I think your observations are stuck in the wrong decade. This is the 20teens. This is the era of the college football playoffs. Nobody cares about NY6 bowls any more. Let me repeat: NOBODY CARES ABOUT NY6 BOWLS ANY MORE.

As those bowl contracts roll over, the pay for playing in them will drop off completely. Their viewership last year was terrible. Only fans of the teams playing in them care now. Everyone else is focused on the PLAYOFFS.

But while NY6 bowls DON'T MATTER, early season marquise interconference contests matter a great deal. They matter because they determine the likelihood of teams and conferences making the playoffs. Give it 5 years and I think you'll find that neutral site non-conference games in September will be the new bowls. Due to independence, BYU is ahead of the curve on those.

Wait until the end of the season and then go look at the internet traffic and TV ratings for the BYU-UCLA game and compare it to Boise State playing whomever in the Fiesta Bowl. I will bet that you find the BYU-UCLA game generated more interest.

BYU took some gambles with playing West Virginia next year in FedEx and Missouri this year at Arrowhead. The gamble was whether the games would be Top 25 matchups. It looks like the Missouri game won't be (although BYU could easily be ranked again by then). But the WV game may well be a marquise game. Same for the Arizona game at the Cardinals stadium. Point blank: BYU WILL NOT get those kind of games as a G5 team in the MWC or the American. But BYU can get 3 of those a year as an independent, with one neutral site, one home and one away.

There is one last point that I think you forget. Money. BYU could maybe get $1-2mn per year as a member of the MWC or the American. But BYU probably gets about $6mn per year from ESPN and BYUTV. That money matters. BYU also doesn't need to share bowl proceeds. That can also matter--particularly if BYU ever makes the playoffs or a bowl with a major payout.