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Are we assuming a school has to have $27M cash on hand in order to make a more? Not sure that's the case. It's never clear how much really exchanges hands. Did Marshall, Southern Miss and Old Dominion ever pay the full amount to CUSA when they bolted early? It seems that once a school and conference have accepted that separation is a fait accompli, they work something out. Pay over time, give up distributions, negotiate a reduction, etc. Either way, it's probably financed anyway.

Interesting questions. I wonder...and this is not meant to disparage any school or conference, but I wonder from a purely perception perspective if some of the hesitancy (if that's what it is), is due to elevating a SBC school over other options? Historically, there has been a hierarchy or pecking order when it comes to schools moving up the conference food chain. Usually, the raiding conference looks to those schools in the adjacent conference (one level below) for replacements. SBC plucks from FCS, CUSA plucks from SBC, AAC plucks from CUSA, B12 plucks from AAC and so on. If the new PAC is somewhere between AAC and P4 and they need to dip down 3 levels to the SBC for a replacement what does that say about their placement in the hierarchy of college athletic conferences? Again, I'm not bashing Texas St or the SBC, I'm just thinking about the psychology of this and the egos involved. I think the overall perception of the conference hierarchy is still out there especially for those that don't follow the moves closely. Separating the SEC and B1G on the top level, the new PAC (certainly WSU and OSU) desperately want to be seen as on the same level as the Big12 and ACC. If their only choice is to elevate a SBC school (and let's face it, a relative newcomer on the scene), then it may be perceived as weakness (fairly or unfairly) and prima facie evidence that they are no longer peers with the B12 and ACC, but with the AAC and MWC.

Best UNT doubles team in tennis history? I say yes!