To reach a point where you can get a CBS, ESPN, FOX or others to pony up money for future 1st and 2nd tier rights, you need eyeballs. The P5's are NOT diluting their status by adding 50,000 seat stadiums (leaves Boise and Cincinnati out) and programs that have been recently ranked in CFB and CBB. Sorry but footprint matters far more.

Yes you grab BYU because it means a lot nationally. But your next play has to be UCF, SDSU and HOUSTON. All those programs are academic equals or better than a majority of the remaining programs in the league. All have P5 facilities. All combined add a population footprint of roughly 45-50 million people. Sorry but I think you make some good points, but there are other reasons you have to be more aggressive in ways that would NOT be considered dilution. Not one of those programs dilutes the eight remaining programs academically or by atletic department.

A lot of CB'rs seem enamored with Boise State and Cincinnati. The problem with the Bearcats is they had some TV value when the B1G was playing hookie last year. But in their region the Bearcats are a solid Basketball draw, but just one of many pawns in an Ohio State state. The good thing is Cincinnati is home to many fortune 1000 companies. But is that any different from San Diego. Conversely San Diego could be subject to extreme left Sacramento politics even though it's actually a red to purple area of the state. There is that risk. Honestly it's a hard decision. But ultimately I think SDSU is a better play. No NFL, no NBA, much more population, significantly better destination city, big bowl game venue.