BYU and Alabama both have some intrinsic value.  Obviously Alabama's is far higher.  However, put Alabama in the MWC, and money they get from ESPN drops by a lot compared to being in the SEC.  Similarly, BYU is worth far more to ESPN in the B12 compared to indy.  And in indy, BYU had to mitigate the misk of zero TV exposure, so they traded off money for exposure.