By saying "brings down" all I mean is our product has to get the best it can to survive.
I think this post shows I have no misgivings about what the Big12 is and what it is not:
https://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=28859990
You're right. CU and UU and AZ are "comparables." We already have an entire conference full of comparables. Comparables don't get us more money or stability. We need UO, UW and Stanford for those things.
If in 5 years Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are fed up with a bloated conference where UU and AZ's very presence is dilutive, and then the ACC gets plundered, they'll be more likely to listen to a backfill pitch than be part of a united front to pick off any other ACC defectors.
Sure, most of the Pac would rather it be what it was, and since it isn't, would LOVE to get the B1G call-up. It's probably not coming for them, so I'd expect they'd make the smartest decision for them (more money and stability), and not turn the Big12 down our of spite.