, and all it's gotten is people questioning my fanhood and knowledge of what happened. Yet, you just agreed with my point. We were replaceable.
Paragraph 3: That's not entirely true. Teams were leaving to new conferences for more money due to the TV contracts. Maryland was never a football powerhouse, but FSU and Clemson wanted a football school, so the 2 got what they wanted. The ACC didn't have to add a football school, the ACC could have added UConn with the hopes of locking down the NE market. But FSU/Clemson got their way because....Ville was a suitable replacement.
Final Paragraph: I agree. Needs drive decisions. But the ACC doesn't need UConn, Would we improve their value if we're added? Probably, but we don't know how much they are getting in their new contract. Yes, they COULD add UConn, they could also replace us with Cincy if we aren't available and ND does what they've said they'll avoid at all costs.
But if ND joins, it won't matter who #16 is. ND brings enough value to the table that the ACC could add whoever is left of USF/UCF/Houston/Memphis/UConn/Temple and still have a great league financially.
Edit, I should have included ECU.