games more easily, have conference championships, set rules about what safety protocols they follow on the field or sidelines, and control crowd sizes, without dealing with the competitive advantages that any of those would bring up without uniformity. It also lets schools play less games without disrupting the conference and doesn't force them to choose which games to keep and drop, and it gives the schools cover for the lawsuits they might face for dropping non-conference games.

Limiting how many other teams or fanbases that athletes or fans interact with is part of the equation, but isn't the only thing being considered. I get that Rutgers and Nebraska are far apart and that Utah and BYU are about as close as any other schools, but this will still do a lot to keep teams and fans from diverse places separate.