quite frankly, has only little to do with a school's value to a conference. It's about money - which doesn't necessarily require recent wins. Look at Texas. The SEC certainly didn't invite Texas because of their recent on field success. If you bring eyeballs to the TV (and now social media too), and fans to the stands, you will have value to a conference. Winning is secondary, but usually you get it as a byproduct of the school's brand value.

The Big 12 invited TCU for reasons that go beyond wins on the field (Texas wanting a voting toadie for political purposes chief among them). It was not a good decision either - good decision being defined as selecting the best value school to increase your overall conference value.