that you lock in those 8 schools somehow (probably with a long-term grant of rights like they did before). Take BYU and maybe Boise or Houston and solidify the conference long-term. The other schools are going to be taking a big pay cut, but BYU and Boise will probably increase revenue. It's a good basketball conference. It's an OK football conference. Certainly better than the MWC or the AAC. As long as it remains an autonomy 5 conference (and you'd need to lock that in before joining), then I think it's preferable to Indy.

If you can't lock in autonomy 5 status and a long-term grant of rights that would stabilize the conference, then you have to stay independent.