I still wish something could've been worked out to make a new SW/W regional conference of what remains of the MWC, WAC, CUSA.
BSU, BYU, WYO, CSU, AFA, SDSU, Fresno St, UNM, SMU, Houston would've been a very strong base - maybe strong enough to add some value to the likes of a fledgling NBC Sports network.
If the network wanted to make it a 12 or 14 team conference, those schools would be easy to find (Hawaii, UNLV, UNR, USU, UTEP, Tulsa, NMSU, Idaho, etc could fill the spots). Now that hypothetical conference would not get paid the same money the other big conferences are getting, but it may have provided a way better pay out than the current MWC and CUSA TV deals with more meaningful regional rivalries and a good amount of inventory for NBC Sports.
The above conference would most likely provide some very good football and mens basketball competition for the rest of the nation and challenge the Big East and ACC easily.
my 2 cents.