SMU has a similar problem to ours. We were in a BCS conference, the Big East top tier basketball and football, then it was picked apart and we were left on the sidelines.
SMU was in the SWC, arguably won a NC in football, then they got the death penalty and the SWC got picked apart in 1994 when the SEC and Big Ten decided to negotiate their own TV deals and abandon the CFA. They were left out of what became the original Big XII when the Big 8 added 4 SWC teams. So were Houston and TCU.
I understand the appeal of SMU. Good academics, gobs of money and in the Dallas recruiting market. They have everything Miami has except a more distant winning history. It's no more of a problem than being with Cinci, Houston and UCF in the Big XII. Or Louisville for that matter.