academic and athletic reasons for staying together. That's a solid conference on multiple fronts. In the 12-team playoff format, UW, Oregon, Utah and Stanford will probably have a 25% to 50% chance of getting in each year.
I don't think the lack of exposure of streaming is as big of a deal either. If ESPN or CBS picks up the high profile games, it doesn't matter. Only die hard fans are watching the also-rans play each other. That won't change with streaming.
But if they dip below the $10 million annual mark below the Big 12, it might be more difficult to keep everyone happy. But I believe the academics are much more attractive than you think to the admin.
I also don't believe the BIG is inevitable. If those two were accretive, the BIG would've taken them already. If they're not accretive, what's the appeal?
I'd also be cautious assuming the rumored amounts are automatically true.