Of course they want all 8 schools, as all 8 of them currently bring in more money than any of the AAC schools. That would be huge for the AAC.
But why would those 8 schools voluntarily go to the AAC when they could very easily snag a couple of the top AAC schools and give themselves a much smaller pay cut than what they’d receive by going to the AAC?
Follow the money. If they’re going to all 8 stay together, then they might as well stay right where they are.